Brazil
In Brazil, CPI has a partnership with the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) via the Brazil Policy Center, led by Juliano J. Assunção, professor in the Department of Economics at PUC-Rio. Our work in Brazil combines rigorous economic, institutional and legal analysis to identify areas for improving public policies and provides concrete recommendations on how to reconcile economic development with environmental conservation. CPI supports public policies in Brazil through rigorous analysis and evidence-based research, strategic partnerships with members of the government and civil society through a constructive approach, and direct collaboration with policymakers.
CPI has a long history with regards to conservation policy and land use, having conducted significant research and evaluation of policies related to deforestation and land conservation in the Amazon, becoming an academic reference in the field. CPI combines its institutional knowledge and conservation policy lens with rigorous economic and legal analysis.
Featured work
Publication
The Impacts of Rural Credit on Agricultural Outcomes and Land Use: An Analysis by Credit Lines, Producer Types and Credit Uses
In this work, Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC-RIO) provides a detailed impact analysis of the Brazilian Rural Credit policy on agricultural production, land use and deforestation.
Publication
Os Impactos Ambientais da Ferrogrão: Uma Avaliação Ex-ante dos Riscos de Desmatamento
Análise dos pesquisadores do CPI/PUC-Rio mostra que a construção da Ferrogrão incentivará agricultores e pecuaristas localizados no estado do Mato Grosso a ampliarem a produção, aumentando a demanda por terras. Caso nenhuma medida de mitigação seja implementada, isso pode induzir o desmatamento de cerca 2.043 quilômetros quadrados de vegetação nativa em quase quarenta municípios desse estado.
Publication
Priorities That Do Not Prioritize: The Mismatch Between the Objectives and the Application of Resources from Constitutional Funds Leads to Credit Concentration in the Rural Sector
In this brief, researchers from the CPI/PUC-Rio show that, although rules establishing priority classes for beneficiaries may be apparently aligned with policy objectives, loose eligibility criteria for these classes mean that there is no real prioritization in resource allocation. In other words, priorities are not prioritized.
Partners
Latest work
Publication
Credit for Investments in Brazilian Agriculture and the Role of the Brazilian Development Bank
The study presents an analysis of BNDES performance and evolution in terms of rural credit, as well as the characteristics of credit granted by the bank for the purchase of agricultural machinery and equipment.
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Where Does Brazil Stand with the Implementation of the Forest Code? A Snapshot of the CAR and PRA in Brazilian States - 2021 Edition
This publication is part of a project to permanently monitor the implementation of the Forest Code in Brazilian states, with contributions from environmental and agricultural bodies at the state level.
Publication
The Relationship between Forest Fires and Deforestation in the Amazon: Phenomena Are More Closely Related in Rural Settlements and in Occupied Public Lands
This study from CPI/PUC-Rio presents the main findings from an analysis of the occurrence of forest fires in the Brazilian Amazon and their relationship with subsequent deforestation.
Publication
Through DETER’s Lens: The Relationship between Degradation and Deforestation in the Amazon
This document presents the main results of an analogous analysis that explores publicly available, more recent, and more detailed data about forest loss from the Real-Time Deforestation Detection System (Sistema de Detecção de Desmatamento em Tempo Real – DETER), also produced by INPE.
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The Role of Brazil’s Federal Court of Accounts in Managing Social and Environmental Risks for Federal Railway and Highway Concessions
This publication study and analyzes the prior oversight by the TCU of federal railway and highway concessions, focusing on how the court has assessed the socio-environmental aspects of the projects, with the aim of mitigating risks.
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Mapping the Effect of Deforestation on Rainfall: a Case Study from the State of Mato Grosso
In this insight, CPI/PUC-Rio shows that Amazon deforestation affects rainfall in the state of Mato Grosso – one of the most important agricultural hubs in the world, home to more than three million people, and 8 hydroelectric power plants.
Publication
Public Policies for the Protection of the Amazon Forest: What Works and How to Improve
This report consolidates the main findings of the academic literature that rigorously evaluates policies aimed at combating deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Additionally, it draws on empirical evidence to propose ways of strengthening Brazil’s policy agenda for protecting the Amazon Forest whilst promoting the region’s sustainable development. The report thereby aims to contribute to the design and implementation of an effective policy framework for Amazon conservation.
Publication
The Economics of Cattle Ranching in the Amazon: Land Grabbing or Pushing the Agricultural Frontier?
In this report, researchers from CPI/PUC-Rio dig deeper into the link between cattle ranching and deforestation in the Amazon to investigate the economic dynamics behind it.
