INSEGURANÇA DOS DIREITOS DE PROPRIEDADE NO BRASIL

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) examines the insecurity of rural land property rights in Brazil, detailing the social, economic, and environmental costs of this instability and the institutional obstacles preventing its resolution.

• Brazil ranks poorly in international property rights assessments. In 2015, the country was 64th in the International Property Rights Index (IIDP) and 95th in the property rights component of the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Index.
• Land property insecurity is a primary driver of rural violence and conflict. Between 1994 and 2014, there were 723 homicides related to land disputes, with an average of 30 per year over the last decade. In 2014, these conflicts affected nearly 100,000 families and over eight million hectares, with the state of Pará recording the highest number of homicides (nine) that year.
• Brazil has a severely underdeveloped land rental market compared to other developed regions. While rental rates in Europe are around 33% and in the United States nearly 38%, Brazil's rate is approximately 3.3%. This is attributed to the Land Statute (Estatuto da Terra), which creates a social distrust of rental relations, and a legal system that makes it difficult for owners to evict tenants.
• Property insecurity encourages deforestation in the Amazon. Landowners may clear forests to provide evidence of 'productivity' to avoid expropriation for land reform under the Land Statute and the Constitution. Additionally, a lack of clear ownership makes it difficult to identify and punish those responsible for illegal clearing. Research indicates that a 10% decrease in insecurity (measured by homicides and expropriation initiatives) leads to a 7% reduction in annual deforestation rates.
• Insecurity distorts land-use decisions and investments. In areas with high conflict, farmers reduce investments in the land and shift away from high-investment temporary crops (like soy) toward low-investment permanent crops. Conversely, granting property titles to quilombola communities has been shown to improve income and well-being through increased production.
• There is extreme productivity inequality in Brazilian agriculture. Less than 1% of rural properties generate more than half of the total gross agricultural income, while the least productive properties (66% of all establishments) produce only 3% of the total income.
• The Brazilian land governance system is hindered by institutional complexity, unreliable registries, and a lack of integrated data. Responsibilities are split across 11 federal institutions, as well as state and municipal bodies. Property registries are often incomplete, outdated, or lack georeferencing, and are susceptible to 'grilagem' (the practice of using forged documents to illegally seize public land).
• A significant portion of Brazilian territory consists of 'terras devolutas' (unassigned public lands), estimated at over 20% of the national territory. In the state of Amazonas, this proportion exceeds 40%, covering approximately 60 million hectares.

APA

Costa, R. D. (2016). INSEGURANÇA DOS DIREITOS DE PROPRIEDADE NO BRASIL. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Inseguranca_nos_Direitos_de_Propriedade_no_Brasil_CPI.pdf

Chicago

Costa, Rita Damasceno. INSEGURANÇA DOS DIREITOS DE PROPRIEDADE NO BRASIL. Climate Policy Initiative, 2016. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Inseguranca_nos_Direitos_de_Propriedade_no_Brasil_CPI.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Costa |first1=Rita Damasceno |title=INSEGURANÇA DOS DIREITOS DE PROPRIEDADE NO BRASIL |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=August 2016 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Inseguranca_nos_Direitos_de_Propriedade_no_Brasil_CPI.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{costa2016insegurana, author = {Costa, Rita Damasceno}, title = {{INSEGURANÇA DOS DIREITOS DE PROPRIEDADE NO BRASIL}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2016}, month = aug, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Inseguranca_nos_Direitos_de_Propriedade_no_Brasil_CPI.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }