Deforestation Policies in the Brazilian Legal Amazon: An Analysis of the PPCDAm using the Triple Difference Method

This study evaluates the effects of the synergy between monitoring technologies and deforestation control policies promoted by the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAm) during its initial stage. The triple difference method is employed to explore the differences between the non-metropolitan municipalities with indigenous lands and other regional municipalities. The findings indicate a reduction of approximately 16.1 km² per municipality between 2004 and 2007. This reduction corresponds to a decrease of 10,293 km² in the area of deforestation and a total of 498 million tons of CO2. The results indicate that the policy was cost-effective. To ensure the robustness of the results, placebo tests, analyses of heterogeneous effects, and flexibility in the composition of the groups were conducted. The robustness tests substantiate the findings. These results emphasize the significance of remote monitoring policies for controlling deforestation in isolated regions and indigenous lands. JEL: C31, Q51, Q58