The Brazil Forest Code is for real?

_{ANDREA AZEVEDO AND CRISTIANO Vilardo * for the Planet Blog / Journal Times}

Walking through this Brazil, which is heard routinely in rural areas is to comply with environmental laws is very difficult. They say it is expensive, the organs do not respond in due time and that the rules change all the time. While these perceptions may have some basis in the producer’s experience just a more contextualized analysis so that they understand the various responsibilities that focus on these issues.

On the cost of adaptation, we must remember that the  Forest Code has existed since 1934,  but its effective implementation has always been a certain make-believe. It is true that if we had internalized the preservation of native vegetation within the cash flows of the activities over the years, this conservation today would generate profits. The environmental imbalance caused by the destruction beyond established by law is absurd, and the bill comes in the form of higher costs of agrochemicals, for example. Moreover, this imbalance is already being felt in changing the local climate and regional – the lack of rain and other water cycle changes have been accentuated, generating loss per crop failures (see example of corn this year in MT). Usually the producer does not put this loss on account of the environmental imbalance, but it is becoming more evident day by research worldwide. Ie the planned conservation in the Forest Code, must be seen much more as an ally of the producer, and not vice versa.

>> The homework of the Forest Code

On the response of environmental agencies, it is generally agreed that these need to be strengthened every day more, more trained technicians with more efficient process flows and state boards that can actually inspect on behalf of society excesses or omissions in the organs. In this sense, radical transparency may be the key to the whole transformation we want to see the environmental agencies. There is no justification – in the XXI century – to have processes in obscurity being processed by the bureaucracy of the organs. Promote transparency as a core value of environmental management, with the help of information technology, it would take these organs to another level of performance, for the safeguard would be in monitoring throughout society and producers, inclusive. However, the value of transparency still seems out of fashion in our country when the agenda is forest as take a look at the case of Rural Environmental Registry (CAR). How many states of the federation to offer to the public (and even for municipalities), data from the CAR? Virtually none. How can society do some social control, without having access to the data?

Finally, on the feeling that environmental laws are constantly changing, this is another statement that does not withstand further examination but is still cause for mistrust between environmentalists and large farmers, pardon the use of this dichotomy as outdated. In fact, democracy is part of the change in legislation when we do not show efficient. However, in the case of the Forest Code (or CF) after a long period of confrontation in Congress in 2012 had the approval of its new version (Law 12,651 / 12), replacing the previous version of 1965. There were 47 years of stability legislation that had a relatively low level of implementation. This can not be considered under any changing perspective.

Among the changes introduced by the new Code,  one of the most important was the creation at the national level of the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR). In practice this is the instrument that will actually allow for verification that the code is being fulfilled. That is, it should be prioritized, required by everyone who deals with agricultural products, because it will be the receipt to certify that the product x or y we buy at the supermarket is legal under the environmental point of view. Well, the law was clear that when set this record, which occurred in May 2014, there would be one year to accession by all producers, and there may be only 1 more year extension. The period after extended by one year, ended May 5. The balance is more than 3 million registered rural properties totaling more than 80% of the country cadastrável area or about 330 million hectares.

>> The CAR does not inhibit deforestation in Pará

>> Registration is example for other countries

There were certainly those who wait until the last minute, with a new general extension of time, but the government surprised positively extending the benefits only for family farmers. For these, the law provided the state’s offer of help for tailoring CAR – which unfortunately did not happen satisfactorily in some regions.

After two years of time, a general extension would be a bad indication of the seriousness of the implementation of the CF in that country. To paraphrase the popular expression, there is no way more “push with the belly”! fact or move forward with robust steps in this implementation or will not help the country to make promises at the UN on their intentions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Compliance with the CF is a crucial part of compliance with the Paris agreement to be ratified in 2016. in other words, the implementation of the forest code came out of the domestic sphere and compliance also reveals the feasibility of the targets promised by the government in the international climate agreement.

The CAR will remain open for those who want to register after May 5. But only to owners of smaller rural properties that four you stand modules will be guaranteed the benefits provided for in the code. Not to extend the general CAR is a very symbolic gesture that shows seriousness for that producer who fulfilled the law in good faith. The country walks in need of good examples from the Central Plateau. The time to show if the Forest Code is for real is now.

Andrea Azevedo is deputy director of the Environmental Research Institute of Amazonia (IPAM) and Cristiano Vilardo is Senior Director of Policy and Corporate Strategy of Conservation International (CI-Brazil).