ABSTRACT:
The revisions made in the Forest Code (FC) in 2012 appear to have promoted the weakening of the legal reserve (LR), which after at least 80 years of development, had become established in the Brazilian legal system as an instrument of environmental conservation. This study investigated the possibility of disruption in the implementation of the LR and was developed using qualitative approaches, including bibliographical and documental analyses, to assess the historical construction and legal format of the instrument over time. It was concluded that the current Forest Code broke the trend of development of the LR as an instrument of environmental conservation that was promoted by previous codes and removed the conditions necessary for its effectiveness and existence.
Key words:
Brazilian forest code; environmental law; deforestation
