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INDIVIDUALS                           CORPORATIONS
                    Land with an area equivalent of up to 3 MEI: the applicant
                    must only declare it does not own another rural property in
                   Brazil.  Therefore, foreigners cannot acquire several properties   INCRA’s authorization and a use plan are   ENVIRONMENTAL
                                                                  required regardless of  the estate’s size;
                     with areas below 3 MEI each in order to be exempted from
                                 INCRA’s authorization;
                                                                  For land measuring more than 100 MEI:
                   Land between 3 and 20 MEI: INCRA’s authorization is required,  besides INCRA’s authorization and a use plan,
                     but applicants are exempted from submitting a use plan;  an authorization from the Brazilian National                         POLICY AND
                                                                       Congress is also required.
                   Land measuring more than 20 MEI: INCRA’s authorization and
                                a use plan are required;
                   Land measuring more than 50 MEI: besides INCRA’s authoriza-
                   tion and a use plan, an authorization by the Brazilian National                                                                      REGULATION
                                Congress is also required.










                                                                                                                                                             The  Ministry  of  Environment  is  responsible  for
                                                                                                                                                             Brazil’s national environmental policy. It deals
                                                                                                                                                             with climate change and environmental quality,
                                                                                                                                                             biodiversity and forests, water resources, sustain-
                                                                                                                                                             able urban and rural development, and environ-
                                                                                                                                                             mental citizenship.
                                                                                                                                                                Other government bodies are also responsible
                                                                                                                                                             for the implementation of environmental policies,
                                                                                                                                                             such as the National Council on the Environment,
                                                                                                                                                             the National Council of the Amazon, the Nation-
                                                                                                                                                             al Council of Water Resources, the Chico Mendes
                                                                                                                                                             Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBIO),
                                                                                                                                                             Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renew-
                                                                                                                                                                                     15
                                                                                                                                                             able Natural Resources (IBAMA ), Board of Man-
                                                                                                                                                             agement of Public Forests.
                                                                                                                                                                Among these institutions, IBAMA is the Bra-
                                                                                                                                                             zilian government’s main tool for providing infor-
                                                                                                                                                             mation with regards to environmental welfare
                                                                                                                                                             and protection, and acts as the “environmental
                                                                                                                                                             police.” Despite its administrative and financial
                                                                                                                                                             autonomy, it is responsible for implementing new
                                                                                                                                                             policies and standards for environmental quali-
                                                                                                                                                             ty, evaluating environmental impact, examining
                                                                                                                                                             environmental  degradation  and  for distributing
                                                                                                                                                             environmental licenses. It also has the power to
                                                                                                                                                             impose administrative fines and, when more se-
                                                                                                                                                             rious environmental crimes are committed, it is
                                                                                                                                                             responsible for informing federal authorities for
                                                                                                                                                             further prosecution.


                                                                                                                                                             15  Website in Portuguese only: www.ibama.gov.br

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