Quem paga a conta? : subsídios e reserva legal : avaliando o custo de oportunidade do uso do solo
AUTOR(ES)
Claudinei Antonio Rigonatto
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO
2006
RESUMO
This paper analyses arguments in favour and against the use of an economic instrument of environmental policy as an alternative to improve the effectiveness of environmental legislation that imposes restrictions upon farming activities. It is well known that environmental goals may be in conflict with production objectives. If this is so, environmental policy tends lack effectiveness. This is exactly the case of the Brazilian Forestry Law. It imposes limits to the percentage of an agricultural holding area that can be planted (called legal reserve), aiming to conserve nature. It has been verified that 82.4% of the surveyed holdings are fully exploited with economic activities and do not present any area of legal reserve. In other words, the legislation has not been effective. As a possible alternative we discuss environmental subsidies, an economic instrument of environmental management. It is our belief that subsidies can be a more cost effective to achieve environmental goals. This is so because it provides incentives to farmers to conserve, reducing the opportunity costs of land use to nature conservation. Another important factor is that burdens and costs imposed the Forestry Law fall on the land-owners; however, in the case of subsidies they are shared with society as a whole. This study was carried out through a deep review of the technical and scientific literature and through a quantitative simulation of the opportunity cost of conservation. We used farm level data of a municipality (Montividiu) in the State of Goiás, Brazil. The simulation allowed us to estimate the amount of subsidies necessary to improve the effectiveness of the Law. Our main findings are: a) the inclusion of subsidies would improve significantly the degree of compliance to limits imposed by the Law; and b) however, the volume of environmental subsidies can be quite considerable to any municipality. This last finding indicates that private farmers are, at this moment, paying for social benefits.
ASSUNTO(S)
gestão ambiental economic instrument for environmental management, opportunity cost of agricultural land use economia ambiental economia environmental law subsídios custo de oportunidade do uso do solo subsídios governamentais gestão econômica do meio ambiente reserva legal subsidies.
