Causes of Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon

TABLE OF CONTENTS......Page 6
Foreword......Page 10
Second Foreword......Page 12
Abstract......Page 14
Acknowledgments......Page 16
Acronyms and Abbreviations......Page 18
Executive Summary......Page 20
1. Motivation for the Study......Page 28
Temporal Trend of Deforestation......Page 32
Spatial Patterns at the Municipal Level......Page 33
Table 1: Evolution of Land Use in Legal Amazonia in Census Years (percent)\\......Page 36
Table 2: Evolution of Land Use in the cerrado......Page 37
Table 7: Evolution of the Cattle Herd (1990-2000) (thousand animals)......Page 40
Figure 3: Cattle Densities (heads/km 2 ) in 1975 and 1996......Page 41
3. Different Frontiers and Their Economic and Social Dynamics: Determinants of Amazon Occupation......Page 44
Expansion of the “Speculative Frontier” and the Deforestation Process......Page 47
Determinants of Land Occupation in Amazonia: An Econometric Model......Page 52
4. The Microeconomics of Beef Cattle Ranching in Amazonia......Page 56
The Beef Cattle Economy in Amazonia: Brief Background......Page 57
Field Research......Page 59
Technical Parameters Adopted......Page 60
Figure 5: Production Costs: Rearing—New-breeding—Fattening Panels......Page 63
Table 13: Net Income per Hectare from Cattle (in Reals per year)......Page 64
Mathematical Modeling......Page 66
Figure 6: Efficient Frontier: Risk and Income Combinations (Paragominas)......Page 68
Final Considerations and Trends......Page 70
5. Social Costs and Benefits of Deforestation......Page 74
Government Incentives: Subsidies as a Basis for Cattle Ranching and Deforestation?......Page 75
Estimate of Economic (Social) Costs of Deforestation in Amazonia......Page 78
Table 23: Value of Renting the Land for Grazing in Legal Amazonia, 1998-2001 (US$ per ha/year)......Page 82
Main Results: Conclusions......Page 86
Recommendations......Page 89
Annex: Socioeconomic Development in Brazilian Amazonia......Page 94
References......Page 100
Table 4: Distribution of the Number and Area Occupied by Establishments in Legal Amazonia, According to Size, Average for 1970-95......Page 38
Table 5: Average Size of Deforested Plots, 1996-99 (in percentage terms)......Page 39
Table 9: Evolution of Beef Exports and Per Capita Consumption in Brazil (1995-2000)......Page 42
Table 10: Size of the Properties and Land Use Adopted in the Panels......Page 61
Table 12: Comparison of the Parameters of the Panels with IBGE Data, Municipality of Paragominas (Pará)......Page 62
Table 15: Internal Rates of Return (IRR) from New-breeding and Fattening System......Page 65
Table 17: Absolute Deviations of Crops over the Past 10 Seasons (in January 2002 Reals per Hectare)......Page 67
Table 18: Results of Deforestation Tax Simulations......Page 69
Table 19: FINAM Fiscal Incentives by Sector (in 2000 US$ million)......Page 76
Table 21: Rural Credit for Northern Region (in 2000 US$ million)......Page 77
Table 22: Summary of the Estimates of the Costs of Deforestation......Page 81
Figure A5: Cumulative Distribution of the Municipal Population of Legal Amazonia, According to Illiteracy Rates, 1970-91......Page 98
Figure 1: Accumulated Municipal Deforestation up to 2000......Page 34
Figure 2: Deforested Area Within Rural Establishments, 1995/96......Page 35
Figure 4: Evolution of Transport Costs, 1980 and 1995......Page 45
Figure A1: Accumulated Distribution of Municipal Population in Legal Amazonia According to GDP per capita, 1970-1995 (in constant 1995 US$)......Page 95
Figure A3: Average Life Expectancy in Municipalities of Legal Amazonia, 1970-91......Page 96
Figure A4: Infant Mortality in Municipalities of Legal Amazonia (deaths per 1000 live births)......Page 97