Causes of Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon'Causes of Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon' is part of the World Bank Working Paper series. The report suggests that, in contrast to the 1970s and 1980s, when occupation of Brazilian Amazonia was largely induced by government policies and subsidies, recent deforestation in significant parts of the region is basically caused by medium- and large-scale cattle ranching. Among the causes of the transformation are technological and managerial changes and the adaptation of cattle ranching to the geo-ecological conditions of eastern Amazonia, which allowed for productivity gains and cost reductions. The fact that cattle ranching is viable from the private perspective does not mean that the activity is socially desirable nor environmentally sustainable. Private gains need to be contrasted with the environmental (social) costs associated with cattle ranching and deforestation. It is also argued that the private benefits from large-scale cattle ranching are largely exclusive, having contributed little to alleviate social and economic inequalities. However, decreases in the price of beef in national markets and increases in exports caused by the expansion of cattle ranching in Eastern Amazonia may imply social benefits that go beyond sectoral and regional boundaries. The paper provides a social evaluation of deforestation in Brazilian Amazonia by, on the one hand, identifying the main agents involved in the process, the economic motives behind their activities and their possible economic returns and, on the other hand, undertaking a monetary evaluation of the economic (social) costs of deforestation while making some comparisons with sustainable forest management. It presents and compares a number of different scenarios and proposes recommendations for the region. |
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agents agricultural Alta Floresta Amazon Amazônia Legal analysis analyzed average beef benefits Brazil Brazilian Amazonia capital cattle ranching cerrado consolidated frontier costs of deforestation cultural deforestation process developing countries dynamics e-commerce economic growth ecotourism electronic environmental estimates evaluation example expansion factors Figure forest areas forest management geo-ecological global ha/year hectares IBAMA IBGE ICTs impact improve income increase infrastructure INPE Internet investment IPEA Ji-Paraná land occupation land price Legal Amazonia livestock logging markets Mato Grosso municipalities Panel Pará Paragominas pasture Paulo percent policies population potential present production profit projects radio ranchers ranching in Amazonia rates region risk role Rondônia rural Santana do Araguaia São Paulo sector social soybean speculative frontier strategies suggest sustainable sustainable forest management Table technologies telecommunications telephone tion trade urban World Bank
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Page 13 - Brazil. Key Policy Issues in the Livestock Sector: Towards a Framework for Efficient and Sustainable Growth", 10 May.
Page 13 - York. 1999 World Resources 1998-1999. Oxford University Press. Nueva York. WRI. 2000 The Weight ofNations: Material Outflowsfrom Industrial Economies. Washington DC Wunder, S. 2000 "The Economics of Deforestation: the example of Ecuador. Nueva York, St. Martin's Press. Zolotas, X. 1 98 1 Economic Growth and Dedining Social Welfare. University Press. Nueva York. Este Libro se terminó de imprimir en diciembre de 2002 en la imprenta Rispergraf. Quito, Ecuador Fander Falconí Benítez es actualmente...
Page 22 - ... one enterprise. Producers could reduce pasture acreage by 75% while also increasing their stocking rate by 190% (going from 1.1 cattle per hectare to 3.2 per hectare). Even if these schemes do take hold, an implicit trade-off exists between protecting biodiversity in the Amazon or in the Cerrado. 1. INPE defines deforestation as the conversion of areas of primary forest by human activities aiming at the development of agriculture activities as detected by orbiting satellites.
Page ix - Given the dearth of information, it is not possible to give a more precise estimate of the area which was actually converted to pasture under the auspices of each project.
Page 13 - Valoracao de Recursos Naturais como Instrumento de Analise da Expansao da Fronteira Agricola.
Page 42 - Brazil is a myth, given currency by those who would like a readily identifiable villain.
Page ix - It is worth noting however that in the vast majority of cases this was not the case (Hecht 1982).
Page 5 - ... do not necessarily reflect the points of view of the people above, of the institutions for which they work, and in particular of the World Bank.
Page 38 - ... is equal to, or less than, the net present value of the activity for which they plan to use the land. Grileiros (land-grabbers) and speculators that invade unclaimed public land (terra devoluta), "tame...