Settlements in Focus: Combating Deforestation and Conservation in the Amazon

The report finds that while agrarian reform settlements occupy only 8% of the Amazon biome, they accounted for 24% of forest loss in 2023. Deforestation is highly concentrated, with 5% of settlements responsible for 65% of the deforested area between 2017 and 2023. Evidence suggests that large-scale clearing is driven by external actors rather than resident settlers, as the scale of deforestation is incompatible with family farming. The report recommends that INCRA, IBAMA, and the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change prioritize strategic interventions in these high-impact settlements and specific regional superintendencies, particularly those in Santarém, Amazonas, and Southern Pará.

• Agrarian reform settlements in the Amazon represent a small portion of the biome's area but a disproportionate share of its deforestation; they occupy 8% of the biome but accounted for 24% of forest loss in 2023 and 28% of total deforestation since 2008.
• Deforestation in these settlements is extremely concentrated, with just 5% of settlements (approximately 130 projects) accounting for 65% of the deforested area in settled regions between 2017 and 2023.
• The patterns of forest loss suggest that external actors, rather than the resident settler population, are driving deforestation, as 75% of vegetation loss in settled areas involves plots larger than 6.25 hectares, and 36% involve more than 25 hectares.
• Deforestation is highly concentrated within specific administrative units of the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA); between 2017 and 2023, 63% of deforestation in settled areas occurred within three regional superintendencies: Santarém, Southern Pará, and Amazonas.
• Specific settlements emerge as critical hotspots, such as the Rio Juma settlement, which alone accounted for 8% of forest loss in the biome's settled areas and 46% of deforestation within the Amazonas Superintendency.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2024). Settlements in Focus: Combating Deforestation and Conservation in the Amazon. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/settlements-in-focus-combating-deforestation-and-conservation-in-the-amazon/

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. Settlements in Focus: Combating Deforestation and Conservation in the Amazon. 2024. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/settlements-in-focus-combating-deforestation-and-conservation-in-the-amazon/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=Settlements in Focus: Combating Deforestation and Conservation in the Amazon |date=29 October 2024 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/settlements-in-focus-combating-deforestation-and-conservation-in-the-amazon/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2024settlements, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{Settlements in Focus: Combating Deforestation and Conservation in the Amazon}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2024}, month = oct, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/settlements-in-focus-combating-deforestation-and-conservation-in-the-amazon/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }