Decreasing Deforestation in the Southern Brazilian Amazon—The Role of Administrative Sanctions in Mato Grosso State

The Livestock Frontier in the Paraguayan Chaco: A Local Agent-based Perspective

Deforestation is one of the most relevant transformations characterizing global environmental change in the tropics at present. There is wide consensus in pointing the context-dependent nature of tropical deforestation. In this sense, a better characterization of the phenomenon considering the social context could provide a more accurate picture of tropical deforestation. With this aim, a Q-methodology discourse analysis was conducted to characterise the different discourses that coexist in the particular region of the Paraguayan Chaco concerning the development of cattle ranching and derived deforestation. Four different discourses were identified as making sense the wide range of interests and values coexisting and clashing in the Paraguayan Chaco, namely: the Environmentalist discourse, the Business discourse, the Resigned discourse, and the Possibilist discourse. The results point that the fundamental differences between the discourses are largely explained by the different positions on three specific domains: (i) the socio-economic benefits the expansion of cattle ranching brings about; (ii) the environmental impacts the expansion of cattle ranching and the derived deforestation brings on; and, finally (iii) the degree to which an active intervention from the side of policy making to regulate the expansion of cattle ranching and to minimize possible detrimental effects is seen as necessary. The position of the different discourses in relation to these domains could help policy makers to make measures and regulations more widely accepted and followed.

Lessons from the historical dynamics of environmental law enforcement in the Brazilian Amazon

Here, we analyze critical changes in environmental law enforcement in the Brazilian Amazon between 2000 and 2020. Based on a dataset of law enforcement indicators, we discuss how these changes explain recent Amazon deforestation dynamics. Our analysis also covers changes in the legal prosecution process and documents a militarization of enforcement between 2018 and 2022. From 2004 to 2018, 43.6 thousand land-use embargoes and 84.3 thousand fines were issued, targeting 3.3 million ha of land, and totaling USD 9.3 billion in penalties. Nevertheless, enforcement relaxed and became spatially more limited, signaling an increasing lack of commitment by the State to enforcing the law. The number of embargoes and asset confiscations dropped by 59% and 55% in 2019 and 2020, respectively. These changes were accompanied by a marked increase in enforcement expenditure, suggesting a massive efficiency loss. More importantly, the creation of so-called conciliation hearings and the centralization of legal processes in 2019 reduced the number of actual judgments and fines collected by 85% and decreased the ratio between lawsuits resulting in paid fines over filed ones from 17 to 5%. As Brazil gears up to crack-down on illegal deforestation once again, our assessment suggests urgent entry points for policy action.

The use of administrative sanctions to prevent environmental damage in impact assessment follow-ups

Scholars have long been highlighting the value of administrative sanctions in improving environmental policy enforcement. However, few studies have evaluated how such sanctions are implemented, particularly in the context of environmental impact assessments (EIA) and their respective follow-up programs. The main objective of this article was to evaluate how administrative sanctions have been used in EIA follow-ups, using the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais as the empirical context. More specifically it tried to understand what have been the main triggers, frequency, nature and financial values of the sanctions issued to noncompliant mining projects operating under the conditions of environmental licenses. First, through literature reviews, the study characterized the institutional and regulatory framework in which administrative sanctions are applied. Content analyzes of 29 infraction processes further revealed that lump sum fines are the preferred option of administrative sanction in EIA follow-ups. The analysis also revealed that the fines could be perceived as disproportionally small if one considers the size and financial power of non-compliant companies. The great majority of the fines were paid by developers: a fact that contradicts previous empirical findings and anecdotal evidence in Brazil. Overall, the study suggests that the impact of administrative sanctions in corporate behavior, while unclear, is likely small. The study concludes by discussing practical and academic implications.