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This executive summary reports on the 2019 air quality monitoring in the state of Acre, Brazil, utilizing a network of 30 low-cost PurpleAir sensors across 22 municipalities. The study focused on particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations between June and December 2019, identifying significant violations of World Health Organization (WHO) air quality standards primarily driven by biomass burning from deforestation and pasture management.

This policy brief by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC-Rio) provides an ex-ante assessment of the environmental risks associated with the construction of the EF-170 Ferrogrão railway in Brazil. Using a market access approach, the researchers project that without mitigation measures, the railway will induce significant deforestation in Mato Grosso, leading to substantial carbon emissions and associated economic costs.

This policy brief by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) and PUC-Rio evaluates the projected environmental risks of the EF-170 Ferrogrão railroad project in Brazil. Using a market access approach, the researchers estimate that the railroad will significantly increase deforestation in Mato Grosso by improving market access for farmers and ranchers, leading to substantial carbon emissions and associated social costs.

This technical note by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) and PUC-Rio analyzes Provisional Measure (MP) 910/2019, which modifies Law 11.952/2009 regarding the land regularization of federal public lands in Brazil. The authors argue that the MP rewards criminal activities such as land grabbing (grilagem) and illegal deforestation by expanding the spatial and temporal scopes for regularization and simplifying the process through self-declaration, thereby benefiting large landowners over traditional communities and family farmers.

This research paper discusses the environmental cost of Brazil's agricultural expansion and proposes four coordinated strategies to increase production and social welfare while reducing deforestation.

This research paper evaluates the effectiveness of Brazil's DETER satellite-based monitoring system in reducing deforestation in the Amazon between 2006 and 2016. Using an instrumental variable approach based on cloud coverage, the authors find that targeted environmental law enforcement significantly curbed forest clearing without negatively impacting local agricultural production.

This briefing describes the 'Sustainable Infrastructure in the Amazon' project, an initiative by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC-Rio) supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. The project aims to integrate socio-environmental risk assessments into the decision-making and lifecycle of infrastructure projects in Brazil, specifically focusing on the Amazon region, to ensure economic growth does not compromise vital ecosystem services.

A statement by Friends of the Earth International condemning the 2019 Amazon wildfires, attributing them to the neoliberal policies of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and the expansion of agribusiness, mining, and logging.

This white paper by the Climate Policy Initiative argues that strengthening command and control mechanisms, specifically through technological innovation in monitoring and law enforcement, is essential to combating illegal deforestation in Brazil. It highlights the success of the DETER system in the Amazon and proposes expanding these capabilities to other biomes and smaller-scale deforestation.

This policy brief by the Climate Policy Initiative argues that Brazil can achieve large-scale reforestation and meet its Paris Agreement emissions targets by prioritizing natural forest regeneration on public lands in the Amazon, specifically within protected territories and undesignated public lands.

This executive summary by the Climate Policy Initiative argues that public lands in the Amazon, particularly protected territories and non-designated lands, provide a strategic opportunity for Brazil to implement large-scale reforestation through natural regeneration to meet climate goals without harming agricultural production.

This research paper evaluates whether legal territorial protection in the Brazilian Amazon effectively shields forests from deforestation. Using a spatially explicit panel dataset from 2006 to 2014, the author finds that protected territories successfully reduce forest clearing in high-risk areas compared to unprotected cells under similar pressure. However, the study concludes that this protection does not reduce the overall level of regional deforestation but instead deflects clearing activity to unprotected areas.

The Climate Smart Cattle Ranching (CSCR) initiative, proposed by Naturevest and The Nature Conservancy, is a blended finance model designed to increase the supply of deforestation-free beef from the Brazilian Amazon. The project establishes a 'New Company' to provide long-term co-investment and technical assistance to mid-sized ranchers, specifically targeting those who lack formal land titles and are unable to access traditional commercial credit. By implementing Embrapa’s Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and ensuring compliance with the Brazilian Forest Code, the initiative aims to intensify livestock production on degraded pastures, thereby reducing the pressure to deforest and lowering the emissions intensity of beef production.

This policy brief by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) analyzes new data from the Brazilian Institute for Space Research (INPE) showing a significant increase in tropical secondary vegetation in the Brazilian Amazon between 2004 and 2014. The document highlights a gap in Brazil's satellite monitoring systems, which track primary deforestation but overlook regeneration, and outlines priorities for future policy analysis to integrate this phenomenon into carbon reduction goals and forest restoration requirements.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) analyzes the historical evolution, current structure, and systemic challenges of rural property rights in Brazil. It highlights how a legacy of disordered land occupation and a fragmented institutional framework have led to widespread land insecurity, social conflict, and environmental degradation. The document provides a detailed mapping of land categories, evaluates current government regularization programs, and offers policy recommendations to improve governance, law enforcement, and the integration of land registries.

This executive summary describes a study by the Núcleo de Avaliação de Políticas Climáticas (NAPC/CPI) and the INPUT project regarding the impact of rural settlements on deforestation in the Amazon. The research concludes that rural settlements were responsible for 30% of deforestation in the Amazon region in 2014, with a significant portion attributed to settlements designed for sustainable production.

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.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative examines the social, economic, and environmental consequences of insecure rural land rights in Brazil. It identifies key drivers of instability, such as the 'social function of property' requirement and institutional complexity, and outlines obstacles to reform, including the lack of an integrated land database and the prevalence of illegal land grabbing (grilagem).

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.

This research paper examines the relationship between property rights and the implementation of Brazil's 2012 Forest Code, analyzing how land ownership structures and administrative institutions influence landowner behavior and environmental outcomes.