Did Ranchers and Slaughterhouses Respond to Zero-Deforestation Agreements in the Brazilian Amazon?

Abstract

New supply chain interventions offer promise to reduce deforestation from expansion of commercial agriculture, as more multinational companies agree to stop sourcing from farms with recent forest clearing. We analyzed the zerodeforestation cattle agreements signed by major meatpacking companies in the Brazilian Amazon state of Pará using property-level data on beef supply chains. Our panel analysis of daily purchases by slaughterhouses before and after the agreements demonstrates that they now avoid purchasing from properties with deforestation, which was not the case prior to the agreements. Supplying ranchers registered their properties in a public environmental registry nearly 2 years before surrounding non-supplying properties, and 85% of surveyed ranchers indicated that the agreements were the driving force. In addition, supplying properties had significantly reduced deforestation rates following the agreements. Our results demonstrate important changes in the beef supply chain, but the agreements' narrow scope and implementation diminish outcomes for forest conservation.

Property Arrangements and Soy Governance in the Brazilian State of Mato Grosso: Implications for Deforestation-Free Production

“…Due to inconsistent enforcement of laws limiting deforestation [53,54], some producers apparently find that it is worth the risk to clear new areas even when this clearing is illegal, as long as there are no market consequences. Improvements to environmental governance in the cattle sector could limit such leakage [55], but current policies only apply to some parts of the sector [56]. Soy producers without ranching operations may also clear new areas in expectation of weakening or changing soy governance in the future, or to take up production of another product, though further research is needed to confirm this.…”

“…The zero-deforestation cattle agreements also add pressure to reduce deforestation and may encourage a turn toward the more profitable co-production of soy [56]. Special lines of financing that support adoption of integrated production systems as a type of lower-carbon production may also make soy an attractive complement to cattle ranching [48,60].…”

Modelling Beef and Dairy Sectors' Productivities and their Effects on Land Use Change in Brazil

“…Same authors affirm that between 1996 and 2006, livestock activity started a modernization process, increasing yields by 6.6% per year. Other studies suggest that the productivity of pasture increased substantially during the past decades and technologically more advanced and more efficient livestock production systems will be used in the future, mainly driven by competition for land among crops and pastures and environmental restrictions for land expansion (NEPSTAD et al, 2014;GIBBS et al, 2015;STRASSBURG et al, 2014).…”

Impacts of nonstate, market-driven governance on Chilean forests

“…Recently, a handful of studies have begun to provide more rigorous assessments of the impacts of NSMD governance on deforestation. These studies indicate that Brazil's zero deforestation cattle agreement (22) and forest certification in Indonesia (23) have reduced rates of deforestation, whereas timber certification in Mexico (24) has had insignificant impacts on deforestation.…”