Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAm): A Scoping Review on Institutionalization, Effectiveness, and DismantlingAbstract
The primary sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Brazil stem from activities associated with land use and forest changes, particularly due to the clearing of native vegetation. The agricultural sector is the second largest emitter. Geographically, the Amazon region is the focal point of these emissions, and the escalating deforestation in the area led to the creation of the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAm, in Portuguese) in 2004. This article presents the results of a literature mapping focused on the PPCDAm, guided by key questions regarding the institutionalization process of the plan, its effectiveness, and its recent period of dismantling, as analyzed from the perspective of specialized literature. The methodology adheres to the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) standards for Scoping Reviews (ScR). This review enabled the description and analysis of the four phases of the PPCDAm, spanning from 2004 to 2019, highlighting the effectiveness of the plan’s initial phases (2004-2012), which achieved an 84% reduction in deforestation by 2012 compared to 2004. The literature mapping revealed a gap in academic studies concerning the analysis of the fourth phase (2016-2019) and the dismantling of the plan. This phase is contextualized by Brazil's focus on mitigating climate change to meet the targets of the National Climate Change Plan for 2020, the signing of the Paris Agreement-committing to zero illegal deforestation by 2030-, and the political shifts during the Temer administration and the beginning of the Bolsonaro administration, at which point the PPCDAm was discontinued.
Keywords:
Deforestation; Brazilian Amazon; Political Dismantling Strategies
Resumo
As principais fontes geradoras de Gases de Efeito Estufa (GEE) no Brasil correspondem às atividades associadas à mudança de uso do solo e florestas, especialmente decorrentes da supressão da vegetação nativa. O setor agropecuário é o segundo maior emissor. Geograficamente, a Amazônia concentra essas emissões; o avanço crescente do desmatamento na região levou, em 2004, à criação do Plano de Ação para Prevenção e Controle do Desmatamento na Amazônia Legal (PPCDAm). Este artigo apresenta resultados de um mapeamento da literatura dedicada ao PPCDAm, tendo como questões norteadoras o entendimento, do ponto de vista da literatura especializada, do processo de institucionalização do plano, sua eficácia e seu recente período de desmantelamento. A metodologia empregada segue os padrões do Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) para Scoping Review (ScR). Essa revisão permitiu descrever e analisar as quatro fases do PPCDAm, que se desdobram entre 2004 e 2019, com destaque para a efetividade das fases iniciais do plano (2004-2012) com redução de cerca de 84% do desmatamento em 2012 quando comparado a 2004. O mapeamento da literatura permitiu identificar uma lacuna nos estudos acadêmicos no que tange à análise da quarta fase (2016-2019) e o desmantelamento do plano. Essa fase é contextualizada pelo foco na mitigação das mudanças climáticas com o objetivo de cumprir as metas do Plano Nacional de Mudanças Climáticas para o ano de 2020, pela assinatura pelo Brasil do Acordo de Paris, comprometendo-se em alcançar o desmatamento ilegal zero até 2030, com a gestão Temer e o início da gestão Bolsonaro, no início da qual o PPCDAM foi interrompido.
Palavras-chave:
Desflorestamento; Amazônia Brasileira; Estratégias de Desmantelamento de Políticas
INTRODUCTION
Climate change can be understood as long-term transformations in temperature and climate patterns that, over Earth's geological history, were caused by natural processes but have, since the First Industrial Revolution, been increasingly influenced by anthropogenic activities. Primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels for energy used in industrial development, transportation, and the dissemination of lifestyles and consumption patterns originating from the model established in the United Kingdom in the 18th century, human activities have become major drivers of climate change. The release of gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, chlorofluorocarbons, and others-emitted through industrial, transportation, and agricultural processes-intensifies the greenhouse effect, consequently exacerbating climate transformations on a global scale.
However, as highlighted by the Greenhouse Gas Emission and Removal Estimating System (SEEG, 2023), Brazil presents a somewhat distinct case. Between 1990 and 2022, the primary sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were linked to land use and the forestry sector, which was strongly associated with deforestation of native vegetation, followed by the agricultural sector.
In addition, according to Carbon Brief, which analyzes national responsibility for historical CO₂ emissions from 1850 to 2021, Brazil ranks fourth globally, primarily due to emissions from the land use and forestry sector (Evans, 2021). In 2022, the land use change sector was responsible for emitting 1.12 billion tons of CO₂ equivalent, accounting for 48% of the national total. Of this 1.12 billion tons, 97% were attributed to deforestation. Furthermore, of the total emissions from deforestation, 75%-equivalent to 837 million tons of CO₂-originated in the Amazon (SEEG, 2023).
Since the late 1990s and early 2000s, deforestation rates in the Legal Amazon have risen significantly, with deforestation reaching 18,200 km² in 2000 and 2001, and 21,600 km² in 2002 (Terra Brasilis, 2023). In response, the Plano de Ação para Prevenção e Controle da Amazônia Legal (PPCDAm, the subject of this paper, which is the governmental Action Plan developed and implemented for prevention and control of deforestation in the Legal Amazon) was launched in 2004 to curb deforestation in the region. The plan was deemed effective in reducing deforestation rates between 2004 and 2012 (Silva Junior et al., 2021), after which it faced a series of setbacks. Well-established experts in the field argue that designing future measures to control and prevent deforestation in the Legal Amazon requires understanding the role of the PPCDAm, both in its initial success in reducing deforestation and in the subsequent rise in deforestation rates (West; Fearnside, 2021).
This study aims to map the literature addressing the understanding of the PPCDAm and its implications for deforestation in the Legal Amazon. A total of 30 documents, including articles, theses, dissertations, and policy documents, were analyzed. These were retrieved from the Scopus database, the Biblioteca Digital Brasileira de Teses e Dissertações (BDTD, which is a federal digital database for Theses and Dissertations approved within Brazilian Master´s and Doctoral programs), and Policy Commons between September and November 2023. Given the essentially exploratory nature of this review, it does not aim to encompass all existing knowledge in the field under analysis.
The methodology employed adheres to the standards of the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI), applying the extension of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) for Scoping Reviews (ScR) (Peters et al., 2020; Peters et al., 2022). The study is organized into four sections, including this introduction. The second section outlines the methodology used in the research that underpins this article, detailing the main stages of the scoping review. The third section presents the results from the searches conducted in the selected databases, as well as the findings summarized in the PRISMA flowchart. The fourth section consists of a discussion framed by the questions formulated within this scoping review. The fifth and final section is dedicated to the conclusions.
METHODOLOGY
This study employed the Scoping Review (ScR) approach, which can be broadly understood as a method for defining the boundaries of a field to map problems, key concepts, and other elements that constitute a research area, including its questions, main sources, and types of available evidence (Arksey; O’Malley, 2005). It is a literature mapping methodology that enables the transparent, reproducible, and effective synthesis of evidence based on specific research questions and the use of databases appropriate to the field of study (Khalil et al., 2024).
The structure of the review comprises steps conducted rigorously and transparently, following the strategies outlined by Aromataris et al. (2024), with the entire process meticulously documented.
The first step consists of formulating the research question, which in the case of the present study is stated as follows: "How has the literature observed the institutionalization, effectiveness, and dismantling of the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAm)?" It is important to note that, in the context of this work, the term "effectiveness" should be understood as defined in the respective entry of the Aulete Digital dictionary, which is "the quality of being effective, the ability to produce the desired or expected outcome." The expected outcome of the PPCDAm is the reduction of deforestation; its effectiveness refers to the capacity to produce this outcome.
The second step involves identifying relevant studies. To this end, the PCC Strategy (problem, concept, and context) was formulated to define the search terms based on keywords. Identification was guided by the ScR criteria outlined in the JBI manual (Peters et al., 2020), using author keywords and other keywords developed through an interaction step with the databases. The PCC strategy, according to the guidance of Peters et al. (2020) and Aromataris et al. (2024), enables the construction of search strategies by combining query strings through the alignment of keywords according to their relevance to each element of the PCC acronym: P - for Problem and/or Policy and/or Population; C - for Concept; and C - for Context, as detailed in Table 1 below. The strategy was applied across four document databases: Scopus, BDTD, Policy Commons, and SciELO. The Scopus database (which includes white literature such as books, chapters, and articles) was chosen for its extensive coverage of literature in the field of Applied Social Sciences. To encompass grey literature (which includes dissertations, theses, and conference papers), the BDTD, was included, managed by the Instituto Brasileiro de Informação em Ciência e Tecnologia (IBICT, a Brazilian Institute which is a unit of the Ministério de Ciência e Tecnologia (MCTI - Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation). The Policy Commons database was included to capture policy documents (Población; Noronha, 2002). No results were obtained from the SciELO database.
The third step involves the selection and screening of studies, with the results presented through the PRISMA flowchart (see Figure 1). In accordance with Peters et al. (2020) and Aromataris et al. (2024), the PRISMA flowchart, which represents the documents selected at each step of the scoping review methodology guided by JBI standards, is the preferred way to identify these results, i.e., the documents retrieved, screened, and selected, along with the numbers of exclusions and inclusions throughout the successive stages of the ScR. Thus, the JBI recommends that the PRISMA flowchart be presented in the "results" section of a scoping review, not in the methodology section, as clarified by the same authors. Additionally, in line with JBI's recommendations for ScR, no temporal or language limitations were applied (Peters et al., 2020). However, for the analysis of policy documents from the Policy Commons database, the inclusion criterion was limited to documents in Portuguese, to better understand the processes and contexts in which the information is embedded, as the PPCDAm is a national policy in Brazil.
The eligibility criteria employed for the inclusion and exclusion of documents were: a) the documents must address at least one phase of the Plan (including its institutionalization and the other phases of the PPCDAm); and b) the documents should not be limited to merely mentioning the PPCDAm.
The fourth step involves the coding and analysis of the documents included in the review. For coding, a data extraction tool was developed, following JBI's recommendations, in the form of an Excel spreadsheet that distinguishes between documents from the Scopus, BDTD, and Policy Commons databases through color coding. For the creation of the data extraction tool, categories were defined for the information, including: i) the theme of the documents; ii) year of publication; iii) document type; iv) abstract; v) identification of which phase of the PPCDAm the document refers to, which may vary in terms of the institutionalization of the plan, the phase analyzed, and its dismantling.
RESULTS
The results of each step in the process of selecting and including the documents to be analyzed in this review are represented, in accordance with the JBI recommendations for ScR, through the PRISMA flowchart, presented in Figure 1 below.
PRISMA Flowchart: Results of the Document Selection and Inclusion Stages for the Review on the Institutionalization and Dismantling of the PPCDAm
The search in the Scopus database, conducted on November 1, 2023, resulted in the retrieval of a total of seven documents, distributed irregularly over eleven years, between 2013 and 2023. Although modest, this coverage in the international literature aligns with the scope of the present investigation.
The search in the BDTD database, conducted on September 5, 2023, yielded results corresponding to a total of nineteen documents, including theses and dissertations, with one duplicate result (which was excluded from the refined database). These documents were distributed irregularly over ten years, from 2013 to 2022. The included theses and dissertations cover the institutionalization of the PPCDAm as well as the first three phases, without addressing or analyzing the dismantling phase.
Regarding the Policy Commons database, the results correspond to the retrieval of a total of 289 documents, of which 62 were written in Portuguese, a criterion for inclusion, and 19 documents were duplicates. At the end of the screening stage, 10 policy documents were included in the refined database, as they met the eligibility criteria. The policy documents cover the institutionalization and the first three phases of the plan, without addressing the fourth phase or making references or analyses regarding the dismantling of the Plan.
Thus, it was possible, in accordance with the purposes of the ScR methodology following the JBI and PRISMA recommendations, to conduct the mapping of the literature focused on the PPCDAm, taking into account the specificities in terms of keywords, mobilized databases, and other methodological choices. The results provide contributions from this literature on the institutionalization and the first three phases of the Plan, with the gap identified being the analysis of the fourth phase of the PPCDAm, as well as coverage of its dismantling.
Analysis and Discussion
The so-called Grupo Permanente de Trabalho Interministerial (Permanent Interministerial Working Group, whose purposes are presented hereafter) was established on July 3, 2003, through a Presidential Decree with the purpose of implementing and coordinating measures to reduce illegal deforestation rates in the Legal Amazon region. The reader may refer to the text of the non-numbered Presidential Decree (DNN) issued in 2003, as well as the one that revoked it (Brasil, 2003; Brasil, 2019). The 2003 Decree and the creation of this working group reflect a significant decision-making moment at the start of President Lula's first term, aimed at addressing the deforestation issue in the Amazon, which was a focal point of attention under the leadership of Marina Silva, then Minister of the Environment (Kageyama; Dos Santos, 2011; Capobianco, 2022).
The Legal Amazon was demarcated by government agencies to geographically define the region for economic and social planning purposes (Agência Brasil, 2021). The region consists of 9 Brazilian states: Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, and part of Maranhão, as shown in Figure 2.
Based on a thorough evaluation of the causes of deforestation, the PPCDAm was established as the Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon, coordinating relevant bodies concerning federal government public policies, as it involved cooperation among various ministries, namely: Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA), Science and Technology (MCT), Defense (MD), Agrarian Development (MDA), Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC), National Integration (MI), Justice (MJ), Environment (MMA), Mines and Energy (MEE), Labor and Employment (MTE), Transport (MT), Planning, Budget and Management (MPOG), and Foreign Relations (MRE). The coordination was under the responsibility of the Civil House of the Presidency of the Republic until March 12, 2013, when it was transferred to the MMA. This approach to tackling deforestation, which involved a multi-actor articulation, stemmed from the diagnosis that combating deforestation could not be carried out in isolation by the Ministry of Environment (Silva, 2017; Mello; Artaxo, 2017).
First Phase of the PPCDAm (2004-2008)
The first phase of the PPCDAm was announced on March 15, 2004, based on a diagnosis of the deforestation characteristics of that period. In this context, the Plan’s first phase aimed to combat deforestation through a strategy built on a critical set of guidelines, which can be summarized as follows: valuing the forest for biodiversity conservation, managing timber and non-timber forest products, and providing environmental services; implementing incentives for the sustainable use of already deforested areas; developing land and territorial zoning measures; improving monitoring, licensing, and deforestation enforcement instruments; promoting cooperation among government institutions responsible for policies related to deforestation dynamics in the Legal Amazon; and encouraging effective participation of Amazonian society sectors in managing deforestation combat policies (Silva, 2017).
Moreover, the Operational Plan of the PPCDAm was designed based on four thematic axes, described as follows: 1) Land and Territorial Zoning, with emphasis on land policies, the creation and expansion of protected areas, and the demarcation and homologation of indigenous lands; 2) Monitoring and Control, particularly concerning near-real-time satellite monitoring of deforestation, as well as intensifying investigations into environmental crimes and the enforcement of fines; 3) Promotion of Sustainable Activities, supported by rural credit policies, workforce training, and research and development of technologies focused on conservation and sustainable use of resources; 4) Infrastructure, with a focus on the strategic planning of infrastructure works in the transportation and energy sectors, integrating prevention, mitigation, and compensatory measures to be implemented before such works. It is important to note that, regarding this structure of axes, the infrastructure axis was transferred, at the end of this first phase, to the Plano Amazônia Sustentável (PAS - Sustainable Amazon Plan in English (Mello; Artaxo, 2017; Silva, 2017; West; Fearnside, 2021).
The primary focus of the activities promoted during the first phase of the PPCDAm was the "Deforestation Arc" region and the area along BR-156, which connects Santarém, in the state of Pará, to Cuiabá, in the state of Mato Grosso. Additionally, the first phase of the PPCDAm had a total budget of 394 million reais, with 62% allocated to territorial planning activities, 21% to monitoring and control actions, and 17% to promoting sustainable activities (West; Fearnside, 2021).
The following chart 2 summarizes the key legal and institutional instruments -such as decrees, laws, and programs-that constituted the institutional framework for the first phase of the PPCDAm.
At the end of the first four years of the PPCDAm implementation, an evaluation was conducted to assess positive experiences and challenges encountered, with the aim of supporting the planning of subsequent phases of the Plan. This evaluation was commissioned by the Ministry of the Environment (MMA, in Portuguese) in 2007, through a technical cooperation agreement with the German Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ). An independent consultancy team, led by agronomist Guilherme Cardoso Abdala, carried out the assessment (Abdala, 2008; Silva, 2017).
The evaluation revealed varying levels of performance across the thematic subgroups. The "Monitoring and Control" subgroup demonstrated the highest performance, followed by the "Land Tenure Regularization" subgroup, which was rated as having moderate performance. The "Promotion of Sustainable Activities" subgroup was assessed as the least effective, primarily due to planning deficiencies, insufficient funding, and limited access to credit (Abdala, 2008; Silva, 2017; West; Fearnside, 2021).
During the first phase of the PPCDAm, key drivers of deforestation were addressed, including the agricultural sector, which often justified its activities with arguments about the need to expand agricultural frontiers to boost productivity (Abdala, 2008).
However, during this period, a shift in deforestation dynamics was observed, with a significant decrease in the contribution of large deforestation polygons and a relative increase in smaller polygons. Notably, there was also a rise in deforestation rates in 2008, as shown in Figure 3 below. This marked the first year since the plan's implementation in 2004 that deforestation rates increased.
As will be discussed in the following section, these results had important implications for planning the second phase of the PPCDAm.
Second Phase of the PPCDAm (2009-2011)
The diagnosis of shifts in deforestation dynamics and the observed increase in deforestation in the Amazon, as mentioned above, brought significant implications for reshaping the guidelines incorporated into the Plan for its next implementation period. This marked the second phase of the PPCDAm, spanning from 2009 to 2011, during which the strategic actions were restructured under each thematic axis.
Regarding the Land and Territorial Planning axis, key proposals included land regularization for 296,000 rural holdings and the creation of 20 new Federal Conservation Units, amounting to 6 million hectares, along with the demarcation and official recognition of 4 million hectares of Indigenous Lands (PPCDAm, 2009).
For the Monitoring and Control axis, the second phase prioritized measures to enhance environmental monitoring systems, establish mobile bases to aid in combatting deforestation, create the Companhia de Operações Ambientais da Força Nacional (COA/FN - Environmental Operations Company of the National Force,in English), establish the Comissão Interministerial de Combate aos Crimes e Infrações Ambientais (CICCIA - Interministerial Commission to Combat Environmental Crimes and Infractions, in English), and intensify integrated environmental inspection and accountability operations (PPCDAm, 2009).
With regard to the axis of Promoting Sustainable Productive Activities, the plan's adjustments included proposals to improve public forest management, develop actions for sustainable agricultural and rural development policies, enhance financing and credit mechanisms aimed at environmental conservation, and support extractivist communities as well as projects featuring sustainable production models tailored for the Amazon (PPCDAm, 2009).
Additionally, to improve efficiency, the PPCDAm II reduced the number of promoted activities and adopted a new administrative structure based on priority levels and project deadlines. As highlighted by West and Fearnside (2021), there was consensus among government agencies and experts that land regularization - part of the first axis - was a key factor for virtually all Plan activities. The absence of clearly defined land ownership was identified as one of the unresolved bottlenecks in the region, making it a priority.
However, the budget for the PPCDAm II, which amounted to R$ 1.2 billion, was primarily allocated to the Monitoring and Control and Sustainable Development axes, each receiving approximately 37%, while less than 27% was allocated to the Land and Territorial Planning axis (West; Fearnside, 2021).
The main legal and institutional instruments mobilized for implementing the second phase of the PPCDAm are summarized in Chart 3, which provides an overview of the primary decrees, laws, and programs associated with PPCDAm II.
In 2010, the Ministry of the Environment (MMA, in Portuguese) and the Executive Committee of the PPCDAm commissioned an evaluation of the second phase of the plan, aiming to analyze the results from 2007 to 2010. The evaluation was conducted by the Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada (IPEA - Institute of Applied Economic Research, in English), the Comissão Econômica para a América Latina e o Caribe (CEPAL - Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, in English), with support from the German Agency for International Cooperation through Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
Similar to the previous phase, the Monitoring and Control thematic axis continued to stand out as the most effective, with much of its success attributed to DETER and the swift response of integrated enforcement actions by Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis (IBAMA - Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources is a federal agency under the Ministry of Environment), the Federal Police, the Federal Highway Police, the National Public Security Force, and support from the Brazilian Army.
As for the Land and Territorial Planning and Promotion of Sustainable Productive Activities axes, their activities were classified as having a low degree of action and effectiveness. Despite the expansion of protected areas by 6 million hectares, this expansion was criticized for its slower implementation pace and smaller spatial scale when compared to these same indicators during the first phase (West; Fearnside, 2021).
The evaluation provided general recommendations for maintaining the PPCDAm at a high level of governance, creating actions aimed at reducing bureaucratic obstacles for land regularization, and promoting sustainable activities, as well as maintaining the focus of the Plan's actions in municipalities with the highest deforestation rates (Mello; Artaxo, 2017).
Based on these recommendations, a process of revising the Plan began, culminating in the formulation of the third phase of the PPCDAm.
Third Phase of the PPCDAm (2012-2015)
As previously mentioned, the first two phases of the PPCDAm, which spanned from 2004 to 2008 and from 2009 to 2011, had as their most significant outcome their effectiveness; in other words, the great highlight of the Plan was, in fact, the reduction in deforestation. Actions related to the Monitoring and Control axis, largely associated with the success of the DETER system, were considered a major success. However, the change in the dynamics and pattern of deforestation, primarily characterized by the reduction of deforestation in polygons larger than 25 hectares while smaller polygons (less than 25 hectares) experienced a gradual increase, presented a new challenge for the Plan. The fight against deforestation in small polygons became, effectively, one of the greatest challenges of this third phase, since a large portion of the deforestation occurred below the detection limit of DETER, which is 25 hectares. Accordingly, the third phase of the PPCDAm began by addressing the difficulty of implementing actions that aligned with the new deforestation dynamics, alongside the challenge of revitalizing an axis that had received lukewarm evaluations, namely, the axis of Sustainable Productive Activities, which could potentially lead to structural changes for reducing the pressures driving deforestation (Mello; Artaxo, 2017).
Thus, the actions proposed for the third phase of the PPCDAm were planned based on a new "logical model" or problem tree. This model, the presentation of which falls outside the scope of the present article-due to the mapping focus here-represents a meaningful way of presenting the collective and inter-institutional learning accumulated throughout the first phases of the PPCDAm (MMA, 2013). The mention of the model in the body of the text and its graphical representation succinctly shows how planning for deforestation control progresses within the scope of the Plan's actions. However, it constitutes a detailed and transparent way that allows a good understanding of these advances, which opens up possibilities for further investigation on the topic (MMA, 2013, pp. 169-171).
The logical model was mobilized to address the multiplicity of causes of deforestation in the Amazon, also including institutional and operational aspects of the Plan. Among the causes of deforestation, the review for the third phase of the Plan highlights:
Illegal occupation of public lands; unregulated expansion of settlements in forest areas; difficulty in tracking the wood supply chain; low viability of production chains that constitute alternatives to deforestation; low production of sustainable timber (PPCDAm, 2016, p.2).
The strategic objectives for the third phase of the PPCDAm were redefined according to each thematic axis. For the Land and Territorial Planning axis, the focus remained on advancing the land tenure regularization of public lands, particularly aiming to "manage the land tenure system in accordance with the various land categories" (Brasil, 2013, p. 70). For the Monitoring and Control axis, the need for greater agility in licensing Forest Management Plans and Forest Concessions was highlighted, with the goal of increasing effectiveness in monitoring and controlling deforestation, aiming to "promote environmental accountability in the main production chains related to illegal deforestation" (Brasil, 2013, p. 71). Regarding the axis of Promoting Sustainable Productive Activities, actions to promote good agricultural practices and sustainable activities in land reform settlements and Family Farming were emphasized, along with support for increasing timber production through Sustainable Forest Management and actions to develop Science, Technology, and Innovation aimed at sustainable development in the Amazon (Brasil, 2013).
For the third phase of the PPCDAm, the axis considered most important was that of Promoting Sustainable Activities, so that, to strengthen it, priority types of activities were defined, including: promoting sustainable production; supporting Technical Assistance and Rural and Forestry Extension, and the diffusion of Technology and Innovation (ATER, in Portuguese); supporting Local Productive Arrangements and complementary activities (Brasil, 2013).
A series of legal and institutional measures were taken to enable the implementation of the actions in the third phase of the PPCDAm, which are summarized in the following Chart 4.
The third phase of the PPCDAm had a larger budget compared to the first two phases, totaling 1.4 billion reais, of which 55% was allocated to promoting sustainable activities (i.e., actions related to thematic axis 3), 30% was directed to monitoring and control (axis 2), and 15% to territorial planning (axis 1) (West;Fearnside, 2021).
It is important to note that within the territorial planning thematic axis, the most significant action of the third phase was the controversial revision of the Brazilian Forest Code in 2012, which granted amnesty for illegal deforestation prior to 2008. The direct consequence of this amnesty was the reduction of the total area to be restored, decreasing from 50 to 21 million hectares. According to the new Forest Code, a total of 88 million hectares of private properties could legally be deforested. Additionally, throughout this new phase of the PPCDAm, the expansion of protected areas stagnated (West; Fearnside, 2021).
Fourth Phase of the PPCDAm (2016-2019)
The fourth phase of the PPCDAm is based on the same logical model formulated in 2012, considering that the causes of deforestation were deemed to be virtually the same by the institutions and experts involved. As part of the formulation process for this new phase, Sectoral Revision Workshops were held, "with the participation of private sector institutions, civil society, states, and the federal government" (PPCDAm, 2016, p.2). Bilateral meetings and workshops with federal government institutions also served as support for the work of the Executive Committee, under the coordination of the MMA, in developing the phase that began in 2016 (PPCDAm, 2016).
In this fourth phase of the PPCDAm, in addition to the three axes from previous phases, a new axis was proposed, focused specifically on the creation of regulations and economic, fiscal, and tax instruments for the prevention and control of deforestation (West; Fearnside, 2021; PPCDAm, 2016).
Thus, the strategic guidelines of the PPCDAm were reformulated to guide actions within the four thematic axes, based on a set of ten guidelines, outlined in the following chart.
It is also observed that this fourth phase of the plan included a new focus related to mitigating climate change, with an orientation aimed at meeting the targets established by the National Climate Change Plan for 2020, within the scope of Brazil’s NDC. This new focus aligns with the commitment made by Brazil during COP 21, when the country signed the Paris Agreement, ratified in 2016, to achieve zero illegal deforestation by 2030 (West; Fearnside, 2021).
It is possible to observe, through the data released by Projeto de Monitoramento do Desmatamento na Amazônia Legal por Satélites (PRODES - The Project for Remote Deforestation Monitoring in The Legal Amazon, in English), the resumption of increased deforestation rates starting in 2015 during the third phase of the PPCDAm. Despite the “good intentions” represented by the planning changes for the fourth phase of the PPCDAm, as mentioned above, it is precisely during the fourth phase that deforestation starts to accelerate, as shown in Figure 3 presented earlier. It is worth noting that in 2018, 7,536 km² were deforested; in 2019, a total of 10,129 km², representing a 34% increase compared to the previous year. In 2020, deforestation reached 10,851 km², and in 2021, it increased to 13,038 km² (INPE, 2022).
The scope review results allow for the synthesis of evidence on institutional milestones and the outcomes of the implementation and dismantling of the Action Plan for the PPCDAm. This synthesis identifies, for each phase of the PPCDAm, information regarding institutional milestones and results, gathered from the specialized literature reviewed in this ScR, on the following aspects: i) implementation actions of the plan; ii) effectiveness; iii) evaluation; and iv) other political-institutional aspects. Chart 6 below summarizes this information for the four phases of the PPCDAm, from 2004 to 2019.
The results of this ScR indicate that, while the bibliographic and documentary production is of high quality and relevance to the mapping proposed here, it remains quite scarce regarding the period following the change in Brazil's federal administration in 2019.
It is noteworthy that the literature gathers evidence that during Jair Bolsonaro's government, measures were triggered that contributed to symbolically and effectively dismantling the country’s environmental agencies and undoing the environmental licensing system, as well as the programs for preventing and controlling deforestation (Souza, 2023; West; Fearnside, 2021). It is therefore not surprising that this administration was marked, between 2019 and 2022, by deforestation rates exceeding 10,000 km² in each year of the period (Risso; De Carvalho, 2022).
CONCLUSION
The objective of this scoping review is to provide a mapping of the literature dedicated to investigating the evolution of the implementation of the PPCDAm plan, its effectiveness in reducing deforestation rates in the Legal Amazon, and the period of its dismantling.
The specialized literature gathered in this review contributes to the understanding of the institutionalization of the PPCDAm as the composition of a very complex and integrated governance framework, articulating federal entities of public administration, with a convergence of scientific knowledge and the use of near-real-time satellite monitoring technology. It also encompassed integrated actions between monitoring and enforcement through IBAMA, as well as coordination with the Federal Police, Federal Highway Police, the National Force, and the Army. The governance framework included the participation of organized civil society and the contribution of technical-scientific knowledge.
Regarding the effectiveness of the Plan's results, the reviewed literature indicates a significant reduction of approximately 80% in deforestation rates in 2012 compared to 2004.
The effectiveness and governance of the Plan are presented as interconnected in the analyses within the mapped literature, as the success of the Plan strongly results from the success of Monitoring and Control of deforestation, the most successful axis of the plan. Also contributing to this effectiveness during the period from 2004 to 2012, according to the literature, were advances in the demarcation of protected areas.
As evidenced in this mapping, the initial phases included a focus on evaluation actions, which enabled the updating and adaptation of the subsequent phase.
Although limited, the available literature on the fourth phase of the PPCDAm points to a renewal of the guiding principles of the Plan, highlighting the alignment with Brazil’s contributions toward meeting the country's targets under the Paris Agreement. Alongside this, the literature identifies the inclusion of a new axis within the structure of the PPCDAm, revealing the growing importance of financial instruments, including fiscal and other economic tools, to stimulate the achievement of deforestation control and reduction targets and promote sustainable development in the Amazon. Despite these advances in the design of the Plan, the literature remains scarce when it comes to evaluations for this period.
In this sense, this review of the specialized literature and policy documents has allowed the identification of a gap in the studies mapped, particularly regarding the analysis of the fourth phase (2016-2019), which corresponds to the period that Souza (2023) identifies as the dismantling of the plan, with more discreet actions during the Temer administration and the active dismantling, including the extinction of the PPCDAm in 2019, under the Bolsonaro government.
This study has limitations that can be categorized into three key aspects. The first limitation pertains to the design of the search strategy, specifically: a) the selection of author keywords, and b) the scope of the covered databases. In this regard, future research could benefit from expanding the keyword set and covering additional databases to broaden the search. The second limitation is related to the contemporary and evolving nature of this field of knowledge. As the PPCDAm has entered its fifth phase, it presents an opportunity for an evaluative study of the achievements and shortcomings of the previous phases, particularly the fourth phase, which remains relatively underexplored due to its recent nature. The third limitation concerns the inherent nature of this investigation. No interviews were conducted with key stakeholders such as the plan’s managers, civil society representatives, or other institutions involved in the plan’s complex governance structure. We acknowledge that these interviews could provide valuable insights for further deepening the issues addressed in this study, as well as exploring additional aspects beyond its scope. In this context, one potential avenue for future research could be a detailed study of the logical framework guiding the PPCDAm from 2013 onward, including any evaluations and modifications made during the planning of its fifth phase.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would like to acknowledge Professors Dr. Aleix Altimiras Martin and Dr. Janaina Pamplona da Costa for their reading, as well as for their comments and contributions to the improvement of previous versions of this article, within the scope of the course CT 091 - Dissertation Seminars, and to our classmates who contributed to enriching the analytical aspects. We also thank the colleagues from the course CT 147 - Environment, Technology, and Development, who contributed by discussing previous versions of the text, particularly regarding the methodology. Both courses are part of the training in the Programa de Pós-Graduação em Política Científica e Tecnológica at the Universidade Estadual de Campinas.
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FUNDING SOURCE
Funding through a master's degree scholarship, awarded to Guilherme Dourado dos Reis, linked to the Programa de Excelência Acadêmica (PROEX), since March 2023. Funding agency: Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), CNPJ 00.889.834/0001-08. Process number 88887.835122/2023-00.
Publication Dates
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Publication in this collection
26 May 2025 -
Date of issue
2025
History
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Received
17 Apr 2024 -
Accepted
06 Dec 2024 -
Published
23 Jan 2025
Source: The authors (2024).
Source: 
Source: MMA (2022).