Changes in the Forest Code: An Institutional Analysis of The Perception of Agricultural Producers in a City in the State of Paraná

Abstract

An extensive restructuring of environmental institutions is occurring due to search of greater awareness of environmental preservation. In Brazil, the discussion of environmental problems is not new and the topic is the subject of a current heated debate. The main current discussion is the new Forest Code (Law 12.651/12), mainly due to changes in relation to small farms. This study aims to verify the farmer’s opinion about these changes. To this, semi-structured interviews were conducted with farmers in a city in Northern Paraná, and the data were analyzed by the technique of analysis of the collective discourse. It was observed that there are misconceptions regarding the interpretation of legislation, especially as regards the Permanent Preservation Areas and Legal Reserves.