Abstract ID: 298

Redefining the deforestation margin: a spatial analysis of beef production in the Brazilian Amazon

The cattle industry in the Brazilian Amazon has long been a driver of deforestation. Increasing population in the Amazon, continued demand for land title, and a culture now steeped in the cowboy tradition has led to vast destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Although well identified as a primary agent of deforestation, cattle production has gone from strength to strength across all scales of production in the region and could be considered to be in an expansion phase. Indeed, the Amazonian cattle herd has increased from some 26 million head in 1990 to more than 60 million in 2006; meanwhile the rest of Brazil has increased only 9%. This paper builds on the research on beef production in the Amazon by extending the economic analysis spatially and temporally. We are able to more accurately calculate where cattle production is supported by perverse incentive and how each component of production affects the margin spatially. Without this type of spatial analysis, the true influence of production subsidies and illegality on deforestation is difficult to estimate.

Session:  LCLUC and Human Dimensions - Land-use/land-cover change models and scenarios at multiple scales for Amazonia.

Presentation Type:  Oral