Understanding smallholders’ intended deforestation behavior in the Brazilian Cerrado following environmental registry

Abstract

Brazil's Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) is a potentially promising avenue to slow deforestation on private properties as it facilitates the monitoring of land use. Yet limited empirical evidence exists on how the CAR affects smallholders' behavior and recent scholarly efforts have in fact indicated that it may be doing less to protect forests than previously assumed. Based on 1177 smallholder surveys conducted in the Cerrado, we assess 1) whether the CAR might incentivize smallholders to pursue deforestation and 2) which factors are associated with smallholders' intended deforestation behavior. We find that upon CAR registration, factors significantly associated with smallholders' intention to deforest are: the existing percentage of native vegetation on the property, the use of agricultural loans, property owner's age, and livestock production experience. To curb deforestation that may follow expressed intentions of smallholders, the CAR, and environmental registration programs alike, should account for existing land use by, for example, improving the system already in place for trading areas of native vegetation as this system is not widely adopted by those smallholders with more native vegetation than the legal cut-off. Also, such programs should assess the role of whether conditions related to land cover maintenance may protect against deforestation if credit access is supported especially to younger smallholders and/or livestock producers with a high percentage of native vegetation in their properties.

Future environmental and agricultural impacts of Brazil’s Forest Code

“…The title price must be profitable for both creditors and debtors to avoid leakages and speculation. Moreover, farmers need to be informed about the existence and the functioning of this mechanism [53]. It is important that the quota market is quickly regulated because important areas in terms of conservation purposes may disappear if this measure takes too long to be implemented.…”

Brazilian Land Registry Impacts on Land Use Conversion

“…The fact that small‐scale farmers in municipalities with high Forest Code compliance increased conversion from natural vegetation to pasture areas as they increased the area under the CAR and also maintained their access to credit indicates that other factors contributed to conversion to pasture areas. Indeed, as the CAR has become the primary way to demonstrate environmental compliance, small‐scale farmers getting the CAR may be embarking on a process of entering the market more formally (Rasmussen et al 2017). The CAR, with its fairly low barriers to participation, might be playing an unexpected role in supporting the formalization of small‐scale production and, thereby, accelerating pasture expansion.…”

O Código Florestal Pode Contribuir Para a Diminuição Da Degradação Ambiental?

“…Esse fato pode estar relacionado a dois aspectos principais: 1) ao tratamento diferenciado que a legislação ambiental confere às pequenas propriedades, como o apoio para inscrição no CAR e apoio para instauração de programas de regularização ambiental; 2) a expectativa que pequenos proprietários têm ao associar o CAR à regularização fundiária, o que é uma visão equivocada. Rasmussen et al (2017), em estudo conduzido nos estados da Bahia e Piauí, aplicaram questionários sobre a expectativa dos produtores em relação ao CAR logo após o registro via um programa de auxílio ao cadastramento executado pelo International Climate Fund (ICF) em 2016, para imóveis caracterizados como pequenos, até 4 módulos ficais. O questionário visou traçar características que poderiam culminar em maior ou menor desmatamento, como a expectativa de expansão da produção e o que os produtores esperavam fazer com o excesso de RVN.…”

“…Existem poucas pesquisas sobre o CAR no Cerrado. Alguns estudos como Freitas et al (2017), Rasmussen et al (2017) e Jung et al (2017), apontam os primeiros impactos do CAR na redução do desmatamento e na mudança de comportamento dos proprietários. Entre os aspectos mais relevantes, além da redução do desmatamento, é o aumento da conscientização e conhecimento do novo CFB após o lançamento do CAR, o que pode ser um diferencial no cumprimento da legislação ambiental.…”