RESEARCH ARTICLE

Alexandre Gori Maia, em parceria com João Mastrangelo e Stella Schons | World Development

Who owns the rainforest – and who has the right to use it – might seem like a simple question. But, in the Brazilian Amazon, that question lies at the heart of one of the world’s most persistent environmental challenges. New research from Alexandre Gori Maia (CEA/IE) with collaborators João Paulo Mastrangelo (Universidade Federal do Acre) and Stella Schons (Virginia Tech) provides some of the strongest evidence yet that secure land tenure – not merely possessing a land title – plays a critical role in reducing deforestation and improving compliance with environmental laws.

Published today in World Development, the study examined data from more than 35,000 private rural properties in Acre, a state in the western Brazilian Amazon known both for its history of forest conservation and its growing development pressures. Using satellite and environmental registration data, the study compares properties with clearly declared land boundaries to those with overlapping or disputed claims. The results were clear: properties with secure land rights deforested less and were more likely to comply with Brazil’s Forest Code, which limits deforestation to 20 percent of each property’s area.

In many parts of the Amazon, even landowners with official titles face uncertainty. Brazil’s long history of land speculation, occupation, and weak enforcement has created situations where multiple people claim the same parcel of land. When ownership is disputed or poorly governed, deforestation often follows – a way for occupants to demonstrate “productive use” of land and strengthen their claims under Brazilian law.

The study highlights a crucial policy insight: governments and conservation organizations should expand their focus beyond titling programs to enhance local land governance. Building institutions that can clearly define, monitor, and uphold land rights, from community councils to environmental agencies, may be more effective in the long term than issuing new titles alone. The research team also noted that the implications reach far beyond the Amazon. Around the world, from tropical forests to rural landscapes, property rights influence how people utilize and manage natural resources. Secure tenure fosters stewardship and long-term investment, whereas uncertainty promotes short-term exploitation.

As the Amazon faces renewed pressures from deforestation, the study offers a clear lesson: protecting forests starts with protecting the people who have the rights and responsibility to manage them.

Full article: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X25003195