Institutional Resilience and Enforcement Dynamics in the Brazilian Amazon: A Review of IBAMA’s Trajectory and Global Lessons for Forest Governance
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59890/ijgsr.v4i6.266Keywords:
IBAMA, Environmental Enforcement, Forest Governance, Institutional Dismantling, Remote Embargoes, Illegal Deforestation, Brazil, Command and Control, Administrative Sanctions, Bureaucratic AutonomyAbstract
The governance of the Amazon rainforest represents a critical frontier in the global struggle against climate change and biodiversity loss. Central to this governance is the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), an agency that has oscillated between global leadership in deforestation control and periods of severe institutional dismantling. This study employs a Qualitative Literature Review (QLR) to synthesise academic and policy narratives from 2020 to 2026, analysing the institutional mechanisms that underpin environmental enforcement. Unlike systematic reviews that quantify publication metrics, this study thematically analyses the "dismantling" (2019–2022) and "rebuilding" (2023–present) phases to distil exportable lessons. The findings reveal that technological superiority—exemplified by the DETER satellite system—is a necessary but insufficient condition for success. Effective enforcement relies on "institutional interoperability" and the "credibility of sanctions." The study identifies key best practices, specifically "remote embargoes" and the "immediate destruction of capital assets," that can be adapted by other tropical nations. Crucially, the analysis delineates the structural prerequisites for these practices, arguing that they require a high-integrity digital land registry, legal autonomy for enforcement agents, and deep integration between environmental data and the financial banking sector. The paper concludes that safeguarding forest governance requires legal frameworks that insulate technical agencies from executive interference
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