Monitoring of areas in conflict with the Legislation for the Protection of Native Vegetation in Brazil: opportunity for large-scale forest restoration and for the Brazilian global agenda

Forest restoration, combined with the mitigation of climate change, has attracted significant interest from several stakeholders. This can aid in restoring degraded areas and enhancing carbon storage. Brazil's global environmental commitments, particularly in the state of Minas Gerais (MG), require substantial financial investments to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity. Minas Gerais has extensive areas protected by the Legislation for the Protection of Native Vegetation (LPVN) that are not compliant and must be restored in the next 20 years. Geographic data was collected from the government SICAR database. Land use in MG was analyzed using geoprocessing techniques using data from the MapBiomas platform to estimate the area in conflict with LPVN regulations. Minas Gerais has an environmental liability of 3.7 million hectares (Mha) that need restoration in the next 20 years. The Legal Reserve (RL) (2.2 Mha) and Permanent Preservation Areas of watercourses (1.3 Mha) are the most non-compliant protected areas. The "Tri & acirc;ngulo Mineiro" and "Norte de Minas" mesoregions have the largest areas in conflict with the LPVN. The Cerrado faces a more critical situation, with approximately 56% of the conflicting areas located there. This study outlines the extent of restoration needed with native vegetation to comply with LPVN requirements in MG.