In 2000, in an effort to improve effectiveness of protected areas and to better preserve its tropical rainforests, Brazil established the National System of Protected Areas (SNUC), or conservation units, as such areas are known in the country.1 SNUC integrated the heterogeneous landscape of protected areas, including those established by federal, state and municipal governments as well as those proposed by private actors (individuals, companies, non-government organisations), into one national system. It provided a common definition of protected areas and a framework for co-ordinated management and implementation at different levels of government. It also introduced the National Register of Protected Areas (CNUC) in 2006 as the official national database to consolidate information about protected areas at all levels of government.