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Amazonian forest loss and the long reach of China’s influence

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  • Philip Fearnside
  • Adriano Figueiredo
  • Sandra Bonjour

Abstract

This paper explores China’s role in deforestation in Latin America. Brazil’s Amazon region contains vast natural resources including land, timber, minerals and hydroelectric potential. China’s strong economy and large demands relative to domestic supplies of these resources mean that China has become Brazil’s largest trading partner, primarily for natural resources. The paper examines how China influences deforestation in Brazilian Amazonia in a variety of ways, including through the direct influence of Chinese enterprises through land purchases and other mechanisms. This paper finds that the rapid rise in exports of soy and beef products to China are two of the major drivers of Amazonian deforestation in Brazil. The paper further argues that Chinese purchases of agricultural and forest land and Chinese imports of commodities such as timber and aluminum also cause environmental impacts in Amazonia. Chinese financing and investment in Amazonian infrastructure such as railways and mineral processing facilities have additional impacts. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Philip Fearnside & Adriano Figueiredo & Sandra Bonjour, 2013. "Amazonian forest loss and the long reach of China’s influence," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 325-338, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:15:y:2013:i:2:p:325-338
    DOI: 10.1007/s10668-012-9412-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Philip Fearnside, 2013. "Carbon credit for hydroelectric dams as a source of greenhouse-gas emissions: the example of Brazil’s Teles Pires Dam," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 18(5), pages 691-699, June.
    2. Angelsen, Arild, 1999. "Agricultural expansion and deforestation: modelling the impact of population, market forces and property rights," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1), pages 185-218, February.
    3. Jorge Hargrave & Krisztina Kis-Katos, 2013. "Economic Causes of Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon: A Panel Data Analysis for the 2000s," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 54(4), pages 471-494, April.
    4. Assunção, Juliano & Gandour, Clarissa & Rocha, Rudi, 2015. "Deforestation slowdown in the Brazilian Amazon: prices or policies?," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(6), pages 697-722, December.
    5. Angelsen, Arild & Kaimowitz, David, 1999. "Rethinking the Causes of Deforestation: Lessons from Economic Models," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 14(1), pages 73-98, February.
    6. Philip Fearnside, 1997. "Monitoring needs to transform Amazonian forest maintenance into a global warming-mitigation option," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 2(2), pages 285-302, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Damien Arvor & Marion Daugeard & Isabelle Tritsch & Neli Aparecida Mello-Thery & Hervé Thery & Vincent Dubreuil, 2018. "Combining socioeconomic development with environmental governance in the Brazilian Amazon: the Mato Grosso agricultural frontier at a tipping point," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 1-22, February.
    2. Frauke Urban & Giles Mohan & Sarah Cook, 2013. "China as a new shaper of international development: the environmental implications," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 257-263, April.
    3. Aidt, Toke S. & Albornoz, Facundo & Hauk, Esther, 2024. "To cut or not to cut: Deforestation policy under the shadow of foreign influence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    4. Ziqiang Zhang & Jie He & Ming Huang & Wei Zhou, 2023. "Is Regulation Protection? Forest Logging Quota Impact on Forest Carbon Sinks in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-24, September.

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