A study examines how Brazil’s Forest Code might help curb illegal deforestation. The National Rural Environmental Registry System, or SICAR, in Brazil seeks to improve documentation of property boundaries and to hold landowners accountable for illegal deforestation. Although public land registries offer a promising approach to ensuring sustainable land use, few studies have quantified their effectiveness. Marcelo C. C. Stabile and colleagues used geospatial analyses and stakeholder interviews to assess the land registry system upon which SICAR was modeled: the Rural Environmental Registry, or CAR, which is currently active in two Amazon states. According to the authors, landowners registered rapidly enough with CAR to indicate that incentives to join the system outweighed the costs of not joining. However, while CAR land properties initially exhibited reductions in deforestation compared with unregistered landholdings, the difference diminished over time. Furthermore, only 6% of CAR landowners who were interviewed acted to restore illegally cleared portions of their properties, a key component of CAR and SICAR. According to the authors, better enforcement measures and economic benefits might help ensure that SICAR encourages land owners to adhere to the Forest Code and curb deforestation.
Authors: Andrea A. Azevedo, Raoni Rajão, Marcelo A. Costa, Marcelo C. C. Stabile, Marcia N. Macedo Tiago N. P. dos Reis, Ane Alencar, Britaldo S. Soares-Filho, and Rayane Pacheco.