BVRio contributes to publication on the challenges and opportunities for Environmental Regularisation Programmes in Brazil

BVRio contributed to the publication ‘Challenges and Opportunities for Environmental Regularisation Programmes’, produced by the Forest Dialogue in collaboration with the Forest Code Observatory (OCF) and the Brazil Climate, Forests and Agriculture Coalition, which was launched during the 5th Brazilian Conference on Ecological Restoration (SOBRE+10) on 11 July 2024. BVRio contributed to the report with an introductory text signed by Director of Forests and Public Policies, Beto Mesquita, Legal Manager, Daniela Pires e Albuquerque, and Economist, Marcelo Hercowitz. This section presents BVRio’s initiatives in supporting the implementation of the Forest Code, highlighting the Forest Code Monitoring Portal and PlanaFlor.

The publication was launched at a symposium that focussed on the Environmental Regularisation Programmes (PRAs) and Projects for the Restoration of Degraded and Altered Areas (PRADAs) in Brazil, with the participation of BVRio Director Beto Mesquita as one of the guest speakers. He presented the publication alongside with Fernanda Rodrigues, from the Forest Dialogue, Rafael Bitante Fernandes (SOS Mata Atlântica), representing the Forest Code Observatory (OCF), and Marcus Vinicius da Silva Alves, from the Brazilian Forest Service (SFB).

According to them, the Environmental Regularisation Programmes (PRAs) should not be perceived as a delay in the implementation of the Forest Code, but as essential instruments for enforcing the law. The director of rural environmental regularisation at the Brazilian Forest Service (SFB), Marcus Vinicius da Silva Alves, said that “restoration is mandatory and the PRA should not represent an obstacle to compliance with the law, it only allows processes to be disciplined”. According to Rafael Fernandes (OCF), all municipalities must take ownership of the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) and the Environmental Regularisation Programme (PRA) in order to enjoy the benefits of restoration. Beto Mesquita stressed that we must adopt the implementation of the Forest Code as a development vector to boost GDP and the country’s economy.

For the executive coordinator of the Forest Dialogue, Fernanda Rodrigues, a continued dialogue is essential for the collective construction of solutions between the sectors. “The publication comes at a crucial time, in line with the United Nations Decade for Ecosystem Restoration and Brazil’s commitment to restore 12 million hectares. If the states make progress in implementing the PRA in synergy with the Federal Government, this target can be reached and surpassed simply by complying with compulsory restorations,” he says.

This convergence emphasises the importance of environmental regularisation and forest restoration as pillars for fulfilling international commitments, including climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation. In addition, restoration can generate a series of social, environmental and economic benefits, both locally and for the country as a whole.

Download the publication here, available in Portuguese only.