Can Brazil Sustain It's Growth without harming its natural resources.
Answers
Did you know that in the last 10 years, Brazil has: cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half (the only major global economy to do so), reduced deforestation in the Amazon by 82%, started several programs to restore forests, passed important land use regulations (such as the Forest Code) and led the global discussion on climate and the environment?
All these achievements are acknowledged and discussed in the new Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD), a study that kicks off the World Bank's new partnership strategy with Brazil for the next four years. The paper lists several of the country's key policies for building a green development model for the planet.
“These advances result from concerted work on all levels of government in Brazil since Rio-92," states Gregor Wolf, head of the World Bank's sustainable development program in Brazil.
These efforts include, among others, policies to increase the number of protected areas, improved inspections (for instance, by using satellites) and economic incentives put in place for communities to explore forests sustainably. One example of a structuring public policy program was the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAm), introduced in 2004.
This work also entails creating and strengthening institutions like the Brazilian Forest Service (created in 2006) and the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), founded in the following year. The former is tasked with managing Brazilian forests; the latter manages conservation units established by the Federal Government.