Derya Keles (Université de Lorraine Université de Strasbourg AgroParisTech CNRS INRAE BETA Nancy)

Does the Selective Erasure of Protected Areas Raise Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon?

avec Alexander Pfaff et Michael Mascia
 

Abstract

Protected areas (PAs) have long been the leading conservation tools for deterring deforestation. However, there is resistance to PAs from land users who lose profit. That can lead to remote sites for PAs, plus illegal deforestation within PAs, both of which reduce the PAs’ forest contributions. At times, land users interested in activities that conflict with PAs even push to reduce protection.  PA Downgrading, Downsizing and Degazettement (collectively ‘PADDD’) are reductions in status (downgrading) or in size (downsizing or degazettement, i.e., the partial or full erasure of the PA). For the entire Brazilian Amazon, we estimate the impact of 2009-2012 PA erasures on 2010-2015 post-erasure loss of forest cover. We use matching in light of the relevant results for PADDD risks: for the Brazilian Amazon, PA erasures occur more near economic pressure − where deforestation is more likely (Keles et al., 2019; Tesfaw et al., 2018). Conceptually, erasures raise deforestation more if PAs face pressures, and if they block them, for impacts. Empirically, we find: when PAs selected for size reductions faced pressure, erasures raised deforestation.