The text analyzes settlement policies and land use processes in the Brazilian Amazon rain forest region and their relation with the evolution of regional deforestation rates. For that purpose, the concepts of social capital, collective action and governance were used to explain practices and activities carried out by selected actors present in the area of influence of the BR-163 highway (Cuiabá-Santarém). Results indicate that the success of these policies depends on the State's effective presence in the region, by means of the deployment of regulatory instruments. Also, these actions have to consider local power relationships and how they reflect themselves in Amazon deforestation rates. Finally, it is shown that the establishment of economic mechanisms and incentives could contribute to changing actors' individual behavior.
Amazon deforestation; social participation; economic mechanisms; public policies