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Cited by 32Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource ManagementForest Management and PolicyQ Methodology Applications

Landholders' perceptions on legal reserves and agricultural intensification: Diversity and implications for forest conservation in the eastern Brazilian Amazon

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Pinillos, Daniel, Poccard-Chapuis, René, Bianchi, Felix J.J.A., Corbeels, Marc, Timler, Carl J., Tittonell, Pablo, R. Ballester, Maria Victoria, Schulte, Rogier P.·2021·Forest Policy and Economics
DOI 10.1016/j.forpol.2021.102504
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Abstract

Forest conservation on privately owned lands is a cornerstone of the Brazilian environmental policy framework. Brazilian legislation requires that all farms in the country maintain and protect forest areas known as Legal Reserves. Since Legal Reserves have major implications for forest conservation and agricultural production, it is key that we understand landholders' perceptions towards Legal Reserves. We applied Q methodology to identify different perspectives of medium and large landholders on Legal Reserves and their relation to agricultural intensification in the municipality of Paragominas, eastern Amazon. We conducted 31 interviews in which landholders sorted 36 statements in a quasi-normal distribution array. Three groups of landholders were identified: 1) Land use planning enthusiasts (n = 16) were interested in zoning initiatives to explore alternative landscape designs and legislation that may deliver better conservation and production outcomes; 2) Agrochemical-based agriculture supporters (n = 7) held the most critical views against Legal Reserves and perceived their costs as higher than the potential environmental and life quality benefits; 3) Policy complacent-market responders (n = 4) showed no interest in Legal Reserves reforms and were the most market driven group.. While Paragominas has achieved notable successes in halting large-scale deforestation through a social “Green Municipality” pact, addressing persisting forest degradation and fragmentation in the region remains a key priority. Local governance initiatives that account for multi-stakeholder perceptions on forest conservation can foster dialogue and mutual understanding to effectively conserve and restore Legal Reserves. Insights on large landholders' perceptions on Legal Reserves can inform such governance processes to reconcile forest conservation and sustainable agricultural intensification in Paragominas.

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  • Once embedded in conventional agribusiness sectors, people's views tend to become more antagonistic towards conservation.

    “Once embedded in such conventional agribusiness sectors, people's views also tend to become more antagonistic towards conservation (Pinillos et al., 2021).”

    From Beyond the “supply chain” framing: Cattle ranching as a vanishing mediator of deforestation and dispossession in the Brazilian and Colombian Amazon (2026) · cites this paper as Pinillos et al., 2021

    Section 5.1 reports that agrochemical-based agriculture supporters held the least forest-friendly views, and the Conclusions say some landholders prioritized monocultures and input-intensive agriculture over Legal Reserves. The paper identifies differing views among landholders; it does not show that entering conventional agribusiness causes people's views to become more antagonistic over time. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Authors
Pinillos, D., Poccard-Chapuis, R., Bianchi, F. J. J. A., Corbeels, M., Timler, C. J., Tittonell, P., R. Ballester, M. V., & Schulte, R. P.
Affiliations
  • Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (FR)
  • Wageningen University & Research (NL)
Corresponding author
Pinillos, Daniel
ORCID
Venue
Forest Policy and Economics
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2021-08
Volume
129
Pages
102504
ISSN
1389-9341 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.forpol.2021.102504
OpenAlex
W3161090736
Cited by
32
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 1
FWCI
2.17
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Forest Policy and Economics (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Socio-Environmental Systems Modeling (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
  • University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • HAL (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • Agritrop (Cirad) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Greater South Information System
Funders
  • European Commission (635201, HORIZON2020)
  • Wageningen University and Research
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Forest Management and Policy
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Q Methodology Applications
Keywords
legal reserve, agricultural intensification, forest conservation, private land conservation, Eastern Amazon, Paragominas, Q methodology, land use planning, forest fragmentation, forest degradation, local governance, multi-stakeholder dialogue

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