Tocantins at the centre of the new green economy
The state of Tocantins is about to become the first state in Brazil certified under the ART TREES standard (Architecture for REDD+ Transactions / The REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard) — a standard recognised by the UN and by global voluntary carbon markets for quantifying, monitoring, and validating greenhouse gas emission reductions through avoided deforestation. The programme entered the ART TREES certification process in 2024 and is in its final evaluation phase, with certification planned for 2026.
What makes this remarkable for landowners: the very areas the law already requires you to protect — the Reserva Legal (35%) and the APP — enter the state's environmental balance sheet and directly contribute to the generation of carbon credits.
How the programme works
- The Tocantins government measures, monitors, and validates emission reductions across 91% of the state's area (the Cerrado biome) using satellites and international audits.
- Data from the rural environmental register (CAR) maps every property's protected areas, which automatically generate credits in a consolidated jurisdictional model.
- Satellite imagery spanning more than 40 years, processed on the CIGMA platform, provides the technical basis — audited by global institutions under ART TREES criteria.
- Medium and large properties that prefer a private path can develop and certify their own REDD+ projects within the applicable regulations.
Demand already secured
The Swiss-based multinational energy trader Mercuria Energy has committed to purchasing Tocantins' emission credits until 2030 through the Silvania Fund, a vehicle capitalised at US$ 500 million. Roughly R$ 30–40 million has already been invested in implementing the programme.
What this means for owners
- Immediate potential for land value appreciation through integration into a recognised carbon system
- International ESG status, linked to the CAR and backed by state legislation and global validation
- Guaranteed, transparent participation in credit revenues
- A foundation for negotiating green bonds, climate funds, and environmental projects
For the landowner, the deepest reward is not a line on a spreadsheet — it is knowing the land does genuine good. The protected part of your property helps keep the Cerrado standing, and by law the revenue it generates flows to the people of Tocantins: to indigenous and traditional communities, to environmental protection and reforestation, and to health, education, and infrastructure in the countryside. It is land that gives something back.
The legal basis is State Law No. 1,917/2008 on climate change, environmental protection, and sustainable development in Tocantins.
Why now
The pre-certification stage is the entry point with the greatest appreciation potential. The land of Tocantins will not only be productive — it will be certified green heritage, with traceability and global recognition.