After plummeting to its lowest level in 2022, with about US$ 680 million in adjusted expenditures, Brazil’s federal budget for environmental management has quadrupled in just two years. In 2024, it reached roughly US$ 3 billion, a 4.35-fold increase. The data cover a nine-year period between 2016 and 2024.
This budget category includes monitoring and enforcement, wildfire prevention and response, licensing, management of conservation units, environmental infrastructure, biodiversity conservation and research, forest management, water security, and socio-environmental programs in Indigenous and quilombola territories. It also encompasses initiatives to reduce pesticide use and projects on climate change mitigation and adaptation.
On the global stage, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced this week at the UN General Assembly that Brazil will contribute US$ 1 billion to a new international fund for tropical forests. The gesture signals Brazil’s ambition to play a leading role as host of COP30, scheduled for November 2025 in Belém, Pará.
Deforestation drops, fires surge
At home, results are beginning to show. Data from Prodes, the satellite monitoring system of the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe), recorded a 30.6% drop in Amazon deforestation in 2024, with 6,288 km² cleared compared to 9,064 km² in 2023. It is the lowest rate since 2018 and an indication of renewed enforcement.
But wildfires remain a major challenge. Inpe reported unusually high numbers in 2024, driven by severe drought and El Niño conditions. Specialists warn that fire pressure depends not only on enforcement but also on climate and seasonal variables.
What is ‘Environmental Management’?
In Brazil’s federal budget, Environmental Management is identified as Function 18, covering climate and environmental programs across ministries and agencies. Its scope ranges from licensing and monitoring to infrastructure, research, water resources, and socio-environmental policies.
According to Adriana Pinheiro, policy advisor at Observatório do Clima, the category is strategic. “This budget slice is very useful for seeing the environmental area more broadly. It covers environment and climate, but also sanitation and water resources. It’s excellent for understanding environmental policy as a whole,” she explained.
The average of US$ 1.9 billion under Lula in 2023 and 2024 contrasts with the US$ 835 million under Bolsonaro and US$ 1 billion during Michel Temer’s presidency.
Enforcement, wildfires, and staffing gaps
Within Function 18, some budget lines concentrate core enforcement efforts, carried out mainly by the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) and ICMBio (Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation).
In 2024, Ibama’s budgets for monitoring and wildfire control together reached US$ 62 million, a 165% increase. For ICMBio, enforcement resources rose, but wildfire control funding declined.
Still, enforcement capacity remains limited by staffing shortages. Ibama had about 1,800 field agents in 2009, dropping to 630 in 2021 and only 771 by mid-2025. This downsizing drove a 55% drop in infraction notices: from 19,600 in 2010 to 8,400 in 2021. At ICMBio, just 55% of the authorized positions are filled, and more than half of current staff are already eligible for retirement.
“It’s not just about money,” Pinheiro emphasized. “We also lack staff, technical capacity, and coordination between federal, state, and municipal levels. Each biome requires a specific approach. Without this institutional architecture, gains won’t last.”
Climate policy as state policy
For the Observatório do Clima, these dynamics highlight the need to shield environmental policies from political swings. “Environment and climate must be treated as state policy. Dismantling is fast; rebuilding is slow,” Pinheiro noted.
The group advocates for earmarked budget markers to protect environmental funds, a minimum share of congressional amendments for climate and adaptation programs, and regular recruitment to replenish technical staff. Strengthening enforcement powers to ensure fines and sanctions are applied is also considered key.
Another priority is fostering a “standing forest economy,” based on bioeconomy, ecosystem services, sustainable intensification in already-cleared areas, and community-based initiatives.
“The unchecked expansion over native vegetation is incompatible with the future,” Pinheiro stressed. “The alternative lies in keeping forests standing, strengthening bioeconomy and low-impact income generation. That requires both stable funding and strong institutions.”
