From Conflict to Cooperation: International Policies to Protect the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

Tropical rainforests embody an internationalized environmental problem, regarding both the kind of social forces interested in it and the perception of the international consequences of ongoing deforestation. The Brazilian Amazon, on which attention has primarily focused, is one of the first objects of a truly international environmental policy. The case of deforestation in the Amazon is relevant for the examination of international environmental cooperation: it became highly politicized and connected to other controversial issues, particularly the inequalities between North and South, questions of development, sovereignty, and transfer of financial resources. Pivotal international governmental and non-governmental organizations have shown considerable interest in the Brazilian Amazon, trying to persuade the Brazilian government to change its policies.

In spite of all the controversies, however, cooperation has slowly increased. This article shows what the problems were, how parties within and outside Brazil reacted initially, and how and why this changed over time. It pays attention to the international context of environmental policy, the debate on the supposed ?internationalization? of the Brazilian Amazon, and how Brazilian sensitivities and international campaigns forced the World Bank to change its policies. The organization now has become the coordinator of the largest international environmental program for a single country, the Pilot Program to conserve the Brazilian rainforest. Although there are still many difficulties to be resolved, this case offers important lessons for international environmental cooperation.

Note: This is a description of the paper, and not the actual abstract.

JEL Classification: O13, O19, O20, Q23, Q28