CONTEXTUALIZATION

With the New Forestry Code (Act Nº. 12,651/2012), the Rural Environmental Registration (CAR) was instituted as the electronic public registration on a national scope, which is mandatory for all rural properties. The aim is to integrate environmental information on rural properties and bailments, putting together a database for control, monitoring, environmental and economic planning, as well as to combat deforestation.

The state of Ceará has developed efforts aimed at land-title regularization for the entire state, after having surveyed the land-title data for rural properties in the 109 municipalities covered by the project. Implementing the CAR, which is to receive support from the project, will rely on the database, which will make demarking land more reliable for registration. The aim is for CAR to become the instrument through which all documents that require authorization from an environmental agency are requested and approved.

THE PROJECT

The project is part of the state's CAR implementation strategy, as it aims to support the registration of 178,645 rural properties of up to four fiscal modules, the correction of registrations for 20,000 rural properties of up to four fiscal modules, and the improvement of infrastructure and communication related to the registry throughout the state.

It has been structured into three components:

1. support for CAR registration;
   
   
2. institutional standardization, mobilization and communication; and
   
   
3. infrastructure to implement the CAR.

Support for the first component will include hiring outsourced parties to carry out the registration. The second component consists of a publicity strategy on the importance of the CAR as well as mobilizing rural land owners and rural bailees. The third component entails acquiring equipment to foster improvements to and modernization of Semace infrastructure, as well as guaranteeing the security of stored CAR information.

INTERVENTION LOGIC

The project falls within the "Monitoring and Control" (2) component of the Amazon Fund's Logical Framework.  

Click on the following image to view its objectives tree, that is, how the project's outputs and linked to the expected outcomes and impact.

ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED

To implement the project, a technical cooperation agreement was signed between the State Environmental Superintendence (Semace) and the Institute for Agrarian Development of Ceará (Idace), aiming to carry out joint actions for the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) of properties up to four fiscal modules in the 182 municipalities of the state of Ceará covered by the project.

A total of 154,419 properties of up to four fiscal modules were registered in SICAR, corresponding to an area of 2,195,545.28 hectares. It is worth noting that adherence varies across municipalities, with percentages ranging from 12% to 100%. This variation results from factors such as resistance to declare environmental liabilities, restrictions on the legal reserve, the possibility of deadline extensions, and the option to carry out registrations through private agents. During the execution of the registration services by the contracted companies, Semace, through the Project Management Unit – CAR (UGP/CAR), adopts verification procedures and requests adjustments to ensure that the registration complies with legal requirements and to guarantee the quality of the product delivered by the company.

The action strategy adopted by the project includes 11 fixed bases located in municipalities that serve as regional hubs in the state's planning regions, as well as mobile units for the remaining municipalities. These operate in public buildings, workers’ union headquarters, and state and municipal government offices. At these service stations, trained professionals are available to carry out the CAR registration, supported by infrastructure including furniture and educational materials such as banners and brochures.

Complementary to the registration services, the project also includes services for the correction of registrations for family farmers with properties up to four fiscal modules that have pending issues in the National System of Rural Environmental Registry (SICAR), which is currently ongoing. To date, a total of 12,268. corrections have been carried out.

Regarding the infrastructure for CAR implementation, six vehicles were acquired and are being used for monitoring actions, inspection of the services provided by the contracted company, and support for mobilization and engagement with family farmers to provide guidance on CAR and the importance of the project.

Geoprocessing and environmental analysis services were carried out to produce mappings of land use and land cover, hydrology (with the delineation of permanent preservation areas), topography (including permanent preservation and restricted use areas), and administrative servitudes, in support of the implementation of the dynamic analysis of the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR). The activity included the methodological application in pilot areas of eight municipalities and the execution of four mapping stages, with the products validated by SEMACE and the Brazilian Forest Service.

Technological support equipment such as uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and GPS devices with integrated digital cameras were purchased, along with computer equipment such as desktops and laptops.

It is also worth noting the acquisition of dynamic analysis inputs, including the purchase of high-resolution images, approved by the Brazilian Forest Service (SFB) in accordance with technical requirements.

The communication strategy is based on direct mobilization within communities, local radio programs, lectures, distribution of educational materials, and the use of heat maps provided by the contracted company, which identify areas with higher densities of pending registrations and low adherence, allowing for targeted actions.

A total of 154,700 brochures were distributed to rural landowners with properties up to four fiscal modules and local agents, and one institutional alignment seminar and twelve regional mobilization seminars were held in eleven municipalities.

As part of the communication plan, a Budget Credit Decentralization Agreement (TDCO) was signed with the Governor’s Office for the contracting of services to develop communication materials to support the project’s implementation. All materials were developed and delivered to Semace (banners, badges, posters, brochures, and calendars).