Brazil launches Forest Reserve Credit market with pioneering participation from BVRio
BVRio, the first Brazilian institution to establish the full technical, legal, and operational framework for the Forest Reserve Credit, known nationally as CRA (Cota de Reserva Ambiental) has completed the country’s first-ever credit purchase. The symbolic transaction coincides with the official launch of CRA issuance by the Brazilian Forest Service (SFB), formalised today at the Ministry of the Environment in Brasília, with the participation of Environment Minister Marina Silva.
Watch the event recording on YouTube here
At an event held on 30 October at the Ministry of the Environment in Brasília led by the Brazilian Forest Service (SFB), Environment Minister Marina Silva, highlighted the CRA mechanism as a powerful example of environmental justice that rewards those who conserve and support climate resilience. “When we reward those who protect, we are contributing to climate stability and fairness. It is a mechanism of environmental justice.” Marina Silva.
She went on to describe the instrument as, “A mechanism of environmental justice,” highlighting its dual role in climate adaptation and social equity. “When we stimulate protection, we help prevent the worsening of climate change and extreme weather events. It is not only fair to those who preserved their forests, but also beneficial to the most vulnerable.”
Each Forest Reserve Credit (CRA) represents one hectare of native vegetation, either standing or under restoration, beyond the legal requirement as set out by the Forest Code. Credits can be traded to offset Legal Reserve deficits in other properties or corporate projects, ensuring that compliance generates tangible value for those who conserve.
In the Cerrado biome alone, more than 33 million hectares of surplus native vegetation outside protected areas could be preserved and remunerated through CRAs, particularly if integrated with Brazil’s upcoming Emissions Trading System (SBCE), currently under regulation. With an estimated 68 million hectares of surplus native vegetation in total, according to the Forest Code Thermometer, Brazil’s Forest Reserve Credit system stands among the world’s most promising green-finance mechanisms.
The first batch of CRAs issued by the SFB took place thirteen years after the mechanism was created under the 2012 Forest Code, and relates to privately conserved forest areas in Rio de Janeiro State, owned by Bernardo Furrer, a physician and environmentalist who maintains over 150 hectares of Atlantic Forest in two Private Natural Heritage Reserves (RPPNs) in Nova Friburgo.
As part of the launch, BVRio, the Brazilian institution which designed the full technical, legal, and operational framework that enables CRA transactions, completed the inaugural credit purchase, a symbolic step that demonstrates the mechanism’s transition from concept to practice.
Roberta del Giudice, BVRio’s Director for Forests and Public Policy commented, “Thirteen years ago, when we built Brazil’s first CRA platform, we were anticipating the future. The Forest Code has always been a forward-looking law with the potential to position Brazil as a global leader in climate transition. Now, CRAs are no longer a promise; they are a concrete tool: every credit is a hectare of native forest turned into a financial asset. On the eve of COP30, Brazil shows the world that it has real solutions to offer.”
Coming just ahead of the start of COP30, this milestone establishes CRAs as a cornerstone of Brazil’s environmental regularisation strategy, a market-based instrument that monetises the conservation of native vegetation and creates new financial pathways for compliance and restoration.
“This is a landmark for full implementation of the Forest Code. Protecting nature is essential for a healthy environment. I am proud that RPPNs are part of this milestone, now it’s up to all of us, as citizens, to ensure its success,” said Furrer.
BVRio Co-founder, Pedro Moura Costa, recalled the platform’s origins: “Back in 2012, our CRA exchange already listed five million hectares in supply, nearly half of what Brazil would need to balance its legal deficits and surpluses. But without regulation, buyers or enforcement, the market stalled. Now, with the CAR system operational and the government issuing the first credits, we have a real chance to unlock this potential. The challenge is to ensure both scale and credibility, and that’s where BVRio is ready to contribute.”
Brazilian Forest Service Director Gabriel Lui highlighted that the launch marks “a turning point” for implementation of the law: “CRAs convert conservation into an economic opportunity, rewarding those who protect and providing legal certainty to those who must comply. It’s a key instrument for turning the Forest Code into an effective policy for sustainable development.”
Climate and economic potential
The CRA initiative launch follows the launch of a ‘Forest Code Pact’, held in Brasília on 23 October, which brought together federal and state governments, the private sector, civil society and financial institutions to reaffirm their commitment to full implementation of the law.
According to estimates from PlanaFlor, a strategic plan for Forest Code implementation, full compliance could:
- Generate 2.5 million jobs,
- Consolidate 32 million hectares of low-carbon agriculture,
- Protect 80 million hectares of native vegetation, and
- Restore 12 million hectares of degraded land.
This would translate into US$1.5 billion in annual GDP gains and up to US$5.7 billion per year in new environmental revenues from carbon and forest-asset markets. “The Forest Code offers the world’s most advanced legal framework for aligning production and conservation,” said Maurício de Moura Costa, BVRio Co-Founder. “Turning it into practice is the next step for Brazil to consolidate its global leadership in high-integrity land-use and climate finance, and to showcase, at COP30, an operational example of scalable environmental solutions.”
BVRio’s pioneering role in the CRA market
Since the enactment of the Forest Code in 2012, BVRio has been instrumental in developing the legal, technical and institutional foundations that enabled the CRA market to exist. That same year, it launched the world’s first digital trading platform for environmental reserve credits, creating standard contracts and regulatory templates for transactions between landowners and buyers.
Between 2012 and 2014, BVRio worked with rural producers, financial institutions and government agencies to promote environmental regularisation, including a roadshow across 40 municipalities in Pará and Mato Grosso, training over 5,000 producers and environmental technicians on how to use CRAs as a compliance and income-generation tool.
This long-term engagement positioned BVRio as a technical and institutional reference for legal-reserve compensation instruments, paving the way for the first official CRA issuance by the Brazilian Forest Service in 2025, a historic milestone for both the Forest Code and Brazil’s high-integrity green finance agenda.
