Land-tenure issues as factors in environmental destruction in Brazilian Amazonia: The case of Southern Pará

Abstract

Land-tenure issues have been prominent forces driving deforestation and the spread of extensive ranching as the dominant land use in Brazilian Amazonia. Southern Pará is the part of Amazonia where these issues are most explosive, and an examination of this region in terms of its land-tenure issues, their environmental consequences and measures needed provides potentially valuable information for formulating policies that promote more socially and environmentally sound development. The problems of southern Pará are likely to spread to increasingly broader sections of Amazonia. The present paper reviews the current land-tenure situation in southern Pará and attempts to identify policy changes that would reduce its environmental impact. © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.