Marcelo Gonçalves (4th Year PhD) - Sanford School
Much More Than Trees: The stabilizing role of environmental policy
Date: 04/04/2025 (Fri)
Time: 2:00pm- 3:00pm
Location: This seminar will be held both on-site and remotely. The on-site location will be: Rubenstein 149- Sanford School. It will also be held remotely via Zoom. (Please sign in to see the link.)
Organizer: Alex Herrera, Paula Sarmiento and Xingchen Chen
Meeting Schedule: (Not currently open for scheduling. Please contact the seminar organizer listed above.)
All meetings will be held in the same location as the seminar unless otherwise noted.
2:00pm - Seminar Presentation (2:00pm to 3:00pm)
Additional Comments: Abstract: In developing countries, the expansion of the agricultural frontier in the presence of weak institutions has fueled land-related violence and environmental degradation. Conventional policy responses focus on strengthening land tenure systems, yet many states lack the capacity — or overall conditions — to establish effective property rights, sometimes exacerbating social unrest. This paper explores an alternative approach, arguing that environmental command-and-control policies can reduce land-based conflict by lowering the probability of a successful, permanent land use transition. Using the Brazilian Amazon as a case study, I argue that deforestation plays a central role in land grabbing and informal cropland expansion, as it enables claimants to establish de facto control over forested areas. By curbing deforestation through stricter enforcement and other measures, environmental policies can disrupt land grabbers’ incentives, thereby reducing associated violence. Preliminary findings indicate that stronger environmental enforcement correlates with an 8–14% decline in violence in the following year. Additionally, the study examines potential spillover effects, where enforcement in one area may displace violence to neighboring regions. These findings contribute to debates on environmental governance and sustainable development by demonstrating how environmental policies can mitigate agrarian conflicts in institutionally weak settings. Stage: Initial. Feedback: Any feedback is welcomed, including inputs on framing and identification strategy.