Mato Grosso advances new rules for family farm environmental disembargoes

The Sectorial Thematic Chamber (CST) of the Environmental Disembargo Committee of the Mato Grosso Legislative Assembly met on July 16 with State Secretary of Environment Mauren Lazzaretti to discuss procedures for environmental disembargoes and a simplified licensing regime for family farms and small rural producers. The discussion centered on the implementation of Complementary Law No. 830/2025, which creates a differentiated, simplified and proportional treatment for environmental infractions by family farmers, and Law No. 13.349/2026, which establishes a Simplified Environmental Licensing regime.

Applicants must keep their property registered and regular in the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR), have no active embargo on the land, and submit an environmental compliance declaration, assuming civil and administrative liability for any damage. Lazzaretti said the challenges faced by Mato Grosso reflect a national issue in applying the Forest Code, noting ongoing federal meetings in Brasília with the Ministry of Management and Innovation, the Brazilian Forest Service and the states of the Legal Amazon and Mato Grosso do Sul. Data presented showed more than 8.3 million properties listed in CAR nationwide, but less than 10 % of analyses completed and only 7.25 % of registered area fully examined.

Lazzaretti highlighted that Mato Grosso has built its own model to balance environmental protection with the realities of small producers, presenting disembargo as a regularisation opportunity rather than amnesty. She called for broader adoption of the complementary law across Brazil and for uniform application to avoid legal challenges to state administrative acts such as embargoes, disembargoes and licenses.