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In this article we discuss the importance, advances and challenges of national forest policy (Flonas) for the Brazilian Amazon. The Brazilian government has established as a goal to create around 500 thousand km2 of Flonas by 2010 (10% of Legal Amazon). This policy may deter the illegal occupation of unclaimed lands on the Amazon frontier; capture income from the forest by payment of a stumpage fee; encourage forest management as it assures the offer of managed and legalized timber; and conserve biodiversity since Flonas may serve as buffer zones for conservation units of integral protection while also providing ecological corridors for the movement of species.