Bioenergy in Brazil – from traditional to modern systems - Biomass as Energy Source: Resources, Systems and Applications - page 74

Increasing pressure to explore forests has also led to a discussion about the national forest
code dating from the 1960s. The code is considered quite progressive, but has often been illegally
challenged due to widespread practices of deforestation. The Congress approved a number of
revisions in 2011. The code needs also to be approved by the senate and President Dilma Rousseff.
Environmental groups in Brazil and abroad have strongly condemned the proposed changes in the
Brazilian forest code 7 claiming that, if approved, there is risk for significant reduction in forest
preservation.
Despite continued threats to natural forests, significant progress has been achieved in Brazil in
the past decades when it comes to the control of deforestation and establishment of reforestation
practices. The area of planted forests has increased successively in the country since the mid-
1960s when a new forest code was established by law, generous fiscal incentives were put in
place to promote reforestation, and the Brazilian Institute for Forest Development (IBDF) was
established to implement forest policies. FAO (2003) estimates that some 4 million hectares of
forests were planted in Brazil between 1967 and 1987. The incentives were removed in 1988 and
forest policies became the responsibility of the Brazilian Institute for Environment and Renewable
Resources (IBAMA), which is under the Ministry of Environment and the Legal Amazon. For
many years, the forest industry in Brazil has claimed that this shift in responsibility also marks the
point when forests started being treated as an environmental issue, disfavoring the development
of the forestry industry.
Truly, in the past two decades, forests have not received the same type of attention as agriculture
when it comes to economic policies. Nevertheless, decades of practice and forest expansion have
set the basis for a modern forest industry in the country, which is expanding rapidly at present.
Brazil has become well known for its fast-growing forests. The average yield of a Brazilian forest
is around 450 GJ/ha/y, while high yields of commercial forests in countries such as the US, Finland
or Sweden will not reach more than one fifth of that (IPCC, 2001). Best-performing eucalyptus
plantations in Brazil can reach up to 1000 GJ/ha/y, indicating the enormous potential still to
be explored through continued research in this area. Development of research in silviculture
has helped guarantee a competitive position for Brazil in the global context of the pulp and
paper industry. Forest productivity has practically doubled in Brazil since 1980, growth rates
now reaching an average of 44m 3 /ha/y in eucalyptus plantations using seven rotation years, and
38m 3 /ha/year in planted pine forests using 15 rotation years. However, a level of 70m 3 /ha/y is
achievable in eucalyptus plantations (BRACELPA, 2011).
There are approximately 6.5 million hectares of planted forests in Brazil today (0.7% of the
country's territory), two thirds using eucalyptus and one-third pine (ABRAF, 2011). The pulp and
paper industry in Brazil, one of the world's major producers, is totally based on planted forests.
According to the Brazilian pulp and paper association, BRACELPA, this sector alone had 2.2
million ha of planted forests throughout Brazil in 2009 (BRACELPA, 2011). In addition, the steel
producers have traditionally planted forests for the production of charcoal. All in all, the area of
planted forests is increasing in Brazil, having also more recently expanded towards the western
and northern parts of the country.
In short, markets for forest products including pulp and paper, sawn wood, fuel wood and
charcoal are well established and the comparative advantages of Brazil have made the country a
major player among forest-based industries. There are well-established companies in the country
that have mastered the know-how of reforestation. In fact, companies are largely involved in silvi-
culture research in Brazil. The potential is quite large for expansion of planted forests, particularly
eucalyptus. Nevertheless, many challenges lie ahead as the demand for forest products increases
and continues putting pressure on natural stands. Transforming policies for environmental pro-
tection into policies for sustainable and productive use of natural forests, while providing the
necessary incentives for reforestation remains a challenge in Brazil despite the progress made in
the past few decades.
7 http://www.sosflorestas.com.br/