Performance of the Brazilian Forest Service

National Forest Information System (SNIF)

WHAT IS THE NATIONAL FOREST INFORMATION SYSTEM?

Provided for in the Public Forest Management Law, no. 11.284/2006, the National Forest Information System (SNIF) is a system managed by the SFB and integrated with the National Environmental Information System (Sinima) with the objective of providing data, information and knowledge about forests and the forestry sector in Brazil, in order to subsidize public policies, programs and projects that reconcile the use and conservation of Brazil's forests.

SNIF has a national scope, but various data and information can be consulted at different scales, at the biome, state, and municipal levels. The main themes that appear in the SNIF are forest resources (forest area, location, composition and stocks), forest production (quantities, values, import and export), forest policy and management, research and education. In addition to primary information sources from the SFB itself, such as the National Forest Inventory, Forest Concessions, the National Forest Development Fund and the Rural Environmental Registry, the SNIF works with secondary data sources from other government agencies, always bringing the cut to the forest sector.

The information from the SNIF serves as a reference for international reports, such as the Global Forest Resources Assessment – FRA (FAO), the Joint Forest Sector Questionnaire – JFSQ (ITTO) and the Regional Report on the Situation of Forests in the Amazon Region (OTCA).

National Register of Public Forests (CNFP)

WHAT IS THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF PUBLIC FORESTS?

The National Register of Public Forests (CNFP) is a forest management planning instrument. It gathers georeferenced data on Brazilian public forests, offering managers and the general population a reliable base of maps, images and data with information relevant to forest management. The CNFP was established by Law no. 11.284/2006 and regulated by Decree no. 12.046/2024.

The areas of public forests in Brazil are in a permanent process of identification and registration by the SFB, and the CNFP data help the processes of destination of public community forests, creation of conservation units and realization of forest concessions. The register contributes to transparency, social participation and the unification of information on public forests.

The CNFP includes forests on federal lands such as: Indigenous lands, public conservation areas, and forests located on urban or rural properties registered or in the process of being registered in the name of the federal government, local authorities, foundations, public companies, and mixed-capital companies. The public forests included in the CNFP until 2022 comprise an area of approximately 327 million hectares (38% of the Brazilian territory), with 87% of this area in the Amazon.

National Forest Inventory (IFN) of Brazil

WHAT IS BRAZIL'S NATIONAL FOREST INVENTORY?

Brazil's National Forest Inventory (IFN) is a public policy coordinated by the SFB to collect and analyze detailed data on the country's forests. The objective of IFN is to produce information on forests throughout the Brazilian territory, through the collection of data in the field in a systematic and periodic manner, on composition, health, biodiversity, biomass and carbon stocks and forest dynamics. This qualified and updated database is essential for the formulation of public policies and strategies for sustainable management and conservation of forest resources. The data generated also meet the growing demand of organizations and governments in international agreements, as well as research institutions and universities.

The IFN covers the entire national territory, including areas of native forest and other types of vegetation, and is carried out in cycles, predicting the remediations of its sampling units. The inventory consists of collecting field data at more than 15,000 sampling points systematically positioned in the Brazilian territory. At each point, trees are identified and measured for quantification of biomass, species diversity, and forest structure. In addition, soil collections and other environmental measurements are performed, such as dead trees, fallen wood and herbaceous plant cover. IFN also conducts socio-environmental interviews with local communities to understand the use of forest resources and the relationship of populations with the environment.

Forest Products Laboratory (LPF)

WHAT IS THE FOREST PRODUCTS LABORATORY?

Located in Brasilia and created in 1973, the Forest Products Laboratory (LPF) is a research, development and innovation center that works in the search for technological solutions to improve and expand the potential of use of forest species in Brazil. With a structure of approximately 5,000 square meters, the LPF has seven well-equipped thematic laboratories, warehouses for storing wood, a complete carpentry workshop, a small herbarium for support, and the Harry van der Slooten xylotheque, one of the main reference collections in the country, with more than 5,000 cataloged samples, distributed across more than 3,000 species.

LPF has been producing knowledge, training human resources and transferring technologies for more than 50 years, and thus contributes to the country's sustainable development. Composed of a multidisciplinary team of highly qualified professionals, the LPF also works in the training of students and servants of other agencies, in addition to being a unit providing specialized technical services.

In 2023, the main figures for the LPF were: training of 98 Brazilian and foreign civil servants; 14 scientific projects completed; 3 technical articles published in international journals; 2 complete works presented and published at international conferences; 1 technical book edited (Social Housing in Wood); 1 workshop organized (NIRS: a technological solution for wood traceability); promotion of the 2023 Alternative Woods Award (LPF and Salão Design partnership); more than 1,900 wood samples identified macroscopically and 133 technical reports issued.

In addition, the LPF remains one of the main research centers in wood sciences in the country, as it receives around 500 visitors every year from Brazil and other countries.

Forest Knowledge Platform

WHAT IS THE FOREST KNOWLEDGE PLATFORM?

Created in 2018, the Forest Knowledge Platform is a virtual distance education environment managed by the Brazilian Forest Service that offers courses on forest management, forest restoration and sustainable use of resources, seeking to train professionals for timber and non-timber forest activities. The platform is a national benchmark and serves various audiences, including servants of environmental agencies, forestry professionals, community leaders, professors and students, researchers, NGOs and members of civil society interested in environmental conservation. The courses are online, without tutoring, with asynchronous content, ranging from 10 to 40 hours, and require assessment for certification.

Since its creation until 2024, the Forest Knowledge Platform has already registered more than 90,000 visits and issued 27,000 certificates. More than 31,000 students enrolled in some of the courses on the platform, of which 80% were approved and received certification in some of the available topics. The students are located throughout the country, with about 35% in the North, 30% in the Southeast, 18% in the Northeast, 9% in the Midwest and 8% in the South. Thus, the platform has reached a representative territorial coverage and is used by diverse audiences, such as residents of conservation units, quilombola territories and agrarian reform settlements.

Forest promotion

National Forest Development Fund (FNDF)

WHAT IS THE NATIONAL FOREST DEVELOPMENT FUND?

The National Forest Development Fund (FNDF) is a public fund of an accounting nature managed by the Brazilian Forest Service with the objective of fostering the development of sustainable forestry activities in Brazil and promoting technological innovation in the sector. Created by the Public Forest Management Law (Law no. 11.284/2006), the FNDF supports areas such as forest management, sustainable use of forest resources, control and monitoring of forest activities, environmental training and education, research and technological development, protection of the environment and conservation of natural resources.

FNDF funds come from the Brazilian Forest Service's own budget, transfers from federal forest concessions, and other sources. During its 15 years of operation, the fund has supported projects in the Caatinga, Amazon, Atlantic Forest, and Cerrado biomes, as well as actions to establish the forest bioeconomy agenda, totaling investments of over R$ 50 million.

As provided for in the Multi-Year Regionalized Application Plan (PPAR) 2024-2027, in the coming years FNDF resources will be prioritized for forest management, native vegetation recovery/restoration, environmental services, and value chain development in the Amazon, Caatinga, and Cerrado biomes.

Forest financing and rural credit lines

To meet the great demand for information on how to finance the various forestry activities, the Brazilian Forest Service has prepared a Forest Financing Guide, which provides the main information on credit lines and programs, their beneficiaries, value limits, interest rates, repayment and grace periods, stipulated guarantees and financial agents that operate them. These activities include reforestation of Legal Reserves and Permanent Preservation Areas; planting of native species; implementation of agroforestry and silvopastoral systems; and planting of industrial forests aimed primarily at supplying demand for charcoal, energy, and cellulose.

The two main lines of credit under the Harvest Plan for rural credit for forestry-based economic purposes are Pronaf–Florestas (National Program for Strengthening Family Farming–Forests), aimed at small family farmers, and Renovagro Florestas, formerly known as Plano ABC+ Florestas, aimed at all categories of rural producers, companies, and cooperatives.

Between 2014 and 2024, Pronaf–Florestas disbursed approximately R$ 440.7 million, with emphasis on the 2021/2022 harvest, which recorded the highest volume accessed in the period, totaling approximately R$ 96.6 million.

Source: Rural Credit and Proagro Operations System/Central Bank of Brazil (Sicor/BCB, 2024).

In terms of financed products, 92.2% of the funds accessed during the period were allocated to six products/activities, in descending order: acai, cocoa, black pepper, afforestation and reforestation, coffee, and machinery and implements.

Source: Rural Credit and Proagro Operations System/Central Bank of Brazil (Sicor/BCB, 2024).

¹FNE: Northeast Constitutional Financing Fund; FNO: Northern Constitutional Financing Fund.

In relation to Renovagro Florestas, there was a disbursement of approximately R$ 1.0 billion, more than double that of Pronaf–Florestas in the same period, with the 2022/2023 harvest standing out, with approximately R$ 184.9 million.

Source: Rural Credit and Proagro Operations System/Central Bank of Brazil (Sicor/BCB, 2024).

In terms of financed products, five products/activities accounted for 79.8% of total funds disbursed during the period, in descending order: eucalyptus, afforestation and reforestation, pine, timber, and rubber trees.

Source: Rural Credit and Proagro Operations System/Central Bank of Brazil (Sicor/BCB, 2024).

Forest concessions

The Forest Concession is one of the modalities of public forest management provided for in Law No. 11.284, of March 2, 2006, which allows the government to grant a legal entity, through a bidding process, the right to manage, in a sustainable manner and for payment, public domain forests to obtain products and services. The concession also grants the right to commercialize carbon credits and timber and non-timber forest products resulting from the forestry of native species, arising from the recovery of degraded areas located in these forests.

The concession of public forests can only be carried out in areas not intended for community use, indigenous populations, settlement projects or military use. The Full Protection Conservation Units, Extractive Reserves and Sustainable Development Reserves may also not be granted.

The granted forest remains standing, as the contracts signed only allow the forest resource to be obtained through reduced impact forest management techniques. In this way, the area is used in a rotation system, which allows the continuous and sustainable production of wood. Only four to six trees are removed per hectare, and the same area will be harvested again every 30 years, allowing the remaining trees to grow.

The first federal forest concession contract was signed in 2008, in the Jamari National Forest. By December 2023, there were 22 concession contracts in operation at the federal level, distributed across eight National Forest Areas (Jamari/RO, Jacundá/RO, Altamira/PA, Crepori/PA, Saracá-Taquera/PA, Caxiuanã/PA, Amapá/AP, and Humaitá/AM), totaling more than 1.3 million hectares of public forests under sustainable production regimes and representing 0.4% of the forest area in the Amazon.

Multiannual Forest Grant Plan

The Multiannual Forest Grant Plan (Paof), established by Federal Law no. 11.284/2006 and regulated by Decree no. 12.046/2024, is a transparency tool that allows society to know in advance which Federal Public Forests will be available for concession in the year in question. This document also allows potential interested parties to obtain information about the forests that may be tendered, facilitating the planning for participation in public bidding processes. The Brazilian Forest Service is the body responsible for preparing this document, while the approval and publication are in charge of Mapa.

The latest Paof published, from 2023, shows a total area eligible for concession of 4.7 million hectares, of which just over 4 million are areas of effective forest management.

Sustainable Management of Natural Forests

WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT?

Defined by Law 11.284/2006, Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) is the management of the forest to obtain economic, social and environmental benefits, respecting the mechanisms to sustain the ecosystem under management and considering the use of multiple products and by-products, as well as other goods and services of a forest nature. Forest management is the most suitable activity to make sustainable use of Brazilian forests.

The Native Vegetation Protection Law (Law no. 12.651/2012) establishes that the exploitation of native forests and successor formations, in the public or private domain, will depend on licensing by the competent body in the National Environmental System (Sisnama), and that it includes techniques of conduction, exploration, forest replacement and management compatible with the various ecosystems that the tree cover forms.

The exploitation of forests and successor formations under the MFS regime, both in the public and private domain, will depend on prior approval of the Sustainable Forest Management Plan (PMFS), which is the basic technical document that contains the guidelines and procedures for the MFS. The PMFS holder will submit to the competent environmental agency the Annual Operational Plan (POA), with the specification of the activities to be carried out in the twelve-month period and the maximum volume proposed for exploration in this period (Decree no. 5.975/2006).

Forest Management in the Amazon

The Brazilian Amazon is an exuberant natural environment, being an ecosystem of paramount importance to maintain the balance of nature at a global level, where it has the greatest socio-biodiversity on the planet. In the last three decades of forest management in the tropics, Brazil has grown from a technological and scientific research point of view, instituting the most advanced legislation in the world, especially aimed at application in the Amazon biome.

The MFS in native forests in the Amazon is characterized by comprising a polycyclic system, with the initial cutting cycle depending on the Sustainable Forest Management Plan adopted. For the Full PMFS (category that provides for the use of machines for log dragging), the initial cutting cycle provides for a minimum of 25 years and a maximum of 35 years, with a maximum exploration intensity of 30 m³/ha. For Low Intensity PMFS (category that does not use machines for log dragging), the initial cutting cycle provides for at least 10 years, with a maximum intensity of 10 m³/ha. For both plans, there must be the selection of trees based on technical and ecological criteria to promote the regeneration of managed forest species (MMA Normative Instruction No. 05 of 12/11/2006).

Forest management in the Amazon is based on Reduced Impact Exploration (EIR) techniques, which, in practice, allows the felling of only 4 to 6 trees per hectare in dryland areas, while in floodplain areas it is limited to 3 trees per hectare, aiming at soil protection and the quality of the remaining forest. In forest management with EIR, the Minimum Cutting Diameter (DMC) of 50 cm is also established for all species that do not yet have a specific DMC.

Forest Management in the Caatinga

Forest management in the Caatinga is a viable alternative to meet the high demand for forest products in the Northeast region. In the Caatinga, forest management has been practiced for more than 30 years and has been expanding over time. In 2018, the area of the management plans was more than 500 thousand hectares, distributed in the states of Bahia, Ceará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí and Rio Grande do Norte. These areas can still be expanded, as there are about 8 million hectares of native vegetation in the biome with potential for forest management.

Research carried out by the Caatinga Forest Management Network indicates that the simple coppice system, in annual plots, with a rotation of at least 15 years, is suitable for the characteristics of the Caatinga vegetation. Management allows for the production of firewood, timber for construction, fence posts, non-timber products, honey, among others. In addition, it can be reconciled with traditional livestock farming in an integrated manner with the production systems adopted in Brazil's semi-arid region, generating income for farmers and maintaining the forest resources of the biome.

Stimulating the bioeconomy

WHAT IS BIOECONOMY?

As regulated by Decree No. 12.044/2024, the bioeconomy is a model of productive and economic development based on values of justice, ethics, and inclusion, capable of generating products, processes, and services efficiently, based on sustainable use, regeneration, and conservation of biodiversity. This model is guided by scientific and traditional knowledge, its innovations and technologies, with a view to adding value, generating work and income, sustainability and climate balance.

At the SFB, bioeconomy promotion activities aim to strengthen the value chains of forest products and services, especially those managed by traditional peoples and communities and family farmers, focusing on the multiple use of forests and the conservation and recovery of these areas. These activities include the preparation of documents and the holding of technical events on community and family forest management, aiming to subsidize government policies and programs.

In 2024, the National Bioeconomy Strategy was launched, regulated by Decree No. 12,044 of June 5, with the objective of coordinating public policies for the sustainable development of the bioeconomy, in partnership with civil society and the private sector. The Strategy includes guidelines such as encouraging the sustainable use of natural resources, promoting bioindustrialization, valuing traditional knowledge and respecting the rights of indigenous communities. Its implementation will be done through the National Bioeconomy Development Plan, which will establish goals and actions aligned with environmental and industrial development policies. An information system will be set up to support the implementation of bioeconomy policies.

Community and Family Forest Management (MFCF)

Community and Family Forest Management (CFFM) is one of the strategies aimed at the use of resources by communities, stimulating the development of forest product management by rural populations, through inexpensive destination, to the point of promoting forestry activity due to food sovereignty and income generation for families. 

With the establishment of the Public Forest Management Law for Sustainable Production (Law no. 11.284/2006), strategies were institutionalized to promote sustainable forest management in protected areas in the Amazon. In 2024, it is proposed to expand the concept of MFCF to: "the implementation of multiple-use forest management activities, under the management of traditional peoples and communities and family farmers to obtain goods (timber and non-timber products), environmental services, with a view to improving the social, economic, and environmental conditions of communities, strengthening governance in the territories, and respecting the mechanisms that sustain the ecosystem and the ancestral cultures of the communities involved."

Environmental Regulation

Brazilian forestry legislation encompasses a series of laws, decrees, resolutions, normative instructions and ordinances, in addition to forest policies and national plans. Here we highlight the Native Vegetation Protection Law, Law no. 12.651/2012, popularly known as the “New Forest Code”.

Law No. 12.651, of May 25, 2012, provides for the protection of native vegetation and repeals the Forest Code (Law No. 4.771/1965), and the rules that amended it, establishing general rules on the protection of vegetation, Permanent Preservation Areas and Legal Reserve Areas, forest exploitation, supply of forest raw material, control of the origin of forest products, and control and prevention of forest fires. The law provides for economic and financial instruments to achieve its objectives. Some highlights among the principles and measures of this law are:

Creation of policies for the preservation and restoration of native vegetation and its ecological and social functions;

Compatibility and harmonization between the productive use of land and the preservation of water, soil and vegetation in the country;

Delimitation and protection regime of Permanent Preservation Areas and Legal Reserves;

Creation of the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR);

Suppression of native vegetation for alternative land use dependent on the Rural Environmental Registry;

Exploitation of native forests and successor formations dependent on a Sustainable Forest Management Plan (PMFS);

Need for a Sustainable Supply Plan;

Control of the origin of forest products or by-products;

Establishment of the National Policy for the Management and Control of Burns, Prevention and Fighting of Forest Fires;

Program to support the payment or incentive for environmental services, environmental compensation and commercialization, innovation, recovery, conservation and sustainable use of forests;

Institution of the Environmental Reserve Quota (CRA);

Embargo of work or activity causing deforestation;

Intervention and suppression of vegetation in Areas of Permanent Preservation of Legal Reserves in small properties or family rural possessions;

Environmental Regulation Program (PRA);

Conducting the National Forest Inventory (IFN);

Institution of environmental easement of the property or part of it.

The National Plan for the Environmental Regulation of Rural Properties (Regulariza Agro) is a national planning instrument, which aims to strengthen an integrated agenda with the objective of giving broad effectiveness to the instruments of environmental regularization of rural properties, especially those provided for in the new Forest Code. The goals for the first cycle of implementation of Regulariza Agro, covering the period from 2022 to 2027, aim to speed up the analysis of information registered in the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) and complete the stages of environmental regularization, in compliance with the Forest Code. This seeks to give scale to the environmental compliance of rural properties and the establishment of the necessary environmental adequacy measures.

In the second half of 2024, the SFB launched the Environmental Regulation Panel with the aim of providing society with data and information on the environmental regularization of rural properties registered in the CAR.