Forest concessions in the brazilian Amazon

Abstract

The forest management is a good alternative over predatory exploitation of the forestry resources. To increase the forest management acceptance, avoid the illegal deforestation and the disordered occupation of public forests, the Government has implemented the forest concession policy. The work was performed by a literature review on the forest management, highlighting the forest concessions in Brazil. Currently, Brazil has 6 (six) forest areas under concession, 4 (four) of them in Pará state, and 2 (two) in Rondônia state. So far, the forest concessions did not attend the initial expectations. As good aspects, it is observed the reduction of vulnerability in forests under concessions and the creation of direct jobs, benefiting the local population. The destination of areas for concession was below the governmental expectations. However, despite the slow implementation, it is expected a quick expansion due the lessons learned with the firsts contracts. Therefore, it is believed that the Brazilian forest concession process is maturing gradually, although in a slow way. The monitoring and supervision activities are considered fragile elements of the forest concession, proving necessary actions to ensure the sustainability of forests. The reduction of the illegal exploitation remains a challenge for the government. If the market is supplied with wood from illegal exploitation, the effort to implement forest concessions policies might have been in vain. Finally, forest concessions are recent in Brazil, but they are evolving each year, both in number of the designated areas and in wood productivity. In this context, researchesare necessary for a greater knowledge of the results presented by the management.