The Federal Government disposes about the administration of public forests. The florests classified as public will be divided and granted to the private initiative. The principle defended in the law is that the concession can to prevent the degradation and devastation of the forest and, at the same time, make possible the sustainable administration, increase the income and to improve life quality of the local populations. In that context, the goal of this article is to reexamine two theoretical approaches. First, that the only option to public administration is the private administration. Second, to analyze the vision that decentralization will carry to the better sustained administration of the forest resources. For that, it made a bibliographical review about the theoretical origin of the discussion public versus private as well as the results of several international experiences about decentralization. The result is that concession the forest resources to private sector is not only alternative existent and there are others differents arrangements of sustainable exploration of the forest resources. Finally, the decentralization of the administration does not guarantee the sustainability of the forest resources.
decentralization; forest; unit of conservation; public good; private good
