Provisional measure extends deadline for joining the Environmental Regularization Program

Owners/possessors of rural properties have more time to join the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA): 180 days after being called by the competent state or district body. The original text established a limit of one year from the implementation of the regularization program. The deadline was extended through Provisional Measure No. 1.150, published on December 26, 2022.

The PRA comprises a set of actions and initiatives that must be developed by owners/possessors of rural properties to regularize, recover and compensate degraded areas, such as Legal Reserves, Permanent Preservation Areas and Restricted Use Areas. It was established by Law No. 12.651, of May 25, 2012, and is better known as the Forest Code. This is the fifth time that the time for joining the PRA has changed.

Joining the PRA depends on the property being registered in the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR). All owners and possessors of rural properties registered in the CAR until December 31, 2020 can request it. As the federative units would not be able to complete the analyzes of the registrations within the deadline set by law, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Map ) and the Ministry of the Environment requested the change, to prevent owners or possessors from being penalized for not being able to join the Registry and becoming ineligible for the benefits of Law No. 12.651.

“CAR is a nationwide registry and is managed by the Brazilian Forest Service. This registry is a database that provides information to public bodies about what exists on rural properties in terms of permanent preservation areas, legal reserves and areas of restricted use and that part dedicated to agricultural production. The need for the rural owner to carry out the CAR is that, in addition to being a legal requirement imposed by the Forest Code, it is required in many other situations, such as obtaining rural credit, environmental licensing and requirements at property registry offices”, he explains. Gilmar Ogawa, special advisor to the Presidency of the Federation of Agriculture and Livestock of the State of São Paulo (FAESP).

Benefits of PRA

The advisor highlights the benefits for the owner or possessor of joining the Environmental Regularization Program:

The. You may establish less than 20% of Legal Reserve, if eligible to do so. You will enjoy the benefits of articles 67 and 68 of the Forest Code.

Article 67 – in properties with up to four fiscal modules, the legal reserve in which there was occupation with consolidated rural activity before July 22, 2008, there is no need to recover or offset the legal reserve. This will be formed by the remaining native vegetation existing on this date.

Art. 68 – owners and possessors of rural properties who carried out suppression of native vegetation respecting the legal reserve percentages provided for by the legislation in force at the time the suppression occurred are exempt from promoting restoration, compensation or regeneration to the percentages required in this law.

B. It may maintain consolidated rural use in part of the Permanent Preservation Areas (APP);

w. Fines imposed for infractions committed before 22/07/2008 may be suspended and, once the obligations established in the TC-PRA are fulfilled, said fines are considered to be converted into services for the preservation, improvement and recovery of the quality of the environment, as provided for. article 59 of the Forest Code;

d. Possibility of reviewing commitments to adapt them to the Forest Code and its regulations;

It is. Deadline for recovering liabilities in permanent preservation and legal reserve areas of up to 20 years;

f. Possibility of requiring the restoration of permanent preservation areas of the property, as long as they do not exceed 10% of the total area of ​​the property with up to 2 fiscal modules and 20% for rural properties with an area greater than 2 and up to 4 fiscal modules;

g. Access to agricultural credit and production and marketing incentive programs, considering that most financial institutions are requiring the PRA and

H. It allows agroforestry, ecotourism and rural tourism activities to continue to be carried out, as long as a strip close to the watercourse is preserved.

Furthermore, the FAESP technical staff warns that there are many disadvantages for the owner or possessor in not adhering to the PRA:
The. Must propose legal reserve in an area corresponding to 20% of the property for the Legal Reserve institution;

B. All APPs on the property must be recomposed, that is, with a shorter implementation period;

w. The entire APP band will need to be recomposed;

d. The restoration of the APP must begin by the end of the period for adhesion to the PRA and

It is. There will be no suspension of fines, such as those resulting from vegetation suppression in APPs, Legal Reserves and Restricted Use Areas imposed for infractions committed before July 22, 2008.