Pará regulates forest restoration and creates rules for environmental credits
Decree establishes new state policy focused on sustainability, legal certainty and appreciation of family farming.
By Vicente Crispino.
A moment awaited for years by environmentalists, producers and public managers, the Government of Pará officially announced this Monday (17) a new milestone for the state’s forestry policy. With the publication of State Decree No. 4,740/2025 , more modern and clear rules for mandatory forest replacement and for the granting of environmental credits will come into effect , strengthening the transition to a model of sustainable use of natural resources.
The regulation complies with the Brazilian Forest Code and State Law No. 9,048/2020, providing clear technical, administrative and operational criteria for those who need to offset the use of forest resources – be they companies, rural producers or cooperatives. The idea is to facilitate compliance with legal obligations while encouraging environmental recovery with native species and sustainable agroforestry systems .
Four paths to compensation
The decree defines four forms of replacement:
- Direct planting carried out by the person responsible for the compensation;
- Participation in projects of accredited entities;
- Purchase of replacement credits from third parties;
- Payment to the State Forest Development Fund , which allocates resources to environmental recovery projects.
Encouraging inclusion and environmental regularization
One of the most notable advances in the new regulation is the differentiated treatment for small producers. Family farmers with areas of up to 20 hectares will have technical exemptions and priority in the granting of credits, with special attention given to rural women and beneficiaries of state programs such as “Regulariza Pará”.
Furthermore, environmental credits are now linked to the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA) , integrating recovery actions with economic benefits, such as access to financing lines and the productive recategorization of rural areas.
Repercussion and strategic importance
The Secretariat for the Environment and Sustainability (Semas) emphasizes that the regulation should boost the state’s environmental credit market and strengthen Pará’s position in the environmental diplomacy scenario, especially with the approach of COP30 , which will be hosted in Belém in 2025.
“The decree represents an important step forward by offering legal certainty, while at the same time expanding productive inclusion and promoting forest restoration,” stated Mauro O’de Almeida, head of Semas.
With this measure, Pará joins other states that have already regulated their forest compensation markets, such as Mato Grosso do Sul and Amazonas, and positions itself as a reference in the construction of sustainable solutions that reconcile conservation and development.
Source: Pará Agency.
