INSIGHTS RURAL SETTLEMENTS AND SMALL-SCALE DEFORESTATION

This briefing by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) reports that rural settlements were responsible for 30% of deforestation in the Amazon region in 2014. The research highlights that 'special settlements,' intended to promote sustainable practices, contributed disproportionately to this figure, accounting for half of the deforestation caused by all rural settlements.

• Rural settlements were responsible for 30% of deforestation in the Amazon region in 2014. This finding, based on econometric modelling by CPI, was reinforced by a separate 2016 study by the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM) using a different methodology.
• Special rural settlements, which are designed to support sustainable production techniques and environmentally-friendly practices, had a significant impact on forest loss. In 2014, these special settlements accounted for 15% of total Amazon deforestation, representing half of the total deforestation attributed to all rural settlements.
• The area covered by rural settlements in the Amazon increased by more than 70% between 2002 and 2014, growing from 220,000 km² (4.8% of the Amazon) to 376,000 km² (8.3% of the Amazon).
• While Brazil significantly reduced overall deforestation between 2004 and 2014 by using the DETER satellite-monitoring system to curb large-scale clearings (reducing overall deforestation by up to 80%), smaller clearings—often instigated by rural farmers and ranchers—became the new frontier of deforestation because they are harder for DETER to detect.

APA

Assunção, J., & Rocha, R. (2016). INSIGHTS RURAL SETTLEMENTS AND SMALL-SCALE DEFORESTATION. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Rural_Settlements_and_Small_Scale_Deforestation_Brief_EN_FINAL.pdf

Chicago

Assunção, Juliano, and Romero Rocha. INSIGHTS RURAL SETTLEMENTS AND SMALL-SCALE DEFORESTATION. Climate Policy Initiative, 2016. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Rural_Settlements_and_Small_Scale_Deforestation_Brief_EN_FINAL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Assunção |first1=Juliano |last2=Rocha |first2=Romero |title=INSIGHTS RURAL SETTLEMENTS AND SMALL-SCALE DEFORESTATION |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=December 2016 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Rural_Settlements_and_Small_Scale_Deforestation_Brief_EN_FINAL.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{assuno2016insights, author = {Assunção, Juliano and Rocha, Romero}, title = {{INSIGHTS RURAL SETTLEMENTS AND SMALL-SCALE DEFORESTATION}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2016}, month = dec, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Rural_Settlements_and_Small_Scale_Deforestation_Brief_EN_FINAL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }