Governança ambiental em transição: crise, fiscalização e cooperação na proteção da Amazônia legal

Abstract

This thesis aims to analyze the role of environmental enforcement institutions in controlling illegal deforestation in the Legal Amazon, with emphasis on the relationship between agricultural activity, institutional reconfiguration, and strategies of federative cooperation. As materials and methods, it employed a systematic literature review, an econometric analysis of official data from the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), and the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), as well as a legal-institutional study focused on the assessment of federative competencies and the performance of Environmental Military Police forces. The results indicated that cattle ranching and soybean production remain the main drivers of deforestation, that the period from 2019 to 2022 was marked by significant institutional weakening with direct impacts on the increase of deforestation rates, and that state enforcement capacity can effectively complement federal action. The discussion highlighted the relevance of cooperative federalism and the need for innovative instruments to overcome operational weaknesses. As a final consideration, the creation of the National Environmental Force is proposed, composed of state personnel integrated under federal coordination, with multiannual financing and logistical support from the Armed Forces, as a strategy capable of restoring environmental police power, reducing impunity, and strengthening Brazil’s role in the protection of the Legal Amazon.