Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAm): A Scoping Review on Institutionalization, Effectiveness, and Dismantling

Reis, Guilherme Dourado dos; Corazza, Rosana Icassatti

doi:10.14393/SN-v37-2025-73148

Strategy	Querry Strings
P- Problem / Policies / Population	“deforestation” OR “forest degradation” OR “forest destruction” OR “biodiversity” OR “climate change” OR “savannization” OR “clear-cutting” OR “drought” OR “extreme weather" OR "extreme climate event*" OR "tipping point”
AND
C- Concept	"The Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon" OR "Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Amazon" OR "Plan of Action for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Amazon" OR “PPCDAM”
AND
C- Context	“Amazon” OR “Brazil”

Main events (decrees, laws e programs) of the PPCDAm I
Programa Áreas Protegidas (ARPA, in Portuguese) Protected Ares Program (Decree 4.326 of 2002)	Creation of 50 million hectares of protected areas located mainly near deforestation frontiers. Homologation of 10 million hectares of indigenous territories.
Lei de Gestão de Florestas Públicas (Public Forest Management Law) (Law 11.824)	The law gives transparency to the identification of public forests and speeds up the forest concession process.
Creation of the Distrito Sustentável da BR - 163 (2006) (BR-163 Sustainable District)	Creation of the BR-163 Sustainable District (2006) It covers more than 190,000 square kilometers, with a view to prioritizing public policies that encourage integrated development with forest-based activities.
Sistema de Cadastro Ambiental Rural (CAR - Rural Environmental Registration System, in English) (State Decree 1.148 of 2008)	Database to register deforested areas (legal and illegal) on rural properties and determine forest restoration requirements.
Detecção do Desmatamento em Tempo Real (DETER - the Real-Time Deforestation Detection System, in English)-	Almost real-time detection of deforestation using satellite images.
Sistema de Monitoramento e Detecção das Áreas Degradadas (DEGRAD - Monitoring and Detecting System for Degraded Areas, in English)	System for monitoring and detecting forest degradation (where the forest cover has not been completely removed).
Lista negra de municípios - 2008 (Blacklist of municipalities - 2008)	In 2008, the government announced a list of 36 municipalities (others were later included) in the Legal Amazon that had the highest deforestation rates. They were subjected to intense environmental surveillance, restrictions on the issuing of deforestation licenses, embargoes on illegally deforested areas and restrictions on credit and the market.
Lei de Crimes Ambientais - Lei 9.605 de 1988 (Environmental Crimes Law - Law 9.605 of 1988) (Decree 6.514 of 2008)	Amendment to the Environmental Crimes Law which established new legal grounds for environmental infractions and administrative sanctions.
Resolução da Central do Brasil (Resolution of the Central Bank of Brazil) (Resolution 3.545 of 2008)	Restriction on access to credit from public banks for rural landowners who were not in compliance with environmental and land regulation.
Moratória da Soja - 2006 (Soy Moratorium - 2006)	Associação Brasileira das Indústrias de Óleos Vegetais (ABIOVE - Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries, in English) and Associação Nacional dos Exportadores de Cereais (ANEC - National Association of Cereal Exporters, in English) undertook not to sell soy from deforested areas (after October 2006).
Pacto de Madeira Legal e Desenvolvimento Sustentável - 2008 (Legal Timber and Sustainable Development Pact - 2008)	Associação das Indústrias Exportadoras de Madeira Legal do Estado do Pará (AIMEX - Association of Legal Timber Exporting Industries of the State of Pará, in English), Grupo de Produtores Florestais Certificados da Amazônia (PFCA - Group of Certified Forest Producers of the Amazon, in English) and government bodies committed to buying timber products only from legal and sustainable sources.
Fundo Amazônia (Amazon Fund) (Decree 6.527 of 2008)	Launched to collect donations for investments in conservation, monitoring and prevention of deforestation, reforestation and sustainable use of forest resources.

Main events (decrees, laws e programs) of the PPCDAm II
Programa Terra Legal (Terra Legal Program) (Law 11.952 of 2009)	Aims to georeference and regularize land ownership in the Legal Amazon.
Macrozoneamento Ecológico-Econômico da Amazônia Legal (Macro ZEE - (Ecological-Economic Macro-Zoning of the Legal Amazon, in English) (Decree 7.378 of 2010)	Identification of areas suitable for conservation, agricultural and timber Production.
Programa Indicar (Indicar Program) (2009-2012)	Assistance in command and control actions between 2009 and 2012, through technical cooperation between JAXA - Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and JICA - Japan International Cooperation Agency.
Fundo Nacional para Mudanças Climáticas (National Fund for Climate Change) (Law 12.114 of 2009 and Decree 7.343 of 2010)	Aims to support projects and studies in the field of climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Programa de Manejo Florestal Comunitário e Familiar de 2009 (Community and Family Forest Management Program 2009)	Aimed at improving local livelihoods and combating illegal logging.
Operação Arco Verde (Green Arch Operation) (Decree 7.008 of 2009)	Aimed at promoting sustainable production models, especially in the blacklisted municipalities, as well as fostering the recovery of degraded land.

Main events (decrees, laws e programs) of the PPCDAm III
Secretaria Permanente de Gestão Integrada de Proteção ao Meio Ambiente (Permanent Secretariat for Integrated Environmental Protection Management) (Decree 7.957 of 2013)	Aims to strengthen the army's participation in environmental operations.
Cota de Reserva Ambiental (CRA - Environmental Reserve Quota, in English)	A financial mechanism to compensate private properties that exceed minimum forest cover requirements, allowing these surpluses to be marketed as a way of offsetting environmental debts.
Programa de Assentamentos Verdes (Green Settlements Program) (2012)	Developed by Instituto Nacional de Colonização e Reforma Agrária (INCRA - National Institute for Colonization and Agrariam Reform is a federal government authority of the public administration of Brazil) to promote sustainable activities, restoration of degraded land, land regularization and food security.
Redução de Emissões por Desmatamento e Degradação Florestal (REED+ -Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in English)	Opportunity to finance conservation and sustainable development initiatives through bilateral agreements between Brazil and developed countries, based on reductions in Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions.

I	The implementation of decentralized and shared management of public policies through partnerships between the Union, States and Municipalities, including their integration with incentives for the promotion of sustainable production systems.
II	Encouraging the active participation of the different sectors of society interested in the management of policies related to the prevention and control of deforestation, strengthening transparency, social control and political ownership.
III	Support for State Plans for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation.
IV	Encouraging sectoral pacts with the productive sector in order to strengthen governance, traceability and the sustainability of production chains in the Amazon, with a view to conserving the forest and reducing deforestation.
V	Combating land grabbing and disorderly occupation of the forestation.
VI	Strengthening the management of protected areas in the Amazon, including conservation units, indigenous lands and other areas under special regime, such as Legal Reserves and Permanent Protection Areas - within the scope of rural properties.
VII	Strengthening the environmental monitoring and inspection system in the Amazon, with the aim of reducing no only deforestation, but also forest degradation.
VIII	Promoting the Rural Environmental Registry as an instrument for managing the landscape and improving forest management.
IX	Valuing forest products (timber and non-timber) and environmental services, in order to encourage the multiple use of the Amazon and not is suppression for alternative land use, promoting a sustainable forest economy.
X	Encouraging the adoption of sustainable farming practices, in order to reduce the demand for new areas for production.

First phase (2004-2008)	Independent assessment of PPCDAm I, conducted by GTZ and organized by agronomist Guilherme Cardoso Abdala.
	Creation of 50 million hectares of protected area and ratification of 10 million hectares of indigenous territories.
	Implementation of the DETER monitoring system.
	Reduction of around 50% in deforestation rates in 2008 compared to 2004.
Second phase (2009-2011)	Assessment of the PPCDAm II conducted by IPEA, CEPAL and GIZ.
	Change in the dynamics of deforestation, with a reduction in the size of deforested areas to below the DETER detection limit.
	Creation of 6 million hectares of protected area.
	The reduction in deforestation rates continues.
Third phase (2012-2015)	The assessment of PPCDAm III was carried out by federal government institutions, under the coordination of the MMA.
	Revision of the Brazilian Forest Code.
	Stagnation in the creation of protected areas.
	Oscillation in deforestation rates.
Fourthy phase (2016-2019)	Focus on mitigating climate change in order to meet the objectives of the National Climate Change Plan for 2020.
	Brazil signed the Paris Agreement and committed to zero illegal deforestation by 2030.
	Bolsonaro's rise to the presidency and the unleashing of measures to dismantle environmental agencies and deforestation prevention and control programs.
	Deforestation resumes.

[TFN7] Source: The authors (2024).

Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAm): A Scoping Review on Institutionalization, Effectiveness, and Dismantling

Abstract