Did Ranchers and Slaughterhouses Respond to Zero-Deforestation Agreements in the Brazilian Amazon?: Brazil's zero-deforestation pacts
Open accessAbstract
New supply chain interventions offer promise to reduce deforestation from expansion of commercial agriculture, as more multinational companies agree to stop sourcing from farms with recent forest clearing. We analyzed the zero-deforestation cattle agreements signed by major meatpacking companies in the Brazilian Amazon state of Pará using property-level data on beef supply chains. Our panel analysis of daily purchases by slaughterhouses before and after the agreements demonstrates that they now avoid purchasing from properties with deforestation, which was not the case prior to the agreements. Supplying ranchers registered their properties in a public environmental registry nearly 2 years before surrounding non-supplying properties, and 85% of surveyed ranchers indicated that the agreements were the driving force. In addition, supplying properties had significantly reduced deforestation rates following the agreements. Our results demonstrate important changes in the beef supply chain, but the agreements’ narrow scope and implementation diminish outcomes for forest conservation.
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Individual supply chain sustainability initiatives are always under the risk of contamination through laundry and introduction of unsustainable products into the system.
“Third, individual supply chain sustainability initiatives are always under the risk of contamination through laundry and introduction of unsustainable products into the system (Gibbs et al., 2016).”
From Making deforestation risk visible. Discourses on bovine leather supply chain in Brazil (2020) · cites this paper as Gibbs et al., 2016
The Figure 4 discussion says the narrow application of the Brazilian cattle agreements opens the door to laundering and leakage, including cattle from noncompliant ranches entering monitored supply chains. It does not establish that all individual supply-chain sustainability initiatives are always at risk. (LLM, conf=0.85)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn the past in Brazil, zero deforestation requirements and boycotts in the state of Para have been experienced as negatively affecting local livelihoods to a great extent.
“In the past in Brazil, zero deforestation requirements and boycotts in the state of Para (Gibbs et al., 2016) have been experienced as negatively affecting local livelihoods to a great extent.”
From Making deforestation risk visible. Discourses on bovine leather supply chain in Brazil (2020) · cites this paper as Gibbs et al., 2016
The Introduction describes zero-deforestation agreements and a threatened boycott of slaughterhouses linked to illegal deforestation in Pará. The Discussion reports reduced market access for ranches with deforestation, but does not establish that local people experienced substantial harm to their livelihoods. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredWhile the role of cattle in deforestation is subject to increased public scrutiny, the leather commodity chain has remained less visible until recently.
“While the role of cattle in deforestation is subject to increased public scrutiny (Nepstad et al., 2006;Godar et al., 2012;Gibbs et al., 2016), the leather commodity chain has remained less visible until recently.”
From Making deforestation risk visible. Discourses on bovine leather supply chain in Brazil (2020) · cites this paper as Gibbs et al., 2016
Civil society pressure to abandon unsustainable practices may lead buyers to change suppliers but not to address the core problem, creating leakage of unsustainable operations elsewhere.
“In the case of leakage, civil society pressure to abandon unsustainable practices may for example lead buyers to change suppliers but not to address the core problem.This creates the so-called effect of leakage of unsustainable operations to be carried on somewhere else (Henders and Ostwald, 2014;Garrett et al., 2016;Gibbs et al., 2016;Alix-Garcia and Gibbs, 2017).”
From Making deforestation risk visible. Discourses on bovine leather supply chain in Brazil (2020) · cites this paper as Gibbs et al., 2016
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Cites
High-Resolution Global Maps of 21st-Century Forest Cover Change
Hansen, M. C., Potapov, P. V., Moore, R., Hancher, M., Turubanova, S. A., Tyukavina, A., Thau, D., Stehman, S. V., Goetz, S. J., Loveland, T. R., et al. (2013) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1244693 · Cited by 11,704 · see citing works
Determination of Deforestation Rates of the World's Humid Tropical Forests
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“This shift toward more enterprise-driven land use change has accelerated rates of deforestation as vast areas of tropical forests have been converted to croplands and cattle pasture (Achard et al. 2002; Gibbs et al. 2010; Hansen et al. 2013).”
BackgroundTropical forests were the primary sources of new agricultural land in the 1980s and 1990s
Gibbs, H. K., Ruesch, A. S., Achard, F., Clayton, M. K., Holmgren, P., Ramankutty, N., & Foley, J. A. (2010) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0910275107 · Cited by 1,876 · see citing works
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Research works printed but not linked: 6
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Henders, S., Persson, U. M., & Kastner, T. (2015) · Environmental Research Letters · doi:10.1088/1748-9326/10/12/125012 · Cited by 347 · see citing works
Garrett, R. D., Gardner, T. A., Morello, T. F., Marchand, S., Barlow, J., Ezzine de Blas, D., Ferreira, J., Lees, A. C., & Parry, L. (2017) · Ecology and Society · doi:10.5751/es-09364-220327 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
The sound of a tropical forest
Burivalova, Z., Game, E. T., & Butler, R. A. (2019) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.aav1902 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
Commodity prices and robust environmental regulation: Evidence from deforestation in Brazil
Harding, T., Herzberg, J., & Kuralbayeva, K. (2021) · Journal of Environmental Economics and Management · doi:10.1016/j.jeem.2021.102452 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Making deforestation risk visible. Discourses on bovine leather supply chain in Brazil
Mammadova, A., Behagel, J., & Masiero, M. (2020) · Geoforum · doi:10.1016/j.geoforum.2020.03.008 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Protected areas still used to produce brazil’s cattle
West, T. A. P., Rausch, L., Munger, J., & Gibbs, H. K. (2022) · Conservation Letters · doi:10.1111/conl.12916 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Self-citationHealth benefits of reduced deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon
Damm, Y., Börner, J., Gerber, N., & Soares-Filho, B. (2024) · Communications Earth & Environment · doi:10.1038/s43247-024-01840-7 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Carvalho, R., Rausch, L., Munger, J., & Gibbs, H. K. (2021) · Land · doi:10.3390/land10101098 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Self-citation
- Authors
- Gibbs, H. K., Munger, J., L'Roe, J., Barreto, P., Pereira, R., Christie, M., Amaral, T., & Walker, N. F.
- Affiliations
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
- Department of Geography; University of Wisconsin; 550 N. Park Street Madison WI 53706 USA
- Imazon (BR)
- National Wildlife Federation (US)
- Corresponding author
- Gibbs, Holly K.
- Venue
- Conservation Letters
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2015-05-12
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 32-42
- ISSN
- 1755-263X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2077888429
- Cited by
- 301
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 44 · 2020: 38 · 2019: 32 · 2018: 32 · 2017: 40 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 26.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Conservation Letters (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Oil Palm Production and Sustainability
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Global trade, sustainability, and social impact
- Keywords
- beef supply chain, cattle ranching, slaughterhouses, deforestation, forest conservation, Brazilian Amazon, Pará
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