Brazil’s legal and policy framework for combating Amazon deforestation

Bibliographic Data

ID19586992
AuthorsMin Zhang (0000-0003-4273-6836, Nanjing Agricultural University, corresponding author), Zhang Min (0000-0002-7714-1413), Dong Yulu (Nanjing Agricultural University), Liu Xiaolu (Nanjing Agricultural University), Donny De Castro (0000-0003-1995-005X, Lanzhou University), Douglas De Castro
Year2025
Volume22
Pages101065
Publication date2025-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueTrees Forests and People (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2666-7193 • E-ISSN: 2666-7193
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.tfp.2025.101065
OpenAlexW4415535500
LanguageEN
References cited53

Systematically evaluates Brazil’s legal and policy frameworks for combating Amazon deforestation. • Identifies key flaws in the current governance framework in Brazil. • Provides recommendations to strengthen legal and policy measures to combat deforestation As Brazil hosts over 60% of the Amazon forest, its domestic legal and policy frameworks significantly influence the governance of the region. This study systematically examines Brazil's federal legal and policy systems aimed at combating Amazon deforestation, encompassing constitutional provisions, environmental laws, forest legislation, and key policies such as the Amazon Region Protected Areas Program (ARPA) and the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAm). Analyzed through the lenses of environmental philosophy, property rights jurisprudence, and polycentric governance theory, the study identifies critical flaws in the current governance framework: an anthropocentric value orientation, leniency toward illegal deforestation, long-standing land tenure insecurity, high policy volatility, and institutional conflicts among governance agencies. Based on these findings, the article proposes recommendations to enhance Brazil’s deforestation-combating efforts, including transcending anthropocentric stance, intensifying anti-deforestation laws and policies, improving land tenure governance, and constructing a polycentric governance system that integrates domestic and international actors. These measures aim to balance ecological protection and sustainable development in the Amazon region

Action plan · Amazon rainforest · Anthropocentrism · Corporate governance · Environmental governance · Property rights · Sustainable development · Agriculture, Land Use, Rural Development · Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management · Global trade, sustainability, and social impact

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