DETERring Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon: Environmental Monitoring and Law Enforcement

This executive summary describes a study by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) on the impact of the Real Time System for Detection of Deforestation (DETER) and associated law enforcement on deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. The analysis concludes that satellite-based monitoring and targeted enforcement by Ibama were the primary drivers of the deforestation slowdown in the 2000s, preventing significant forest loss without negatively impacting agricultural production.

• The implementation of the Real Time System for Detection of Deforestation (DETER), a satellite-based system for identifying deforestation hot spots, was the primary driver of the deforestation slowdown in the 2000s.
• Between 2007 and 2011, DETER-based monitoring and law enforcement policies prevented the clearing of over 59,500 km2 of forest. During this same period, observed deforestation was 41,500 km2, which is 59% lower than what would have occurred without the policy change.
• A simulation assuming a total absence of monitoring and law enforcement from 2007 to 2011 suggests that over 164,200 km2 of forest would have been cleared, meaning these activities preserved more than 122,700 km2 of forest area.
• The cost of monitoring and law enforcement is highly efficient compared to the carbon benefits. With Ibama's 2011 budget at USD 560 million and INPE's 2010 budget at USD 125 million, any carbon price above 0.76 USD/tCO2 would compensate for these costs, given that the efforts preserved an average of 24,500 km2 of forest per year (approximately 900 million tCO2).
• The increase in monitoring and law enforcement stringency had no adverse effect on local agricultural production, suggesting that forest preservation and economic growth can occur simultaneously in the region.
• The Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAm) enhanced command and control by increasing law enforcement personnel and regulating legal instruments for punishment, such as fines, embargoes, and arrests.

APA

Assunção, J., Gandour, C., & Rocha, R. (2013). DETERring Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon: Environmental Monitoring and Law Enforcement. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/DETERring-Deforestation-in-the-Brazilian-Amazon-Environmental-Monitoring-and-Law-Enforcement-Executive-Summary.pdf

Chicago

Assunção, Juliano, Clarissa Gandour, and Romero Rocha. DETERring Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon: Environmental Monitoring and Law Enforcement. Climate Policy Initiative, 2013. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/DETERring-Deforestation-in-the-Brazilian-Amazon-Environmental-Monitoring-and-Law-Enforcement-Executive-Summary.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Assunção |first1=Juliano |last2=Gandour |first2=Clarissa |last3=Rocha |first3=Romero |title=DETERring Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon: Environmental Monitoring and Law Enforcement |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=May 2013 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/DETERring-Deforestation-in-the-Brazilian-Amazon-Environmental-Monitoring-and-Law-Enforcement-Executive-Summary.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{assuno2013deterring, author = {Assunção, Juliano and Gandour, Clarissa and Rocha, Romero}, title = {{DETERring Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon: Environmental Monitoring and Law Enforcement}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2013}, month = may, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/DETERring-Deforestation-in-the-Brazilian-Amazon-Environmental-Monitoring-and-Law-Enforcement-Executive-Summary.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }