Payment for environmental service: Analysis of the bolsa verde program of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract

The Bolsa Verde Program is a pioneering activity in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, established by State Law 17.727/2008 and regulates State Decree 45.113/2009. It focuses on the preservation of the native vegetation covering of the state through the Payment for Environmental Services that rewards rural proprietors to preserve and recover priority areas defined by the authorities. Current paper investigates the principles and bases of the program to discover its weak points and the motives for its non-effectiveness. Legislation, including resolutions and decrees, was analyzed, and an investigation of government data and academic works was provided. Although the Bolsa Verde program is not the sole public policy program to solve the environmental problems of the state, it is a strategic program since it stimulates the maintenance and recovering of native vegetation coverage. In fact, the Bolsa Verde may promote environmental and citizen conscience-awareness and improve the life style of the people concerned. Aims were compromised since there was no continuity, or rather, with only two maintenance modalities and nonpayment. The reactivation of the program is required and it is demanded that the state of Minas Gerais complies with the established clauses, particularly payment so that policies of conservation support are respected and valorized by society.