Deforestation slowdown in the Brazilian Amazon: prices or policies?

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 697-722 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliano Assunção ◽  
Clarissa Gandour ◽  
Rudi Rocha

AbstractThis paper investigates the contribution of agricultural output prices and policies to the reduction in Amazon deforestation in the 2000s. Based on a panel of Amazon municipalities from 2002 through 2009, we first show that deforestation responded to agricultural output prices. After controlling for price effects, we find that conservation policies implemented beginning in 2004 and 2008 significantly contributed to the curbing of deforestation. Counterfactual simulations suggest that conservation policies avoided approximately 73,000 km2 of deforestation, or 56 per cent of total forest clearings that would have occurred from 2005 through 2009 had the policies adopted beginning in 2004 and 2008 not been introduced. This is equivalent to an avoided loss of 2.7 billion tonnes of stored carbon dioxide.

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 413-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Di Corato ◽  
Michele Moretto ◽  
Sergio Vergalli

AbstractDeforestation results from the trade-off between benefits from forest conservation and economic profits associated with land development. However, as net gains are often uncertain, irreversible land development may later be regretted. To better inform conservation policies, we use a real options framework to model irreversible forest conversion under uncertain conservation benefits and determine the associated optimal long-run average rate of deforestation. We then analyze the impact of the demand for agricultural products on the rate of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. In a scenario analysis for the nine states of the Brazilian Amazon, we calculate: (i) the expected time for exhaustion of the current forest stock; and (ii) the potential forest coverage for the next 20, 100 and 200 years. Our results suggest that if forest benefits grow over time at a sufficiently high speed, they may significantly slow down deforestation. In contrast, the higher their volatility, the faster deforestation proceeds.


1995 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip M. Fearnside

Existing hydroelectric dams in Brazilian Amazonia emitted about 0.26 million tons of methane and 38 million tons of carbon dioxide in 1990. The methane emissions represent an essentially permanent addition to gas fluxes from the region, rather than a one-time release. The total area of reservoirs planned in the region is about 20 times the area existing in 1990, implying a potential annual methane release of about 5.2 million tons. About 40% of this estimated release is from underwater decay of forest biomass, which is the most uncertain of the components in the calculation. Methane is also released in significant quantities from open water, macrophyte beds, and above-water decay of forest biomass.


Author(s):  
Melaku Adinew Aytehgiza ◽  
Gebrekirstos Gebresilasie

This study examined the effect of climate change on agricultural output growth in Ethiopia. Co- Integration and Vector Error Correction Model estimation technique and data for the period 1981-2016 was used. Changing in annual mean temperature, annual mean rainfall, carbon dioxide emission and forest depletion were used to attribute variables for climate change. The result of vector error correction model indicate that both in the long-run and short-run, carbon dioxide emissions negatively affect agricultural output growth in Ethiopia. Annual temperature and annual rainfall negatively affect agricultural output growth in the long run and short run respectively.  On the other hand, forest depletion has positive effect on agricultural output growth both long run and the short-run respectively. Policy maker should develop policies to reduce sources of carbon dioxide emissions and introduce mitigation and adaptation measures to sustain the agricultural economic growth.  


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
José Augusto Teston ◽  
Viviane Gianluppi Ferro

Abstract: The Euchromiina moths comprise 735 species in the neotropics. Here we provide a list of Euchromiina species from the Brazilian Amazon. The list was produced from specimens deposited in the most important Brazilian collections and from literature data. Nearly 30% (219) of the neotropics Euchromiina species were recorded, including 13 new occurrences for the Brazilian Amazon. Santarém and Belém were the municipalities with the highest number of species records, with 96 and 74, respectively. Although the number of Euchromiina records is high in the Amazon, this value is underestimated because the fauna was never sampled in the vast majority of the biome. This is a worrying scenario because the Amazon has the world highest absolute rate of forest reduction. In order to suggest efficient conservation policies for the Amazon Arctiinae fauna, it is urgent to intensify the sampling effort in this biome.


2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (24) ◽  
pp. 7414-7419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone C. Bauch ◽  
Anna M. Birkenbach ◽  
Subhrendu K. Pattanayak ◽  
Erin O. Sills

The claim that nature delivers health benefits rests on a thin empirical evidence base. Even less evidence exists on how specific conservation policies affect multiple health outcomes. We address these gaps in knowledge by combining municipal-level panel data on diseases, public health services, climatic factors, demographics, conservation policies, and other drivers of land-use change in the Brazilian Amazon. To fully exploit this dataset, we estimate random-effects and quantile regression models of disease incidence. We find that malaria, acute respiratory infection (ARI), and diarrhea incidence are significantly and negatively correlated with the area under strict environmental protection. Results vary by disease for other types of protected areas (PAs), roads, and mining. The relationships between diseases and land-use change drivers also vary by quantile of the disease distribution. Conservation scenarios based on estimated regression results suggest that malaria, ARI, and diarrhea incidence would be reduced by expanding strict PAs, and malaria could be further reduced by restricting roads and mining. Although these relationships are complex, we conclude that interventions to preserve natural capital can deliver cobenefits by also increasing human (health) capital.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
José A. Teston ◽  
Débora S. de Abreu ◽  
Viviane G. Ferro

Abstract: The Ctenuchina moths comprise 874 New World species. Here we provide a list of Ctenuchina species from the Brazilian Amazon. The list was produced from specimens deposited in the most important Brazilian collections and from literature data. Nearly 31% (273) of the New World Ctenuchina species were recorded, including 28 new occurrences for the Brazilian Amazon. Santarém and Belém were the municipalities with the highest number of species records, with 139 and 88, respectively. The high number of Ctenuchina records in the Amazon is underestimated because this subtribe has never been sampled in the vast majority of the biome. This is a worrying scenario because the Amazon has the world highest absolute rate of forest reduction. To suggest efficient conservation policies for the Arctiinae fauna of Amazon, it is urgent to intensify the sampling effort in this biome.


Author(s):  
K. C. Tsou ◽  
J. Morris ◽  
P. Shawaluk ◽  
B. Stuck ◽  
E. Beatrice

While much is known regarding the effect of lasers on the retina, little study has been done on the effect of lasers on cornea, because of the limitation of the size of the material. Using a combination of electron microscope and several newly developed cytochemical methods, the effect of laser can now be studied on eye for the purpose of correlating functional and morphological damage. The present paper illustrates such study with CO2 laser on Rhesus monkey.


Author(s):  
Charles TurnbiLL ◽  
Delbert E. Philpott

The advent of the scanning electron microscope (SCEM) has renewed interest in preparing specimens by avoiding the forces of surface tension. The present method of freeze drying by Boyde and Barger (1969) and Small and Marszalek (1969) does prevent surface tension but ice crystal formation and time required for pumping out the specimen to dryness has discouraged us. We believe an attractive alternative to freeze drying is the critical point method originated by Anderson (1951; for electron microscopy. He avoided surface tension effects during drying by first exchanging the specimen water with alcohol, amy L acetate and then with carbon dioxide. He then selected a specific temperature (36.5°C) and pressure (72 Atm.) at which carbon dioxide would pass from the liquid to the gaseous phase without the effect of surface tension This combination of temperature and, pressure is known as the "critical point" of the Liquid.


2001 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 789-796 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. H. Ziska ◽  
O. Ghannoum ◽  
J. T. Baker ◽  
J. Conroy ◽  
J. A. Bunce ◽  
...  

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