WEBINAR

We are happy to extend an invitation to all ICABR members to attend our upcoming Webinar: “Amazon Deforestation: Dimensions, Environmental Impacts, Policies and Regulation”.

The main objective is to present an up-to-date view of the status of Amazon deforestation and its impacts on the environment. It also points to harmful effects on the actual status of Brazilian agriculture due to climate change and on natural resources. The four studies discuss the role of policies and regulations in reducing harmful processes to levels compatible with global targets of reducing GEE emissions.

The webinar will last 1 hour followed by a 30-minute Q&A section and will take place Thursday March 7th, at:

* São Paulo, Brazil 3:00 pm BRT

* You can attend the webinar by following this link: Amazon Deforestation: Dimensions, Environmental Impacts, Policies and Regulation

Kindly note that attendance is free so feel free to share this invitation among your network of scholars, researchers, or students who might find this webinar series beneficial.

For additional details regarding the webinar agenda, speakers, and other pertinent information, please visit our website: https://icabr.net/.

Webinar Schedule

Each Presentation lasts 15 min. After the four presentations, the program is open to questions from the audience.

The Webinar will happen as it follows:

a) Juliano Assumção: Carbon and the Fate of Amazon;

b) Alexandre Gori Maia and João Paulo Mastrangelo: Would individual land titling be a central policy to contain deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon;

c) Bastiaan P. Reydon: Landholders rights and Deforestation: Cases studies based on Fit For Purpose approach;

d) Michel Chaves: AMACRO, the newer Amazonia deforestation hotspot and a potential setback for Brazilian agriculture

Organization and Chair: prof. José Maria F. J. da Silveira, IE-Unicamp

Colaboration: Marina R. Miggliaccio

Abstracts and BIOS

Presenter : Juliano Assunção

Carbon and the fate of Amazon

Abstract: The study shows that carbon prices exceeding US$ 20 per ton of CO2 captured by the natural regeneration of deforested areas in the Amazon would be truly transformative for the region’s landscape. Offsets for captured carbon would ensure forest integrity, inducing extensive forest restoration and the capture of 16 Gt CO2 over the next 30 years. Under this scenario, the Amazon would no longer be a net carbon emitter and, as a region, would have an enormous capacity to capture CO2 on a large scale. The reference of US$20 per ton of CO2 captured is a baseline for negotiation, given emission permits in Europe have been traded at US$90 per ton of CO2. With this amount, it would be more economically advantageous to turn most of the areas currently devoted to cattle ranching into areas destined for forest restoration via natural regeneration. The revenue from carbon (US$ 320 billion over 30 years) would compensate for the loss of revenue in cattle activities. This analysis considers not only the uncertainty about fluctuations in cattle prices, but also the uncertainty inherent to the measurements used to calibrate the modelling parameters.

Bio: Juliano Assunção is the Executive Director of the Climate Policy Initiative/PUC-Rio, where he conducts studies for the formulation of better climate policies in Brazil through evidence-based analyses and direct engagement with decision-makers and civil society. He is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at PUC-Rio. Additionally, he coordinates the Amazon 2030 project, which aims to promote a sustainable development plan for the Brazilian Amazon. Juliano holds a Ph.D. in Economics from PUC-Rio and a Master's in Economics from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG).

Presenter: Alexandre Gori Maia

Would individual land titling be a central policy to contain deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon?

Alexandre Gori Maia (presenter) and João Pedro Mastrangelo

Abstract: Individual land titling is one central policy to contain deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. We evaluate the short- and long-term impacts of land titling on the deforested area and the compliance with the environmental legislation (Forest Code). Our panel data contains the population of settled properties that received a land title between 2008 and 2018 in the state of Acre. The empirical strategy uses dynamic difference-in-differences estimators to estimate the average treatment effect for the treated farms (after titling), comparing their outcomes with those of not-yet-treated farms (before treatment). The inverse probability weighting method controls the lack of randomness in the designation of the treatment (year of titling). Results highlight that land title per se cannot control deforestation and may increase non-compliance in the long run. The impact of land title on non-compliance is stronger in areas with weak land governance.

BIO: Alexandre Gori Maia is Full professor at University of Campinas, Unicamp, Phd in Economics and B.S in Statistics from Unicamp, 1996. He is a specialist in applied econometrics and development economics. His research focuses on demographic economics, agricultural and environmental economics, evaluation of environmental effects, well-being and poverty, health and inequality. He has currently worked with the links between demography, health and economy (with University of Texas - Austin and Columbia University), the evaluation of climate resilience strategies for family farming (with Adapt Group and University of California - San Diego), the impacts of land-use changes and agroforestry (with Virginia Tech and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation).

Bio: João Paulo Mastrangelo is a professor at the Universidade Federal do Acre (Brazil), and he is a specialist in applied microeconomics, forest policy, and economic development. His research focuses on land use, deforestation, agriculture, climate, and economic development in the Amazon.

Presenter: Bastiaan P. Reydon

Landholders rights and Deforestation: Cases studies based on Fit For Purpose approach.

Abstract: The study , examining the Brazilian deforestation characteristics, provides evidence that clear landholders’ rights diminishes deforestation, and that proposals based on concrete cases of participatory clarification of land rights in forest regions using fit for purpose (FfP) methodology promote forest preservation. The article
finishes with an example of a land rights clarifying case from small, medium, large, and traditional population landholders. The case is important to illustrate that it is possible to clarify land rights in a FfP way and how that increases the security of landholders, diminishing the pressure on the land and thus reducing the potential deforestation

Bio: Bastiaan Reydon Senior Advisor at Kadaster International since 2019, and has been working with Land Administration improvements in Brazil, Colombia, Perú, Mozambique, Kazakhstan and is taking part in several projects inside the Kadaster. He is a retired Professor from the Economics Institute from UNICAMP (Campinas, Brazil) where he worked on different fields of economics, from Land Economics to Environment Economics using several types of models. Besides obtaining his Doctoral degree at UNICAMP,Bastiaan has done postdoctoral studies in Land Management at the University Wisconsin (USA) and ITC - University of Twente (The Netherlands). He has been giving classes at the University of Utrecht, ITC Twente, Leiden on Land Governance and Land Administration. He is also professor at the ICLPST- Taiwan where he teaches a course on Agricultural Economic and Land Governance.

Presenter: Michel Chaves

AMACRO: the newer Amazonia deforestation hotspot and a potential setback for Brazilian agriculture

Abstract: Brazil can provide ecosystem services, food, and combat climate change-related vulnerabilities. However, this possibility is obliterated by the increasing deforestation in the Brazilian Legal Amazon derived from illegalities and political incentives to a business-as-usual economic development model that clears land for real estate speculation or extensive agro-livestock. Recently, the state governments of Amazonas, Acre, and Rondônia, supported by agro-livestock-related institutions, proposed a zone for economic development in a region of confluence accounting for 23.37% of these states’ total area. Formerly “Sustainable Development Zone between the States of Amazonas, Acre, and Rondônia” (AMACRO), it was renamed to “Abunã-Madeira Sustainable Development Zone (SDZ)” to meet sustainability criteria; however, environmental impact studies regarding its implementation still lack. By integrating land tenure and official deforestation datasets from 2012 to 2022, we assess whether this region is becoming a notable deforestation hotspot. Results showed growing deforestation trends for all land tenure classes, alarmingly in protected areas, since 2018, when the project was announced. Unlike possible economic gains, deforestation in this region affects essential edaphoclimatic conditions for Brazil’s agro-livestock, worsening environmental and socioeconomic vulnerabilities. Effective territorial planning, environmental impact studies, and law enforcement are urgently needed before establishing the zone to avoid a regional hecatomb.

Bio: Michel Chaves received a Bachelor's in Geography from the Federal University of Alfenas (UNIFAL-MG), a Master's and a Doctorate in Agricultural Engineering from the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), and is a specialist in Planning and Management of Protected Natural Areas at the Federal Institute of Southeastern Minas Gerais (IFSUDESTE-MG). He has experience in remote sensing applied to agricultural and environmental themes. He was a postdoctoral researcher in the Earth Observation and Geoinformatics Division of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE). He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biosystems Engineering (DEB) of the School of Science and Engineering (FCE) of the São Paulo State University (UNESP), Campus Tupã.