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

Autor: Nunes FSM; Center for Remote Sensing (CSR), Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Av. Presidente Antônio Carlos, Belo Horizonte, MG, 662731270-901, Brazil. felipesm.nunes@gmail.com., Soares-Filho BS; Center for Remote Sensing (CSR), Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Av. Presidente Antônio Carlos, Belo Horizonte, MG, 662731270-901, Brazil., Oliveira AR; Center for Remote Sensing (CSR), Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Av. Presidente Antônio Carlos, Belo Horizonte, MG, 662731270-901, Brazil., Veloso LVS; Laboratory of Environmental Services Management (LAGESA), Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil., Schmitt J; Brazil's Institute of Environment and Natural Resources (IBAMA), Brasília, DF, Brazil., Van der Hoff R; Laboratory of Environmental Services Management (LAGESA), Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil., Assis DC; Center for Remote Sensing (CSR), Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Av. Presidente Antônio Carlos, Belo Horizonte, MG, 662731270-901, Brazil.; Laboratory of Environmental Services Management (LAGESA), Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil., Costa RP; Laboratory of Environmental Services Management (LAGESA), Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil., Börner J; Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany., Ribeiro SMC; Center for Remote Sensing (CSR), Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Av. Presidente Antônio Carlos, Belo Horizonte, MG, 662731270-901, Brazil., Rajão RGL; Center for Remote Sensing (CSR), Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Av. Presidente Antônio Carlos, Belo Horizonte, MG, 662731270-901, Brazil.; Laboratory of Environmental Services Management (LAGESA), Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil., de Oliveira U; Center for Remote Sensing (CSR), Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Av. Presidente Antônio Carlos, Belo Horizonte, MG, 662731270-901, Brazil., Costa MA; Center for Remote Sensing (CSR), Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Av. Presidente Antônio Carlos, Belo Horizonte, MG, 662731270-901, Brazil.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Scientific reports [Sci Rep] 2024 Jan 21; Vol. 14 (1), pp. 1828. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jan 21.
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-52180-7
Abstrakt: 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.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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