The National Council for the Environment (“CONAMA”) published Resolution No. 508/2025, which amended Article 5 of CONAMA Resolution No. 428/2010[1] and introduced significant changes to the steps that must be taken to ensure that management bodies are notified in environmental licensing proceedings for projects that may affect Conservation Units or their buffer zones and that are not subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Impact Report (“EIA/RIMA”).
The changes created by CONAMA Resolution No. 508/2025 make the consultation procedure more transparent by defining deadlines, form and content of the communication, as well as guidelines for the technical opinion of the Conservation Units management body. Among the main changes, the following deserve highlighting:
| Timing and Deadline for Notification | • Notification to the Conservation Unit management body must occur prior to the issuance of the environmental license, within 15 days of receiving the environmental studies submitted by the entrepreneur. • The management body has up to 30 days to present its technical contributions. This period may be extended for another 30 days with justification, except for low-impact projects. |
| Criteria for Buffer Zone | • Previously, the 2,000-meter distance rule for Conservation Units without Buffer Zones had a time limit linked to 2015. Now, notification is mandatory for any project within 2,000 meters of a Conservation Unit that does not have a demarcated Buffer Zone, regardless of when the Conservation Unit was created. • The proximity notification procedure (2,000m limit) does not apply to Consolidated Urban Areas, Environmental Protection Areas (“APAs”), and Private Natural Heritage Reserves (“RPPNs”). |
| Compliance with Conservation Unit Restrictions in Licensing | • In the preparation of environmental studies and documents that support environmental licensing, it is mandatory to observe the restrictions defined in the act of creating the Conservation Unit and, when it exists, the rules of its Management Plan. |
| Technical Contributions and Deadlines | • The pronouncements of the Conservation Units management body must be directly correlated to the environmental impacts affecting the protected area. |
| Non-Binding Consultation | • The comments and suggestions presented by the UC management body are merely advisory, and it is up to the environmental licensing body to decide on their relevance and possible integration into the license conditions. • The omission or untimely comment by the Conservation Unit management body does not constitute an obstacle to the continuation of the environmental licensing proceeding. • These provisions are in line with Article 42, I of the new General Environmental Licensing Law (Federal Law No. 15.190/2025).[2]. |
| Urban infrastructure depends on prior approval | • The implementation of water supply, sewage, electricity, and other urban infrastructure components within Conservation Units is subject to prior approval from the respective management body, as established in Article 46 of Federal Law No. 9,985/2000 (which establishes the National System of Conservation Units – “SNUC”). |
It is worth noting that, in cases where the project has a potentially significant impact (and therefore depends on the presentation of an EIA/RIMA), the legal obligation to obtain prior authorization (approval) from the managing body of the protected area remains , as established by SNUC.[3].
[1] Dispõe, no âmbito do licenciamento ambiental, sobre a autorização do órgão responsável pela administração da Unidade de Conservação (UC), de que trata o art. 36, § 3º, da Lei nº 9.985, de 18 de julho de 2000 , bem como sobre a ciência do órgão responsável pela administração da UC no caso de licenciamento ambiental de empreendimentos não sujeitos a EIA-RIMA e dá outras providências.
[2] Art. 42. A participação das autoridades envolvidas definidas no inciso III do caput do art. 3º desta Lei nos processos de licenciamento ambiental observará as seguintes premissas:
I – não vincula a decisão da autoridade licenciadora;
Art. 3º Para os efeitos desta Lei, entende-se por:
(…)
III – autoridade envolvida: órgão ou entidade que, nos casos previstos na legislação, pode manifestar-se no licenciamento ambiental acerca dos impactos da atividade ou do empreendimento sobre as terras indígenas ou quilombolas, sobre o patrimônio cultural acautelado ou sobre as unidades de conservação da natureza;
[3] Art. 36, § 3º da Lei do SNUC: Nos casos de licenciamento ambiental de empreendimentos de significativo impacto ambiental, assim considerado pelo órgão ambiental competente, com fundamento em estudo de impacto ambiental e respectivo relatório – EIA/RIMA, o empreendedor é obrigado a apoiar a implantação e manutenção de unidade de conservação do Grupo de Proteção Integral, de acordo com o disposto neste artigo e no regulamento desta Lei
