Atlantic Forest Law
Federal legislation on the use, protection, and regeneration of the Atlantic Forest biome's vegetation.
It is the only federal law focused on a specific biome. It was published in 2006 after nearly 15 years in the National Congress. The Atlantic Forest Law is an important instrument for the maintenance and restoration of a large natural formation of which only 12% of the vegetation that was found 500 years ago remains. The Atlantic Forest is also recognized as a National Heritage by the Federal Constitution of 1988. It is home to seven out of ten Brazilians and to economies that move 70% of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The law also supports the protection of typical environments associated with the Atlantic Forest, such as araucaria forests and natural grasslands, as well as providing for greater protection of native vegetation as provided for in federal forestry legislation. A significant boost to law enforcement came with Operation Mata Atlântica em Pé. Coordinated by the State Public Attorneys of the 17 states where the biome is present and with a partnership with public and civil entities, it has been fighting criminal deforestation and other environmental offenses since 2017. In 2020, it applied R$ 32.5 million in fines for environmental crimes, such as illegal deforestation of 6,306 hectares.