Protected Areas Help Reduce Forest Loss in Brazilian Amazon

The establishment of protected areas in the Brazilian Amazon since 1999 has been effective in slowing deforestation of the world’s largest rainforest and reducing carbon emissions, according to a new study. Amazon deforestation was reduced by 75 percent from 2004 to 2009, a period that coincided with the protection of 709,000 square kilometers (274,000 square miles) of rainforest as part of Brazil’s Amazon Protected Areas Program (ARPA). According to the report, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 37 percent of the decline in deforestation is attributable to the protected areas. The report said that 115 of the 206 protected areas established in the Brazilian Amazon —particularly indigenous reserves — have helped reduce forest loss. The report estimates that the protected areas established in recent years will cut deforestation by 180,000 to 360,000 square kilometers by 2050, avoiding 2.2 to 4.4 billion metric tons of carbon emissions. The authors suggest, however, that protected areas will not be enough. Other efforts should focus on conservation initiatives for private landowners, including improved zoning and economic incentives for keeping forests intact.