Tropentag, September 10 - 12, 2025, Bonn "Reconciling land system changes with planetary health"

Can co-management stop deforestation? Governing land use changes in the western Amazon of Brazil

University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, Inst. for Environmental Sciences, Germany

Abstract

The Brazilian example of Extractive Reserves represents a role model for the management of protected areas, reconciling the conservation of nature with sustainable development through the use of natural resources by local communities. However, the sustainability of land use in the Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve (CMER) arrived at a crossroads. Located in the western part of the Amazon, traditional forest practices such as rubber tapping and Brazil nut harvesting constitute the main livelihoods of the population, while each landholder is entitled to deforest 30 ha of land for complementary activities such as subsistence farming or livestock. Despite these regulations, deforestation rates have increased significantly over the past 20 years due to population growth, illegal land sales, and the radical expansion of cattle. Based on the literature on land and resource governance, this contribution analyses the actor constellations that govern land use changes. It aims to identify institutional arrangements that promote the achievement of the objectives of conservation and sustainable development. It builds on three months of fieldwork, using qualitative and quantitative methods such as ethnographic research, semi-structured interviews, a household survey, and a stakeholder workshop. Whereas the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) represents the central state institution in charge of the management of the reserve, its capacities to enforce collectively binding rules are limited. At the community level, land use decisions depend on livelihood opportunities, mediated by local institutions and influenced by the interests of external actors, often compromising conservation objectives and leading to conflicts. The findings suggest that a shared governance approach based on the principles of co-management and social learning should be strengthened, whereby state and societal actors complement each other's capacities and resources. To overcome the shortcomings of the government, the decentralisation of power and accountability to the local level is essential to ensure compliance with land use regulations and prevent deforestation, whereas networks of trust and alliances enable access to vital resources for marginalised communities. By foregrounding the role of bridging organisations in transferring knowledge across scales and institutions, we provide valuable insights for governing sustainable land use in protected areas.

Keywords: Amazon , Brazil, co-management, conservation, deforestation, land governance, local institutions, protected areas

Contact Address: Axel Prestes Dürrnagel, University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, Inst. for Environmental Sciences, Fortstr. 7, 76829 Landau, Germany, e-mail: a.duerrnagelrptu.de