Deforestation and local sustainable development in Brazilian Legal Amazonia: an exploratory analysis

Douglas Sathler, UFVJM and Columbia University
Susana Beatriz Adamo, Columbia University
Everton E. C. Lima, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP)

This paper presents an exploratory analysis of socioeconomic and demographic patterns of small and medium-sized (in terms of population) municipalities in the “deforestation arc” of Legal Amazonia1, Brazil. Using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Cluster Analysis (Two-Step-Cluster), this study explores 25 variables for 211 municipalities. In the PCA, these variables were reduced to five independent components (named development, forest, size, growth and stagnation), which explain around 73% of the total variability of the original database. Thereafter, the cluster analysis identified four groups, which present a well-defined spatial distribution pattern in terms of localization and contiguity. The multiple results demonstrate that the associations among development and forest components depend on the historic advance of the economic activities in the deforestation arc, as well as the territorial characteristics and spatial location of the municipalities. In addition, size, growth and stagnation provide relevant complementary information for understanding the sustainable development dynamics in Legal Amazonia. Finally, the paper further explores implications for public policies seeking local sustainable development in the region. Key words: Amazonia, Deforestation, Local Sustainable Development, Multivariate Methods, Public Policies.