Changing prospects for sustainable forestry in Brazilian Amazonia: Exploring new trends

Over the past decade, issues related to territory, local governance and globalisation have changed tropical forest management in Brazilian Amazonia. Firstly, there is a trend towards decentralised forest management, the devolution of land rights to local communities (in the form of indigenous and extractive reserves), and a more significant role for civil society organisations (CSOs) in forest management. Secondly, globalisation is bringing about trade liberalisation, expansion of external markets for timber and soybeans, and the spread of a worldwide concern for the fate of forests. While trade liberalisation and expanding world markets may spur increased deforestation, globalising concern about the loss of the forest’s ecological and livelihood services is creating new market-driven incentives for sustainable forest management and donor support to community-based forest management. The expectations regarding the outcome of these changes point to different directions. Many fear that the recent expansion of soybean cultivation and associated investments in road paving and improved waterways will further encourage deforestation and predatory logging (Carvalho 1999; Fearnside 2001). On the other hand, shifts in forest governance and market-driven incentives for sustainable forest management may signal a trend towards more sustainable practices.
Focusing on the Amazonian timber industry, this chapter explores the aforementioned trends and their implications for the prospects of developing more sustainable forestry.