Researchers Clarify Brazil's Controversial New Forest Code

Research led by Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC) aims to untangle Brazil's controversial Forest Code, the details of which are published in the journal Science.

Entitled "Cracking Brazil's Forest Code," the article clarifies a law which agriculturists argue threatens their farmer lifestyle, and which environmentalists say jeopardizes the forest's well-being, threatening to release the billions of tons of carbon they contain.

The Brazilian Forest Code is the largest single protector of forests on private properties, which contain more than half of Brazil's remaining forests and savannahs. In the early 2000s, annual deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon surged to more than 20,000 km2 per year, prompting the country to crack down on deforestation.

Conservationists, it seems, are the only ones who support the code. The recent changes affect conservation in all Brazilian biomes, including the Amazon, Cerrado, and Atlantic Forest. 

"Brazil has done a great job reducing deforestation in the Amazon, but the other biomes have been short-changed in the process," study co-author Marcia Macedo said in a statement. 

Only 50 percent of the Cerrado forest remains intact and deforestation is increasing. This study estimates that the new law allows legal deforestation of an additional 400,000 km2 of the Cerrado,

"That's an area almost the size of California. Allowing that to happen would be an environmental disaster," Macedo said.

According to the study, a new law granting amnesty to landowners who deforested illegally before 2008 reduces the area to be reforested from 500,000 km2 to 210,000 km2. 

Firstly, the Forest Code allows landowners to trade surplus forests (those that could be legally deforested) on one property, to offset restoration requirements on another. This could reduce the areas requiring restoration to as little as 5,500 km2 of land.

It also creates an online land registry system that lets landowners register their property boundaries (there are a total of 5 million rural properties in Brazil) and environmental information.

The Forest Code continues to be difficult to enforce, but the key to its success is compromise.

"To be effective, the Forest Code must be tied to economic incentives that reward landowners who conserve native vegetation," said co-author Raoni Rajão.