Análise crítica da Lei de Proteção da Vegetação Nativa (2012), que substituiu o antigo Código Florestal: atualizações e ações em curso

The Native Vegetation Protection Law (NVPL) of Brazil, which replaced the Forest Code from 1965, is still undergoing regulation at federal and state levels, and the constitutionality of some clauses are still in question. In order to support legal rulings, decisions by public officers, and to inform other stakeholders, we present a balanced assessment of the positive and negative consequences of NVPL in light of current scientific knowledge. Key advances were noted in the systems of controls and incentives, which promoted new mechanisms and policies to support the implementation of this law. The main environmental setbacks were i) the removal of protection of certain environmentally fragile areas, ii) the concession of amnesty of fines incurred for violating the preceding legislation, iii) allowing continuous farming or maintenance of infrastructure in areas protected by law, without full recovery native vegetation. The weakening of NVPL may hamper soil and watershed protection, biodiversity conservation, and even agricultural productivity, without manifest benefits for the country. On that account, we recommend: i) that judiciary rulings and state and county regulations to correct pending issues with the NVPL based on scientific knowledge and with wider citizen participation; ii) the strengthening of agencies for rural technical assistance; iii) the development of incentives to develop the supply chain for native vegetation recovery; iv) the regulation of compensation for Legal Reserves based on clear and robust environmental criteria; and that v) that the assessment of legal compliance has also to be based on the environmental quality of recovered areas.