Tree management: tree removal and transplanting

Tree management (manejo arbóreo) is the name São Paulo City Hall gives to pruning, cutting down and transplanting trees. Under Law 17.794/2022, every tree with a trunk more than 5 cm in diameter, measured 1.30 m above the ground, is a protected asset, even on private property. That is why any work on it depends on authorization from, or prior notice to, City Hall, with a report from a qualified professional.

Cutting down or transplanting without authorization leads to a fine of R$ 2,000 per tree (adjusted 2022 value), and up to R$ 20,000 when the work does not follow technical standards. In the context of construction work, the fine can rise to four times as much, and cutting before the authorization leads to the application being denied at SVMA. For a street tree or a tree on someone else's land, the damage may also be an environmental crime.

What most often holds things up is not knowing who decides: the Subprefeitura, in ordinary cases, or SVMA, when the tree stands in the way of construction work. On construction projects, the compensation plan must fit into the building design, and cutting is only cleared with the Construction Permit. MTC classifies the case, handles the engineering part and coordinates the report and the compensation plan with a qualified partner professional (agronomist, forestry engineer or biologist), following the application alongside the construction work.