A lot of people did not make the CAR yet, what’s wrong?

The Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) is a procedure created by the new Forest Act, 2012. According to this regulation, the deadline for registration in the CAR ends on the 6th of May. There is possibility of extension, which was being dealt with by the environmental agencies. According to the Ministry of Environment, on March 18, only 38% of the area estimated to be subject to registration had been registered in Brazil. state data of São Paulo are similar. He informed the Department of Environment that until April 12, 2015 the proportion of registered area was 37% of the total area, with 82,662 properties subscribers (about one third of the total).

The CAR and Environmental Recovery Plan (PRA) are two of the main instruments of this new law. Do the CAR is how to make the income tax statement, it is the information on how the property is under the law. The PRA is the next stage, as a verification of the payment of the tax (with the recovery of forests where needed) or refund (some gain if you have excess vegetation, such as environmental servitude or to payments for environmental services).

The PRA in São Paulo is treated in Law 15,684, of January 14, 2015, which has not yet been regulated. It is important, then, that the company follow this process again in order to guarantee the maximum environmental and social gains, reconciling environmental conservation and agricultural production. In this Regulation, rules should be set for the recovery of legal reserves and permanent preservation areas (APPs). With the current water crisis, the importance of this for the whole society, whether city or country, it is quite evident.

It is also important that all properties are registered in the CAR. But why to register? No penalty forecast because of the lack of registration in the CAR, the problems are others. In addition to being mandatory, the most important is to note that the CAR is the gateway to the innovations of the Forest Act that mean benefits to owners. Enrollment in the CAR is a condition for the settlement of the consolidated use of PPAs, compensation and economic use of the legal reserve and also relieves the registration with the Property Registry, and other advantages for producers.

That is, for those who do not enroll in the CAR, the obligation to recover the PPAs is the entire range prescribed by law, is not entitled to use consolidated. The “ladder”, which provides for the reduction of the track to recover, does not apply to those who have no CAR. In addition, the CAR is required to get licenses and environmental permits. Within five years of the Act (May 2017), it is a condition to achieve any kind of rural credit.

Enrollment in the CAR is free and the property does not need to have regularized registration. Nor necesita be with all environmental obligations on time, because the logic of the new law is precisely to allow the regularization (amnesty in many cases) of rural properties. Those who do not sign up, yes, who is expected to have trouble with the law.

The law says that the government (federal, state and municipal) shall assist the registration in the CAR for smallholders and rural squatters. Several civil society organizations, unions and others are also contributing in this process. Thus, it is important that owners and squatters seek their associations, cooperatives, farm houses, environmental agencies, to inform and make your registration in CAR.

To register in the CAR:
In Sao Paulo: www.ambiente.sp.gov.br/sicar
Other states: www.car.gov.br

* Roberto Resende is an agricultural engineer and president of the Green Initiative. This article was originally published on the organization’s website .