Deforestation control policies in Brazil: sovereignty versus the market

Abstract

After achieving a 76% reduction in the annual rate of deforestation in the Amazon using command and control policies, the Brazilian government developed a national REDD+ strategy, which it has since merged with its reform of the Forest Code. This is an important political, economic and environmental step in view of the amounts of land, carbon and money involved. This article addresses Brazil's insistence on sovereignty over its forest resources and questions the capacity of carbon markets to assist in conservation. We start by describing the success of Brazil's efforts to halt deforestation. We then identify player strategies in the ‘Sovereignty versus the market’ debate surrounding the implementation of REDD+. Finally, we discuss whether the markets for land- and forest-based environmental services encouraged by the Forest Code have the potential to contribute to further reductions in deforestation.

Keywords::

• deforestation
• REDD
• forest code
• market-based instruments
• state sovereignty
• Amazonia
• Brazil

Acknowledgements

This research was conducted as part of the European BiodivERsA programme (Integrating Valuations, Markets and Policies for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services – INVALUABLE), headed by Romain Pirard (IDDRI) and Philippe Méral (for IRD). I wish to thank Eleneide Doff Sotta, Eliane Superti and Ana Euler for their scientific and friendly support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

^1. There were 48 by end 2011 and 52 by early 2014. The criteria were tightened up in 2009. To be taken off the blacklist (lista critica), a municipio must have 80% of the land area of its rural properties registered with the environmental register for rural properties (CAR), have deforested less than 40 km² in 2011, and have a deforestation rate 60% below the average for the previous two years. Paragominas, Querência, Alta Floresta and other municipios have been taken off the list while renewed deforestation in 2013/2014 has led to other municipios being added. New on the list are Anapu and Senador José Porfirio, for example.

^2. The World Bank's 2012 Annual Report (pages 20–21) shows gross disbursements of US$31 bn (IBRD + IDA). The 2012 annual report of the BNDES (pages 36–38) shows total disbursements of R$ (reals) 156 bn or about US$66 bn.

^3. See Carta de Belem (2009): http://www.redd-monitor.org/2009/10/15/brazilian-social-and-environmental-movements-reject-carbon-trading/#po; and more recently, the letter sent by a broad coalition of Brazilian NGOs to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the occasion of the Warsaw Conference: http://www.ecodebate.com.br/2013/11/11/cop19-sociedade-pede-ao-itamaraty-que-nao-aceite-redd-nas-negociacoes-sobre-o-clima/

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the ERA-Net BiodivERsA, with the national funder Agence nationale de la recherche (ANR) [grant number 2011-EBID-003-03], part of the 2011 BiodivERsA call for research proposals. It has used the results of French-Brazilian BIOFLOR and FRONTAGUI research projects conducted with Embrapa and the Federal University of Amapa-UNIFAP (Brazil) and funded by GUYAMAZON-AIRD/FAPEAP project.