Frontier expansion in the Amazon: Balancing development and sustainability

Environment

Volumn 44, Issue 3, 2002, Pages 34-44

  Carvalho, Georgia O ^a   Nepstad, Daniel ^a   McGrath, David ^a   Del Carmen Vera Diaz, M Maria ^a   Santilli, Márcio ^a   Barros, Ana Cristina ^a  

^a WOODS HOLE RESEARCH CENTER   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

BRAZIL; ECOSYSTEM; ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT; ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION; ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY; POLICY; REVIEW;

EID: 0036553820     PISSN: 00139157     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/00139150209605606     Document Type: Review

References (57)

1. D. Mahar, Government Policies and Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon Region (Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 1988); and P. Fearnside and R. Barbosa, "The Cotingo Dam as a Test of Brazil's System for Evaluating Proposed Developments in Amazonia," Environmental Management 20, no. 5 (1996): 631-48.
2. D. Mahar, Government Policies and Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon Region (Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 1988); and P. Fearnside and R. Barbosa, "The Cotingo Dam as a Test of Brazil's System for Evaluating Proposed Developments in Amazonia," Environmental Management 20, no. 5 (1996): 631-48.
3. R. Foresta, Amazon Conservation in the Age of Development (Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1991); and S. Hecht and A. Cockburn, The Fate of the Forest: Developers, Destroyers and the Defenders of the Amazon (New York: Verso Books, 1989).
4. R. Foresta, Amazon Conservation in the Age of Development (Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1991); and S. Hecht and A. Cockburn, The Fate of the Forest: Developers, Destroyers and the Defenders of the Amazon (New York: Verso Books, 1989).
5. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (National Institute of Space Research), Monitoring of the Brazilian Amazon Forest by Satellite 1999-2000 (São José dos Campos, Brazil, 2000), also accessible at http://www.inpe.br/informacoes_eventos/amz1999_2000/prodes/index.htm; and D. Nepstad et al., "Large-Scale Impoverishment of Amazonian Forests by Logging and Fire," Nature 398 (1999): 505-08. For more on how tropical deforestation caused by fire affects land use and rainforest ecosystems in Latin America, see M. A. Cochrane, "In the Line of Fire: Understanding the Impacts of Tropical Forest Fires," Environment, October 2001, 28-38.
6. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (National Institute of Space Research), Monitoring of the Brazilian Amazon Forest by Satellite 1999-2000 (São José dos Campos, Brazil, 2000), also accessible at http://www.inpe.br/informacoes_eventos/amz1999_2000/prodes/index.htm; and D. Nepstad et al., "Large-Scale Impoverishment of Amazonian Forests by Logging and Fire," Nature 398 (1999): 505-08. For more on how tropical deforestation caused by fire affects land use and rainforest ecosystems in Latin America, see M. A. Cochrane, "In the Line of Fire: Understanding the Impacts of Tropical Forest Fires," Environment, October 2001, 28-38.
7. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (National Institute of Space Research), Monitoring of the Brazilian Amazon Forest by Satellite 1999-2000 (São José dos Campos, Brazil, 2000), also accessible at http://www.inpe.br/informacoes_eventos/amz1999_2000/prodes/index.htm; and D. Nepstad et al., "Large-Scale Impoverishment of Amazonian Forests by Logging and Fire," Nature 398 (1999): 505-08. For more on how tropical deforestation caused by fire affects land use and rainforest ecosystems in Latin America, see M. A. Cochrane, "In the Line of Fire: Understanding the Impacts of Tropical Forest Fires," Environment, October 2001, 28-38.
8. D. Nepstad et al., "Road Paving, Fire Regime Feedbacks and the Future of Amazon Forests," Forest Ecology and Management 154 (2001): 395-407; G. Carvalho, A. C. Barros, P. Moutinho, and D. Nepstad, "Sensitive Development Could Protect Amazonia instead of Destroying It," Nature 409 (2001): 131; W. Laurance et al., "The Future of the Brazilian Amazon," Science 291 (2001): 438-39; and B. Becker, Cenários de Curto Prazo para o Desenvolvimento da Amazônia (Short-Term Scenarios for Amazon Development), Cadernos do NAPIAm (NAPIAm Research Notes), no. 6 (1999). (NAPIAm is an acronym for Núcleo de Apoio as Políticas Integradas para a Amazônia (Nucleus for Support of Integrated Policies for Amazonia)).
9. D. Nepstad et al., "Road Paving, Fire Regime Feedbacks and the Future of Amazon Forests," Forest Ecology and Management 154 (2001): 395-407; G. Carvalho, A. C. Barros, P. Moutinho, and D. Nepstad, "Sensitive Development Could Protect Amazonia instead of Destroying It," Nature 409 (2001): 131; W. Laurance et al., "The Future of the Brazilian Amazon," Science 291 (2001): 438-39; and B. Becker, Cenários de Curto Prazo para o Desenvolvimento da Amazônia (Short-Term Scenarios for Amazon Development), Cadernos do NAPIAm (NAPIAm Research Notes), no. 6 (1999). (NAPIAm is an acronym for Núcleo de Apoio as Políticas Integradas para a Amazônia (Nucleus for Support of Integrated Policies for Amazonia)).
10. D. Nepstad et al., "Road Paving, Fire Regime Feedbacks and the Future of Amazon Forests," Forest Ecology and Management 154 (2001): 395-407; G. Carvalho, A. C. Barros, P. Moutinho, and D. Nepstad, "Sensitive Development Could Protect Amazonia instead of Destroying It," Nature 409 (2001): 131; W. Laurance et al., "The Future of the Brazilian Amazon," Science 291 (2001): 438-39; and B. Becker, Cenários de Curto Prazo para o Desenvolvimento da Amazônia (Short-Term Scenarios for Amazon Development), Cadernos do NAPIAm (NAPIAm Research Notes), no. 6 (1999). (NAPIAm is an acronym for Núcleo de Apoio as Políticas Integradas para a Amazônia (Nucleus for Support of Integrated Policies for Amazonia)).
11. D. Nepstad et al., "Road Paving, Fire Regime Feedbacks and the Future of Amazon Forests," Forest Ecology and Management 154 (2001): 395-407; G. Carvalho, A. C. Barros, P. Moutinho, and D. Nepstad, "Sensitive Development Could Protect Amazonia instead of Destroying It," Nature 409 (2001): 131; W. Laurance et al., "The Future of the Brazilian Amazon," Science 291 (2001): 438-39; and B. Becker, Cenários de Curto Prazo para o Desenvolvimento da Amazônia (Short-Term Scenarios for Amazon Development), Cadernos do NAPIAm (NAPIAm Research Notes), no. 6 (1999). (NAPIAm is an acronym for Núcleo de Apoio as Políticas Integradas para a Amazônia (Nucleus for Support of Integrated Policies for Amazonia)).
12. R. Almeida and M. Ribeiro, "Os Sistemas de Transporte na Região Norte: Evolução e Reorganização das Redes" (Transportation Systems in the Northern Region: Evolution and Reorganization of the Networks), Revista Brasileira de Geografia (Brazilian Review of Geography) 51, no. 2 (1989): 33-98; and Foresta, note 2 above.
13. R. Almeida and M. Ribeiro, "Os Sistemas de Transporte na Região Norte: Evolução e Reorganização das Redes" (Transportation Systems in the Northern Region: Evolution and Reorganization of the Networks), Revista Brasileira de Geografia (Brazilian Review of Geography) 51, no. 2 (1989): 33-98; and Foresta, note 2 above.
14. M. Schmink and C. Wood, Contested Frontiers (New York: Columbia University Press, 1992).
15. Foresta, note 2 above.
16. For a thorough discussion of Trans-Amazon colonization, see E. Moran, Developing the Amazon (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1981); and S. Bunker, Underdeveloping the Amazon: Extraction, Unequal Exchange and the Failure of the Modern State (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1985).
17. For a thorough discussion of Trans-Amazon colonization, see E. Moran, Developing the Amazon (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1981); and S. Bunker, Underdeveloping the Amazon: Extraction, Unequal Exchange and the Failure of the Modern State (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1985).
18. Schmink and Wood, note 6 above.
19. G. Carvalho, The Evolution of Amazon Policy in Brazil since 1988: A Case Study of the Grande Carajás Program (Colorado State University, University Microfilms, no. 9834983, 1998).
20. D. Alves, "An Analysis of the Geographical Patterns of Deforestation in Brazilian Amazonia in the 1991-1996 Period," in C. Wood and R. Porro, eds., Patterns and Processes of Land Use and Forest Change in the Amazon (Gainesville: University of Florida Press, forthcoming); R. Houghton et al., "Annual Fluxes of Carbon from Deforestation and Regrowth in the Brazilian Amazon," Nature 403 (2000): 301-04; and Nepstad et al., note 4 above.
21. D. Alves, "An Analysis of the Geographical Patterns of Deforestation in Brazilian Amazonia in the 1991-1996 Period," in C. Wood and R. Porro, eds., Patterns and Processes of Land Use and Forest Change in the Amazon (Gainesville: University of Florida Press, forthcoming); R. Houghton et al., "Annual Fluxes of Carbon from Deforestation and Regrowth in the Brazilian Amazon," Nature 403 (2000): 301-04; and Nepstad et al., note 4 above.
22. D. Alves, "An Analysis of the Geographical Patterns of Deforestation in Brazilian Amazonia in the 1991-1996 Period," in C. Wood and R. Porro, eds., Patterns and Processes of Land Use and Forest Change in the Amazon (Gainesville: University of Florida Press, forthcoming); R. Houghton et al., "Annual Fluxes of Carbon from Deforestation and Regrowth in the Brazilian Amazon," Nature 403 (2000): 301-04; and Nepstad et al., note 4 above.
23. Ranching and logging generate only 1.4 and 20 jobs per 1,000 hectares, respectively. They require little infrastructure: Cattle can be transported to markets in the absence of roads, and loggers can open their own dirt roads when needed. In both cases, electricity is unnecessary. See U. Lélé et al., Forests in the Balance: Challenges of Conservation with Development: An Evaluation of Brazil's Forest Development and World Bank Assistance (Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 2000); and S. Hecht, "Environment, Development and Politics: Capital Accumulation and the Livestock Sector in Eastern Amazonia," World Development 13 (1985): 663-84.
24. Ranching and logging generate only 1.4 and 20 jobs per 1,000 hectares, respectively. They require little infrastructure: Cattle can be transported to markets in the absence of roads, and loggers can open their own dirt roads when needed. In both cases, electricity is unnecessary. See U. Lélé et al., Forests in the Balance: Challenges of Conservation with Development: An Evaluation of Brazil's Forest Development and World Bank Assistance (Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 2000); and S. Hecht, "Environment, Development and Politics: Capital Accumulation and the Livestock Sector in Eastern Amazonia," World Development 13 (1985): 663-84.
25. As discussed in O. Almeida and C. Uhl, "Developing a Quantitative Framework for Sustainable Resource-Use Planning in the Brazilian Amazon," World Development 23 (1995): 1,745-64, the return on extensive ranching and agriculture ranges from 2 to 11 percent and decreases after the initial years - a much lower percentage than afforded by intensifying the same activities. For more on expanding demand, see A. Angelsen and D. Kaimowitz, Agricultural Technologies and Tropical Deforestation (New York: CABI Publishing, 2001).
26. As discussed in O. Almeida and C. Uhl, "Developing a Quantitative Framework for Sustainable Resource-Use Planning in the Brazilian Amazon," World Development 23 (1995): 1,745-64, the return on extensive ranching and agriculture ranges from 2 to 11 percent and decreases after the initial years-a much lower percentage than afforded by intensifying the same activities. For more on expanding demand, see A. Angelsen and D. Kaimowitz, Agricultural Technologies and Tropical Deforestation (New York: CABI Publishing, 2001).
27. United Nations Development Programme, Brazil Human Development Atlas, 1999.
28. P. Evans, Dependent Development: The Alliance of Multinational, State and Local Capital in Brazil (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1979).
29. For an analysis of the insertion of these sectors in Amazon policymaking processes, see Foresta, note 2 above; and G. Carvalho, "Metallurgical Development in the Carajás Area: A Case Study of the Evolution of Environmental Policy Formation in Brazil," Society and Natural Resource 14, no. 2 (2000): 615-32.
30. For an analysis of the insertion of these sectors in Amazon policymaking processes, see Foresta, note 2 above; and G. Carvalho, "Metallurgical Development in the Carajás Area: A Case Study of the Evolution of Environmental Policy Formation in Brazil," Society and Natural Resource 14, no. 2 (2000): 615-32.
31. Becker, note 4 above; and Ministério do Planejamento e Orçamento (Ministry of Planning and Budget), Plano Plurianual 2000-2003 (Brasilia, D.F.: 1999).
32. Becker, note 4 above; and Ministério do Planejamento e Orçamento (Ministry of Planning and Budget), Plano Plurianual 2000-2003 (Brasilia, D.F.: 1999).
33. Ministério do Planejamento e Orçamento, Plano Plurianual 1996-1999 (Brasilia, D.F.: 1995), 4.
34. Laurance et al., note 4 above; and Nepstad et al., note 4 above.
35. Laurance et al., note 4 above; and Nepstad et al., note 4 above.
36. The region of Legal Amazonia comprises "classic Amazonia," which includes the states of Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, Acre, Amapá, and Roraima, as well as parts of Maranhão, Tocantins, and Mato Grosso. "Classic Amazonia" includes states that are covered primarily by high forest ecosystems, rather than states where there are extensive areas of transitional ecosystems (such as Maranhão, which presents a mixture of cerrado, or savannah, and forest ecosystems)
37. Ministério do Planejamento e Orçamento, note 17 above; and P. Fearnside, "Soybean Cultivation as a Threat to the Environment in Brazil," Environmental Conservation 28 (2001): 23-38.
38. Ministério do Meio-Ambiente, Recursos Hidrícos e Amazônia Legal (MMA, Ministry of Environment, Water Resources and the Legal Amazon), Brazil Integrated National Policy for the Legal Amazon (Brasilia, D.F., 1995);
39. and Comissão da Amazônia e de Desenvolvimento Regional, Câmara dos Desputados (Commission for Amazonia and Regional Development of the House of Representatives), MMA, Agenda Positiva da Amazônia (Positive Agenda for Amazonia) (Brasilia, D.F., 2001).
40. Fearnside, note 21 above; and D. Nepstad et al., Avança Brasil: Os Custos Ambientais para a Amazônia (Avança Brasil: The Environmental Costs for Amazonia) (Belém, Brazil: Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia (IPAM, Amazon Institute of Environmental Research), 2000).
41. Announced by José Paulo da Silveira, coordinator of the Avança Brasil program (Ministério de Planejamento e Orçamento) during a presentation at the Brazilian Senate, 8 April 2001.
42. For more information, see the Amazon Financial Information Service web site, accessible via http://www.redlisted.com/brazil_araguaia.html.
43. A. Ramos, policy coordinator, Instituto Socio-Ambiental (ISA); and A. C. Barros, executive director, IPAM, personal communication with authors, Brasilia, April 2001.
44. A. Ramos, policy coordinator, Instituto Socio-Ambiental (ISA); and A. C. Barros, executive director, IPAM, personal communication with authors, Brasilia, April 2001.
45. Nepstad et al., note 4 above; D. Kaimowitz and A. Angelsen, Economic Models of Tropical Deforestation: A Review (Bogor, Indonesia: Center for International Forestry Research, 1998); and Alves, note 11 above.
46. Nepstad et al., note 4 above; D. Kaimowitz and A. Angelsen, Economic Models of Tropical Deforestation: A Review (Bogor, Indonesia: Center for International Forestry Research, 1998); and Alves, note 11 above.
47. Nepstad et al., note 4 above; D. Kaimowitz and A. Angelsen, Economic Models of Tropical Deforestation: A Review (Bogor, Indonesia: Center for International Forestry Research, 1998); and Alves, note 11 above.
48. Nepstad et al., note 4 above.
49. R. Schneider et al., Amazônia Sustantável: Limitantes e Oportunidades para o Desenvolvimento Rural (Sustainable Amazonia: Limits and Opportunities for Rural Development) (Brasilia, D.F.: World Bank, 2001).
50. Government of Brazil, Medida Provisória, Version 2080-631.
51. Schneider et al., note 29 above.
52. Governo do Estado de Mato Grosso, Fundação Estadual de Meio Ambiente (State Environmental Foundation), Sistema de Controle Ambiental em Propriedades Rurais de Mato Grosso (Environmental Control System for Rural Properties in Mato Grosso) (Cuiabá: 2001).
53. Schneider et al., note 29 above; and Lélé et al., note 12 above.
54. Schneider et al., note 29 above; and Lélé et al., note 12 above.
55. See Almeida and Uhl, note 13 above; Schneider et al., note 29 above; and P. Barreto, P. Amaral, E. Vidal, and C. Uhl, "Costs and Benefits of Forest Management for Timber Production in Eastern Amazonia," Forest Ecology and Management 108 (1998): 9-26.
56. See Almeida and Uhl, note 13 above; Schneider et al., note 29 above; and P. Barreto, P. Amaral, E. Vidal, and C. Uhl, "Costs and Benefits of Forest Management for Timber Production in Eastern Amazonia," Forest Ecology and Management 108 (1998): 9-26.
57. See Almeida and Uhl, note 13 above; Schneider et al., note 29 above; and P. Barreto, P. Amaral, E. Vidal, and C. Uhl, "Costs and Benefits of Forest Management for Timber Production in Eastern Amazonia," Forest Ecology and Management 108 (1998): 9-26.