Protected Areas Interventions and SDGs: The Case of Bolsa Floresta Programme in the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

The Brazilian Amazon forest area has many isolated communities practising small-scale agriculture in a primary forest matrix. Grant programmes, such as the Bolsa Floresta Programme (BFP), aimed to protect the forest and reduce social injustice by offering financial support for family agricultural operations as a mitigation measure for deforestation. Once there seem to be convergences between the BFP and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); the objective of this work is to assess the synergies and conflicts between SDGs and the BFP. The study relies on primary data from fieldwork that was conducted between 2017 and 2018. The fieldwork for this case study research was conducted at Uatumã Sustainable Development Reserve. The study sought to better understand the efficiency of BFP and its contribution to improving local communities’ livelihoods. In addition, secondary data and remote sensed data were used to better understand the impact of swiddens (land cleared for cultivation by slashing and burning vegetation) on the Amazon forest. The study demonstrated how the BFP is connected to the most SDGs and that some of the BFP initiatives presented conflict with some SDGs at its target level. A concept map was produced to synthesize the web of interdependences. The results showed the complex interdependences between the BFP and the SDGs and the existing gaps and trade-offs at ground level.