Priority areas for Legal Reserve offsetting: research for the development of a decision making tool to enhance transparency in the implementation process of the environmental adjustment program (Programa de Regularização Ambiental - PRA) in São Paulo

Abstract

The implementation of the "New Forest Code" law, due to its complexity and its several sector disputes involved, needs to be supported by technical analysis, strongly based on scientific research. Scientific knowledge organized specifically for supporting the implementation of this law can assist the decision makers in the public consultation and in the necessary dialogues between various stakeholders (environmentalists, farmers, and legislators), strengthening the accuracy of technical discussions and providing a more credible material. The major focus of dispute in the implementation of the "New Forest Code" in the State of São Paulo (Brazil) is the offsetting of Legal Reserves (LR), which involves the mapping of farmland, the restoration potential in cultivate areas with low agricultural suitability, the offsetting possibility on currently cultivated, and the possibility of buying additional properties covered with natural vegetation. This document presents the proposal for: 1) the preparation of priority areas for offsetting of LR maps and agricultural land use admission in LR (according to Art. 68 of Federal Law # 12.651/2012), 2) the development of an automatic tool prototype for query georeferenced information, that assists public managers and allow access and query information by other stakeholders (landowners, NGOs, etc.), in order to guarantee the transparency on implementation of the Environmental Adjustment Program (PRA) in São Paulo State. This research comes from a demand of governmental sectors both to identify and to prioritize areas for LR compensation because of federal and state legislation and should contribute to the state role in the development and application of methodology for ensuring the compliance of the New Forest Code. (AU)