The project aims to analyze the political and financial dimensions of various Brazilian states’ efforts to combat deforestation. Although the focus is on the Amazon, states in the Southeast and Midwest were examined for their current policies and those in the implementation phase. The goal is to identify complementary and replicable practices and policies that create economic incentives to control deforestation. The project, completed in 2013, resulted in the publication of the article “Economic Instruments for Reducing Deforestation in the Amazon,” in partnership with the Climate and Land Use Alliance (CLUA) and the U.S. consulting firm The Munden Project. The article analyzed the basic political, spatial, and economic dynamics that lead to deforestation in Brazil. The relative capacity and motivations of state and federal leaders to address each of these dynamics were taken into account. The report also includes proposals on how federal and state governments could work together to create incentives for sustainable production and establish economic mechanisms to finance these activities, thereby increasing control over deforestation.
All the steps outlined in the project were carried out, including: interviews with experts from the environmental and financial sectors; mapping of various state policies and their local and regional impacts; roundtable discussions with experts in São Paulo and Brasília; and the drafting and layout of the final publication. Funbio developed a case study focused on a specific production chain in the municipality of São Félix do Xingú (PA) to test the project’s legal and economic feasibility. This study analyzed different special tax regimes aimed at transitioning from the current livestock production model to a sustainable one.