OWNERSHIP OF FOREST RESOURCES
Forest resources in Brazil are located both in areas of public domain and in areas of private domain. In both cases, forests can be destined for protection, conservation and sustainable use. In cases permitted by law, they can also be converted to other types of land use, such as agriculture, livestock, urban areas, industrial zones, mining, among others.
For the definition of the forest area in areas of public domain, the territories that make up the National Register of Public Forests (CNFP) were used as a reference. Of the total of 469,902,936 hectares of natural forest, disregarding secondary vegetation, 290,654,157 hectares are in public area (62%) and 179,248,779 hectares in private area (38%).
| Biome | Area (ha) |
|---|---|
| Amazon | 266,441,945 |
| Caatinga | 4,136,246 |
| Cerrado | 13,957,201 |
| Atlantic Forest | 5,319,549 |
| Pantanal | 63.174 |
| Pampa | 736.042 |
| Brazil | 290,654,157 |
Source: forest database of the Brazilian Forest Service (SFB, 2024a) and National Registry of Public Forests (SFB, 2024b).
1 The estimate of forest area in a private domain area is calculated by the difference between the total natural forest and the total natural forest in a public domain area, without accounting for secondary vegetation.
1Forests presented here correspond only to natural forests disregarding secondary vegetation.
Public forests
WHAT ARE PUBLIC FORESTS?
Public forests are natural or planted forests located on properties under the domain of the Federal Government, the States, the Municipalities, the Federal District or indirect administration entities, as defined by Law no. 11.284/2006, known as the Public Forest Management Law, which establishes the National Registry of Public Forests (CNFP). Public forest resources can be allocated as Nature Conservation Units, Indigenous Lands, Public Rural Settlements, Military Areas and other forms of disposal provided for by law, covering the functions of protection, conservation and sustainable use of these resources.
The public forests included in the CNFP, in the 2022 update, comprise an area of approximately 327 million hectares, equivalent to 38.4% of the national territory (SFB, 2022b). Brazilian public forests are distributed in the different biomes and regions of the country. However, most of it (87.0%) is in the Amazon biome. Regarding the type of forest use, they are divided into the following categories: Indigenous Lands (35.7%), Federal Nature Conservation Units (20.5%), State Nature Conservation Units (17.0%), Municipal Nature Conservation Units (0.9%), Settlements (5.0%), Undesignated Plots (19.4%), Military Areas (1.0%) and other areas (0.6%).
| Biome | Area (ha) | Area relative to the total area of public forests (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon | 284,797,173 | 87.0 |
| Caatinga | 7,083,273 | 2.2 |
| Cerrado | 24,067,793 | 7.4 |
| Atlantic Forest | 9,936,763 | 3.0 |
| Pampa | 406.149 | 0.1 |
| Pantanal | 987.651 | 0.3 |
| Total | 327,278,802 | 100 |
Source: National Registry of Public Forests (SFB, 2024b).
According to Brazilian Forest Service Resolution No. 2 of 2007 on the CNFP, for the purposes of registration by the SFB, the public forest polygon may contain areas that are not classified as forest, with the main objective of recovering and maintaining these areas with forest cover (based on the situation in 2006). This information is important to understand that the “forest area” in the public domain, according to the concept adopted by the SFB and used in this publication, may be different from the “public forest area” in the CNFP.
Another note of attention is that, in the production process of the CNFP, there are overlaps between some polygons, for example, between Nature Conservation Units (CUs) or between CUs and Indigenous Lands. For the categorization of forests (forest typologies defined by the SFB) present in Conservation Units and Indigenous Lands presented below, this overlap is disregarded, treating each type of destination in isolation.
Conservation Units
WHAT ARE NATURE CONSERVATION UNITS?
Nature Conservation Units (CUs) are established by Law no. 9.985/2000, which establishes the National System of Nature Conservation Units (SNUC) and defines CUs as “territorial space and its environmental resources, including jurisdictional waters, with relevant natural characteristics, legally instituted by the Government, with conservation objectives and defined limits, under a special administration regime, to which protection guarantees apply”. Thus, they are areas that seek to preserve the populations, habitats and ecosystems representative of the national territory, ensuring the sustainable use of natural resources.
The SNUC provides for the existence of 12 categories of CUs at the federal, state or municipal levels. The CU categories are divided into two groups: (1) those of Integral Protection, with the objective of preserving nature, allowing only indirect use of its natural resources, except in cases provided for by law; and (2) those of Sustainable Use, with the objective of reconciling nature conservation with the sustainable use of part of its natural resources.
Source: National System of Nature Conservation Units (SNUC, 2024).
Figure 5. Categories of Nature Conservation Units (CUs) according to class of use.
| CU Category | Total area (ha)¹ | Area with forest (ha)² | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conservation Units | 161,618,068 | 127,509,085 (79%) | |
| Integral Protection | 54,398,719 | 46,892,500 (86%) | |
| Sustainable Use | 107,219,349 | 80,616,585 (75%) |
Source: forest database of the Brazilian Forest Service (SFB, 2024a) and database of the National Registry of Conservation Units (MMA, 2024b).
1 Area calculated based on Open Data on Conservation Units, data from CNUC for the first half of 2024, considering CUs created up to 2022, continental area, without discounting overlaps.
2 Area calculated based on the SFB forest database, considering the boundaries of conservation units created by 2022 within continental biomes, without discounting overlaps.
Learn more by accessing the Brazilian Conservation Units Panel.
1Forests presented here correspond only to natural forests disregarding secondary vegetation.
Indigenous Lands
WHAT ARE INDIGENOUS LANDS?
Indigenous Land (IL), according to Article 231, §1, of the Federal Constitution of 1988, is a demarcated and protected territory for the permanent possession and exclusive use of indigenous peoples. These lands are recognized as federal heritage and are designated for the preservation of their culture, traditions, natural resources, and forms of social organization, in addition to ensuring the physical and cultural reproduction of these communities, who have exclusive rights to enjoy the riches of the soil, rivers, and lakes found therein.
Of all Indigenous Lands in Brazil, 91% are covered by forest.
| Territory | Area (ha) |
|---|---|
| Indigenous Lands in Brazil | 117,341,826 |
| Forest on Indigenous Lands | 107,336,359 |
Source: forest database of the Brazilian Forest Service (SFB, 2024a) and database of Indigenous Lands (FUNAI, 2022).
1 The Indigenous Lands considered here are at different stages of the demarcation process (under study, delimited, declared, approved, regularized, or forwarded to the constitution of an Indigenous Reserve).
Learn more about the demarcation process and area of Indigenous Lands by accessing the Brazilian Indigenous Lands Panel
1Forests presented here correspond only to natural forests disregarding secondary vegetation.
Community forests
WHAT ARE COMMUNITY FORESTS?
Community forests are areas intended for sustainable management by local communities, such as traditional peoples and communities, family farmers and agrarian reform settlers. The objective is to promote the sustainable production of timber, non-timber resources, and environmental services, ensuring economic, social, and environmental benefits for these communities, with a view to conserving resources and the livelihoods of the populations.
The National Register of Public Forests considers Indigenous Lands (IL), Extractive Reserves (RESEX), Sustainable Development Reserves (RDS), and Environmentally Differentiated Settlements (Forest Settlement Project, FSP; Agroextractive Settlement Project, PAE; and Sustainable Development Project, PDS). Furthermore, forests in Quilombola territories, despite not being included in the CNFP because they are private areas, are also considered to be for community use. According to data from the 2022 CNFP, Brazil has about 160 million hectares of public forests under community management.
| Public Forests for community use | Area (ha) |
|---|---|
| Indigenous Lands (ILs) | 116,787,767 |
| Environmentally Differentiated Settlements ² | 16,256,552 |
| Extractive Reserve (RESEX) | 14,757,464 |
| Sustainable Development Reserve (RDS) | 11,178,815 |
| Total 3, 4 | 158,980,598 |
Source: National Registry of Public Forests (SFB, 2024b).
1 Considering the totality of public forests for community use, there are still some other categories, particularly within the scope of the states; ESPAR (SEMA/MT); FLOR PUB DEST (ITERPA/PA); OTHERS (INCRA); PAREST (ITERPA/PA); PEAEX (TERPA/PA); PEAS (ITERPA/PA). These total 750,920 ha.
2 Forest Settlement Project (PAF), Agroextractivist Settlement Program (PAE), Directed Settlement Project (PAD), PAR, Integrated Colonization Project (PIC), Federal Settlement (ASSENFED) and Sustainable Development Program (PDS).
3 The grouping of the categories listed in the table allows for overlaps between them. To avoid double counting, a total of 158,810,053 ha is observed.
4 The total area found was 159,560,972 ha.