Protected Areas

use and economic exploitation of naturalresources within protected area sites.The Ministry for the Environmentacknowledges the importance of socialparticipation in elaborating the policies ofthe National Forest Program (ProgramaNacional de Florestas – PNF), ensuredby the National Forest Commission(Comissão Nacional de Florestas– CONAFLOR). This commission workswithin the scope of the MMA and itsobjectives are to provide guidelines for theimplementation of PNF measures and toallow for the articulation and participationof several groups interested in thedevelopment of public policies within theBrazilian forestry sector. The CONAFLORis comprised by 39 members who arefairly distributed among government (20members) and the organized civil society,which has 19 representatives.Another space for society’s participationis the National Social-EnvironmentalForum of the Sector for Planted Forests.This forum is of a consultative natureand strives to provide a space fordebates, propositions, assessments anddissemination of information, projectsand actions pertaining to the productive,educational and environmental sectors.It is comprised by teaching, researchand continued education institutions,businesses, civil society organizations andpublic organizations from different statesand that are related to the planted forestssector.Within its attributions, the DFLORdevelops several actions varying from theformulation and regulation of the forestrysector and the development of measuresfor the recovery of degraded areas toreforestation, forest certification and thedevelopment of national plants for thesilviculture of non-forest products.Restoration of Degraded AreasOf a total of 2,494.8 million km 2 ofdeforested areas, approximately 30%is considered to be degraded andpassive of recovery activities. To containthe advancing process, the Braziliangovernment established the protectionof soil use and water resources and theconservation of biological resources asfundamental aspects of technical actionsand policies. Therefore, measures thatfoster reforestation and maintenance ofremaining forests are essential elementsin consolidating these policies. Inexecuting such policies, the following isexpected:• Recovery and protection of permanentpreservation areas that are contiguous tospringwaters, areas that share boundarieswith water bodies and of water sources;• Positive impacts on the quality andquantity of water;• Increase to the process for forest andenvironmental adaptation of rural andurban properties.In fulfilling governmental determinationin which the São Francisco HydrographicBasin is a priority when it comes torevitalization, the DFLOR has beenworking with the perspective ofreverting the degradation of the SãoFrancisco River. For this, it elaboratedand is carrying out an integrated forestdevelopment plan, which calls for themobilization, awareness and participationof local communities, business sectorsand stakeholders.Therefore, a diagnostic was madeof the forestry problems of the SãoFrancisco basin and culminated with thedevelopment of a plan for strategic action.As part of the strategy to implement theplan, capacity building courses on forest16