The document discusses Brazil's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through environmental legislation and programs. It analyzes Brazil's Forest Code and how it establishes rules for protecting areas around water sources and vegetation. It also discusses programs that aim to combat deforestation in the Amazon and mechanisms to promote reforestation, such as rural environmental registry, REDD+, and conservation areas. The document concludes that Brazil has shown leadership in reducing emissions from reduced deforestation but will need to improve enforcement of its Forest Code and economic incentives to ensure future emissions reduction targets are met.

1. GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS (GHG) AND ENVIRONMENTAL
LEGISLATION IN BRAZIL: THE NEW FOREST CODE, COP 23 AND FUTURE
CHALLENGES
Samara Martins Silva¹, Luciana Cavalcante Pereira², Fernando Paiva Scardua³, Hilton Thadeu Zarate do Couto4

4.  RURAL ENVIRONMENTAL REGISTRY (CAR):
“Public electronic register of national scope using SICAR platform, mandatory for all rural properties,
in order to integrate the environmental information of the properties and rural properties related to
the situation of APP and LR areas, forests and remnants of native vegetation, restricted areas
and consolidated areas, composing a database for control, monitoring, environmental and
economic planning, and combating deforestation” (SFB, 2018)
 COMBATING DEFORESTATION:
“Plan of Action for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAm), Public
Ministry and other ministries, restrictions in the consumption of products from recently deforested
areas in the Amazon such as “Soy Moratorium” and “Zero Deforestation” (NEPSTAD et al., 2014,
TOLLEFSON, 2016)

5.  NATIONAL POLICY ON CLIMATE CHANGE TO THE INTERMINISTERIAL
COMMITTEE ON CLIMATE CHANGE
“Reconciliation of economic and social development with protection of the climate system (i);
Preservation, conservation and recovery of environmental resources, mainly of the great natural biomes considered
National Patrimony (v);
Consolidation and expansion of legally protected areas and promotion of reforestation and restoration of vegetation cover
in degraded areas (vi)” (Law 12.187/2009)
LAWS IN FEDERAL LEVEL REGARDING CLIMATIC CHANGE IN BRAZIL
Decree 6.263/2007
National Policy on Climate Change to the Interministerial Committee on
Climate Change
Law 12.114/09 and Decree 7.343/2010
National fund on Climatic Change and Environmental Conservation
Support Program
Decree 7.572/11 Bolsa Verde
Law 12.512/11
Support Program for Environmental Conservation and the Program for
the Promotion of Rural Productive Activities
Law 12.651/12 New Forest Code
Decree 8235/14 Rural Environmental Cadastry (CAR).
PL 212/11 REDD+ National System

6. PURPOSE
6
Analyze the emissions of the Brazilian forestry sector
for the Legal Amazon as defined by the New Forest Code in
function of the new instruments designed to allow the
fulfillment of the goals established by the PNMC.
METHODOLOGY
 Analysis of scientific publications and Brazilian environmental
laws;
 Analysis of documents from International Conventions on
Climate Change
 Data from the PPCDAm

7. TYPES OF APPS
PROPERTY
< 1 MF
PROPERTY OF
1 - 2 MF
PROPERTY OF
2 - 4 MF
PROPERTY OF
4 - 10 MF
PROPERTY > 10
MF
WATER COURSES 5 m 8 m 15 m Respective strip Respective strip
PERMANENT SPRINGS AND SOURCES 15 m 15 m 15 m 15 m 15 m
NATURAL LAKES AND PONDS 5 m 8 m 15 m 30 m 30 m
VEREDAS (WATERCOURSES IN THE
CERRADO REGION)
30 m 30 m 30 m 50 m 50 m
MAINTENANCE OF RESIDENCES AND
INFRASTRUCTURE ASSOCIATED WITH
AGROFORESTRY ACTIVITIES
Consolidated, provided that the life or physical integrity of persons is not endangered
APP IN AN INTEGRAL PROTECTION
CONSERVATION UNIT (CU)
Unconsolidated areas
RIVER BASINS CONSIDERED CRITICAL Targets exceeding those established for the consolidated areas
RECOMPOSITION REQUIREMENT 10% 10% 20% 20% 20%
AGRARIAN SETTLEMENT REFORM
PROGRAM (MANDATORY RECOVERY)
Observed the limits of each individually demarcated area, object of contract of use concession, until
registration by the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA)
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
CONSERVATION REQUIREMENTS FOR APPS NEW FOREST CODE

8. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
FORMS OF REGULARIZATION OF LRS NEW FORESTRY CODE
RECOVERY
OF
LEGAL RESERVES
(LRS)
RECOVERY COMPENSATION
NATURAL
REGENERATION
Completed within 20 years Property in CAR and even Biome and LR
Allow natural
regeneration
of the vegetation
in the LR area
Every 2 years a minimum of 1/10 of the
total area
Outside the State, areas identified as priority (Union or
States)
Interplanting of native, exotic or fruit
species in an agroforestry system,
economic exploitation allowed
Watersheds, ecological corridors, conservation of
protected areas and conservation or restoration of
ecosystems, endangered species
Up to 4 MF with LR
Owners or tenants of rural properties in
the Legal Amazon and their heirs have a
LR index of more than 50% of forest cover
and did not suppress the vegetation at the
allowed percentages may use surplus LR to
declare areas as environmental service
areas, Environmental Reserve quotes
(CRA) and other instruments
Donation or concession granted by owners of rural
property with insufficient Legal Reserve area to the
public agency in charge of the Conservation Unit of an
area located within a Conservation Unit of public
domain, to be created or depending on land
regularization.
Area occupied with native vegetation; new conversions
for alternative land use forbidden
Exempt from promoting recovery, compensation or
regeneration for required percentages

9. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017*
VARIATION
OF
DEFORESTATION
RATES
(KM²)
HISTORICAL DATA
(YEARS)
AC
AM
AP
MA
MT
PA
RO
RR
TO
AMZ LEGAL
LEGAL
AMAZON STATES

10. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
-100%
-80%
-60%
-40%
-20%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
AC AM AP MA MT PA RO RR TO AMZ
LEGAL
VARIATION
OF
DEFORESTATION
RATES
(%)
HISTORICAL DATA
(YEARS)
Var. 2017-2004* Var. 2017-2016*
LEGAL AMAZON
STATES

11. DISCUSSION: FUTURE CHALLENGES
 Possibility of forest restoration of 29 million hectares across the Brazilian
territory (BRANCALION et al., 2016; RIBEIRO, 2014);
 According to the UNFCCC goals for a reduction of 29 GtCO2eq by 2030
and according to data on a GHG emission reduction target of 1,404 million
tonCO2eq for land use change in PNMC, in 2014, Brazil accounted for 6
billion tons of CO2 or 3.2 GtCO2eq (NEPSTAD, 2014, GOUVELLO, 2010, MMA,
2014);
 Alternatives such as REDD+, carbon PSA and the implementation of CRAs,
based on maps of land use and vegetation cover of CAR represent possibilities
for reconciling the option of preserving natural areas with a reduction in
deforestation.

12. CONCLUSIONS
 New Forest Code: needs improvements for conservation strategies of existing forests and recovery of
deforested areas;
 Make New Forest Code and control mechanisms more effective trying to prevent increase of deforestation
rates and consequently GHG emissions the country will need to reconcile information about the current status
of native vegetation with economic instruments alongside other public policies creating incentives for forest
conservation;
 Therefore, Brazil has the status of a world leader in the reduction of GHG emissions in view of the reduction in
deforestation rates and will most likely play a prominent role when the new goals of COP 23 enter into force.
The implementation of the valuation of ecosystem services by the PES, REDD+ and CRAs, among other
mechanisms, are some of the possible governmental strategies to promote and warrant that the future targets
for GHG reduction are met, along the lines of the SDGs .