{"id":9150,"date":"2026-07-01T19:15:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T19:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cosro.com\/?p=9150"},"modified":"2026-07-02T20:26:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T20:26:38","slug":"radar-ambiental-decreto-federal-no-13-018-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cosro.com\/en\/radar-ambiental-decreto-federal-no-13-018-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"ENVIRONMENTAL RADAR: FEDERAL DECREE NO. 13,018\/2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n

Advances and delays in the regulation of the National Policy on Payment for Environmental Services<\/h4>\n\n

More than five years after the establishment of the National Policy on Payment for Environmental Services (\"PNPSA\"), through Federal Law No. 14,119\/2021[1]<\/a>Federal Decree No. 13,018\/2026[2]<\/a>, was published, which regulates the PNPSA and the Federal Program for Payment for Environmental Services (\"PFPSA\"), and also provides for the Strategic Committee of the Federal Program for Payment for Environmental Services (\"CEPSA\") and the National Knowledge Network on Payment for Environmental Services (\"Rede-PSA\").<\/p>\n

The Decree is one more normative act that aims to promote and regulate the matter of payments for environmental services (\"PSA\"), an initiative that seeks to remunerate individuals and legal entities that adopt initiatives aimed at the maintenance, recovery, or improvement of ecosystems.<\/p>\n\n

As with the text of the PNPSA, the drafting of the new Decree underwent an extensive period of preparation and was only concluded after a public consultation conducted by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (\"MMA\") between the months of June and July 2025, which received more than 700 contributions[3]<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Despite the prolonged period and the contributions from civil society, the Decree failed to regulate two extremely relevant matters provided for in the PNPSA: the National Registry of Payment for Environmental Services (\"CNPSA\") and the tax incentives applicable to amounts received as PSA, in addition to other points that will also depend on legislative supplementation.<\/p>\n\n

On the other hand, although the Decree did not regulate the PNPSA in its entirety, it is considered an advance on relevant topics of the Policy, as we highlight below:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/pre>\n\n
Socio-environmental safeguards<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n
Defined in the Decree as \"the objective and verifiable requirements that indicate the compliance of PSA initiatives with the normative frameworks in force in the country on climate, environmental, and socioeconomic matters\"<\/em>, the socio-environmental safeguards must be observed in all PSA initiatives, projects, and programs, whether public or private, with the aim of \"preventing, mitigating, and remedying negative impacts, and ensuring the protection of human rights, ecosystems, and affected communities\".<\/em><\/p>\n\n
Among the socio-environmental safeguards, in addition to the more evident ones, such as the guarantee of transparency in the management of resources and the non-promotion of the clearing of native vegetation in breach of the Forest Code (Federal Law No. 12,651\/2012[4]<\/a>), the following also deserve attention: (i) compliance with Federal Law No. 14,785\/2023, Federal Law No. 15,070\/2024, and the other rules applicable to the use of pesticides and bio-inputs; (ii) compliance with the national rules and guidelines on the use of fire; and (iii) the adequacy of the conditions of safety, hygiene, and health of workers.<\/p>\n\n
The Decree also gives special attention to additional safeguards, provided for actions involving indigenous peoples, quilombola communities, traditional peoples and communities, and family farmers:<\/p>\n\n
    \n
  1. Guarantee of free, prior, and informed consent, under the terms of Convention 169 of the International Labour Organization (\"ILO\")[5]<\/a>;<\/li>\n\n
  2. Respect for autonomy, for community governance protocols, for the equitable sharing of benefits and for local forms of consultation and engagement meetings, for territorial, cultural, and social rights, and for traditional knowledge, including that associated with the use of the genetic heritage, provided for in Federal Law No. 13,123\/2015[6]<\/a> (\"Biodiversity Law\");<\/li>\n\n
  3. Valuing of the productive and management systems of socio-biodiversity;<\/li>\n\n
  4. Guarantee of the compatibility of the proposed actions with the territorial and environmental management plans or other existing collective agreements; and<\/li>\n\n
  5. Guarantee of the compatibility of the actions with the management plan of the conservation unit and with the guidance of the managing bodies of the collective territories.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \u00a0<\/p>\n\n
    Environmental monitoring<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n
    For the purpose of ensuring \"the evidence of the effective provision of the environmental service in the contracted area and of the socio-environmental results obtained\"<\/em>, the Decree also introduced environmental monitoring, which must be agreed between the payers and the providers of environmental services and evidenced by means of a supporting report.\u00a0<\/p>\n
    \u00a0<\/p>\n\n
    Federal Program for Payment for Environmental Services (\"PFPSA\")<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n
    Originally provided for in Article 6 of the PNPSA[7]<\/a>, the PFPSA, which aims to establish the environmental services that will be remunerated by the Federal Government (Uni\u00e3o), was also the subject of additional regulation under the Decree.<\/p>\n\n
    As to the actions\/projects eligible for the PFPSA, those already listed in Article 7 of the PNPSA were largely repeated, with the provisos that: (i) legal reserve or permanent preservation areas may not be counted within the scope of the\u00a0 recovery and restoration of native vegetation cover of degraded areas; and (ii) <\/em>integrity must be ensured beyond the legally protected areas, in the\"conservation of areas covered by native vegetation subject to authorization for clearing for alternative land use\"<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n
    In parallel, in addition to listing mandatory clauses, the Decree also dedicated a section to the validity requirements and conditions of the contracts that will be entered into with the Federal Government (Uni\u00e3o), reinforcing the need for registration of rural properties in the Rural Environmental Registry (\"CAR\"), the absence of overlap with embargoed areas, and the absence of any breach by the provider of any conduct adjustment agreement (termo de ajustamento de conduta) or environmental commitment entered into with the competent bodies.<\/p>\n\n
    Finally, the sources of funds for the PFPSA were defined, which may rely, in addition to specific budgetary appropriations, on donations and funds derived from REDD+ projects[8]<\/a>from public and private funds compatible with the purposes of the Program, or from compensation and reparation of environmental damages, among others.<\/p>\n
    \u00a0<\/p>\n\n
    Propter rem liabilities and obligations<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n
    With a chapter exclusively dedicated to the matter, the Decree sought to reinforce the provision of Article 22 of the PNPSA to the effect that the obligations provided for in PSA contracts are of a propter rem<\/u><\/em>nature, that is, they are attached to the area and must be performed by the owners of the properties, regardless of changes in ownership, for the term established in the instruments.<\/p>\n\n
    In this regard, it was provided that the obligations undertaken are automatically transferred to the new owners, even in cases where the PSA is carried out by means of credit instruments (REDD+ certificates), so as to \"ensure the continuity of the environmental services, in accordance with the conditions established in the contract\"<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n
    The only exception to the rule applies to PSA initiatives that do not have direct involvement of the use of the property, in which the obligations are of a personal nature, \"restricted to the contracting parties and non-transferable to successors or new acquirers\".<\/em>.<\/p>\n
    \u00a0<\/p>\n\n
    Gaps in the regulation<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n
    Finally, it is worth commenting on the points that, although provided for in the PNPSA, were left out of the regulation promoted by the Decree, and which were listed in its Final Provisions:<\/p>\n\n