Institutional subversion and deforestation: learning lessons from the system for the environmental licencing of rural properties in Mato Grosso

Following the influential Brundtland Report, environmental preservation, social welfare and economic growth ceased to be seen as opposite objectives, but rather, were considered as pillars of what came to be known as ‘sustainable development’ (WCED, 1987). In order to realise this vision, different multilateral agreements have highlighted the importance of developing institutional frameworks able to tackle environmental issues on a global scale (United Nations, 1992; UNEP, 2011). Nevertheless, despite advances relating to the creation of formal agreements, only a few achievements have been associated with the implementation of environmental institutional frameworks (Zanchetta et al., 2011).