Abstract
Under REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) and related initiatives for avoided deforestation, a system of payments may act as an incentive to landowners to retire land that would otherwise be deforested. This study describes how potential socio-environmental benefits of forest conservation in the humid Amazon tropics might be captured from a combination of policy instruments under development aimed at compensating for the conservation of remaining forests through payments for environmental services (PES). Specifically, payments for REDD would be channelled towards the expansion and structuring of a state system of protected areas in Mato Grosso, Brazil. This area of Brazil is responsible for half of all deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon and is thus the largest contributor to global deforestation and CO2 emissions from tropical forest clearing and burning, chiefly due to agricultural and livestock expansion. The study evaluates the potential that reduced deforestation and compensation for legal reserves in new protected areas could be achieved within the context of a proposed state ecological-economic zoning plan. As a case study in the development and appraisal of potential benefits from this combination of policy instruments, the study highlights the political and economic forces that mediate policy effectiveness in this complex arena. It also shows how ecological economics can contribute to the integration of biophysical and socio-economic information and the identification of priority areas for investment. The idea of PES has captured the attention of many actors seeking so-called “win-win” strategies for resource conservation, in which the costs of land retirement or preservation are borne by downstream beneficiaries, who directly or indirectly compensate those who have adopted more appropriate land use practices. Such strategies are not without problems, but as economic instruments, they may be more cost-effective when combined with more generalized command and control measures.
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Notes
- 1.
Ecological-economic zoning has been required since 1990 by the federal government in the nine states that compose the Legal Amazon. State zoning is an instrument of territorial planning with the objective of influencing decisions of public and private actors regarding the use of natural resources and balancing maintenance of natural capital and ecosystem services with economic activities. The spatial distribution of economic activities under ZSEE takes into account the limitations and fragilities of ecosystems, establishing restrictions and alternatives to territorial expansion of their exploitation and social benefits.
- 2.
The Forest Code is undergoing revision in the Congress, but these flexibility provisions are expected to be maintained in the revised code.
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Acknowledgement
This study was carried out as a contribution to the Civil Society Engagement with Ecological Economics (CEECEC) project, with support from the European Union, FP7 Research Program. It was also supported by the POLICYMIX project, no. FP7-ENV-2009-1.
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Andrade, J., May, P.H., Bernasconi, P. (2013). A Policy Mix to Finance Protected Areas in Mato Grosso, Brazil. In: Muradian, R., Rival, L. (eds) Governing the Provision of Ecosystem Services. Studies in Ecological Economics, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5176-7_19
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