Chamber Commission expands sustainable use of public forests

The Chamber of Deputies' Environment and Sustainable Development Committee approved a project to facilitate the concession of public forests.

The Bill (PL) 5518/20 is authored by Rodrigo Agostinho (PSB-SP), but what was approved was a substitute presented by the rapporteur, Deputy Colonel Chrisóstomo (PSL-RO), which changes several points of the Law of Public Forest Management, 2006.

“About 20 million hectares of public forests are suitable for sustainable forestry. However, since the approval of the law [2006], only 1 million hectares have been subject to forest concession contracts”, said Chrisóstomo.

The PL enables the concession of forests to legal entities, for conservation and restoration, in addition to sustainable exploitation. The concessionaire may, for example, have access to the forest's genetic heritage for purposes of research and development, bioprospecting or building collections, a possibility prohibited by current legislation. You will also be able to explore the fauna and trade carbon credits from the granted area.

To speed up concessions, the proposal allows for a change in the bidding order: the qualification and judgment phases are reversed, so that the qualification documents can be analyzed after the classification phase.

The project is being processed conclusively, that is, it does not need to go to plenary. The text will now be analyzed by the Finance and Taxation committees; and Constitution and Justice and Citizenship (CCJ).

*With information from the Chamber Agency

Text translated using artificial intelligence.