The return of the plan for the preservation of the Amazon – 06/12/2023 – Why? Economês in good Portuguese

Last week, the government relaunched the Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Amazon (PPCDAm), bringing a new perspective and hope for the preservation of the region. The PPCDAm is a strategic plan created in 2004 by the Brazilian government to prevent and control deforestation in the Legal Amazon.

Between 1988 and 2002, the Amazon had an annual average of 17,353 km² of deforested area. The most significant peak occurred in 1995, when deforestation of 29,059 km² was recorded, the highest rate in the entire historical series of the Project for Monitoring Deforestation in the Legal Amazon by Satellite (Prodes); the second highest peak was in 2004.

During the first phase of the plan (2004-2008), the Land and Territorial Planning axis achieved significant results. More than 25 million hectares of federal conservation units were established, in addition to the approval of 10 million hectares of indigenous lands. The states also advanced in the creation of protected areas, totaling an increase of 25 million hectares in conservation units.

In the second phase of the plan (2009-2011), the Monitoring and Control axis played a key role in reducing deforestation rates. This was achieved mainly through the efficiency of the Deforestation Detection in Real Time (Deter) system and integrated actions to monitor deforestation and combat organized crime. These actions were carried out in collaboration between Ibama, the Federal Police, the Federal Highway Police and the National Public Security Force, with the support of the Brazilian Army. The agility and focus on operations resulted in significant advances in reducing illegal deforestation and protecting the natural resources of the Amazon.

In the third phase of the plan’s execution (2012-2015), the challenge was to deal with a lower deforestation scenario distributed in different regions. To face this challenge, environmental monitoring and control techniques were improved, seeking to identify and combat deforestation in more fragmented areas. To this end, techniques for monitoring and environmental control were improved and the allocation of federal public lands was enhanced, among other actions.

Throughout the three phases of PPCDAm execution, the plan made a significant contribution to reducing the rate of deforestation in the Amazon, as indicated by Prodes data. As of 2005, the region experienced a period of decline in deforestation rates, reaching a stabilization of around 7,000 km² per year between 2009 and 2018. This progress placed Brazil as a protagonist in discussions on environmental preservation and climate change. The period between 2011 and 2015 stands out, which registered the lowest annual rates, with an average of 5,620 km² of area deforested per year, reaching 4,571 km² in 2012. In this phase, a change in deforestation patterns was observed. , with the removal of vegetation occurring in smaller and more sparse areas, distributed over different regions.

For the fourth phase of the plan, the importance of establishing a fourth axis, focused on normative and economic instruments, was recognized. The objective of this axis would be to create mechanisms that encourage an economy based on the forest, contributing to the development of an economically competitive productive matrix with less impact on the Amazon forest. However, since 2019 the plan has practically ceased to exist and deforestation has grown again dramatically.

Now, with the relaunch of the plan, I remembered my doctoral thesis, in which I carried out research on property rights, economic activities and deforestation in the Amazon. Why is this topic so relevant from a theoretical perspective?

Property rights have two different meanings in the economic literature. One meaning is developed by Alchian (“Some Economics of Property Rights”. In: Il Politico, v. 30, p.816-829, 1965) and says that property rights are essentially the ability to enjoy the flow of benefits from a property, what Barzel (“The Formation of Rights”. In: Economic Analysis of Property Rights, 1997) defines as an economic right.

The other meaning states that the right to property is effectively what the State assigns to a person, the legal right, that is, the title itself. Therefore, the right to property is a macro-institution that defines individual and collective behavior and choices, as they figure as “the rules of the game” (North. “Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance. In: Political Economy of Institutions and Decision, 1990). From the perspective of the New Institutional Economics, the definition of property rights can have a significant impact on deforestation. However, the simple definition of title to property is not enough to determine the sustainable use of natural resources. There are substantial differences in the way forest resources are exploited, and these differences depend on the preferences of individuals who use them.

In addition, market factors, self-regulation capacity on the part of resource users and State interests also influence behavior in relation to the use and exploitation of natural resources. Therefore, understanding the role of property rights in the Amazon region requires a more comprehensive analysis, considering not only the legal definition of property title, but also economic incentives, local governance practices and state policies. These elements interact in complex ways and determine land use patterns and impacts on deforestation.

In my empirical research carried out in Vale do Jari, a region with different forms of land tenure, such as private property, collective property and extractive reserve area, I analyzed deforestation, documents on property rights and conducted interviews with several local actors, including representatives from the Cajari Extractive Reserve, local communities, private landowners, opinion makers and researchers. I concluded that the mere definition of the property title is not enough to guarantee the sustainable use of natural resources and socioeconomic development. This finding is based on the fact that property titles in Vale do Jari were established by a centralized State, which adopted a model of regional development based on disorderly occupation. This occupation policy discouraged the development of sustainable entrepreneurship and collective action aimed at a local economy based on sustainable forestry activities.

Thus, the relaunch of the PPCDAm brings with it new hope in the fight against deforestation in the Amazon, as it proposes a comprehensive, transversal and systemic approach. The fifth phase of the plan recognizes the complexity of the problem and seeks to integrate different sectors and levels of government, as well as civil society, in a joint effort to face this challenge. The new phase is made up of four axes: Sustainable Productive Activities, Environmental Monitoring and Control, Land and Territorial Ordering, and Normative and Economic Instruments.

Its effectiveness will depend on proper implementation and continued commitment from government authorities and other stakeholders. Therefore, it will be essential that the necessary resources are made available, that inspection is efficient and that there is rigorous monitoring to ensure that the goals and actions are met.

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