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The causes of Brazilian Amazon deforestation

Eustáquio J. Reis, Fernando A. Blanco Cossio

[February]

Abstract: This paper discusses the causes of Brazilian Amazon deforestation in recent decades. It shows that they are embedded in both macroeconomic and regional policies implemented in the postwar. The expansion of the road network towards and inside the region was the leading factor of deforestation. Coupled to regional incentives, roads led to the accelerated expansion of the agropastoral frontier which was, by far, the most important “source� of deforestation. Logging has generally been a by-product of clearing land for agricultural purposes. The government was, therefore, the leading actor in the process of deforestation: investments in roads were a prerequisite for economic and demographic settlement of the so-called terra-firme (non-flooded lands); furthermore, the distribution of government subsidies through fiscal and credit mechanisms was a decisive factor for the profitability of agricultural activities; the mining growth, however, had practically no impact on deforestation.