Public Policy Strategies for Balancing Forest Conservation and Economic Development in the Brazilian Amazon: A Systematic Review

The Amazon Forest is important to the planet regarding biodiversity and the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. The Amazon region has developed by relying on the exploitation of natural resources, particularly deforestation, which has caused significant damage to biodiversity. To protect forests and reduce deforestation, the Amazon region needs to transition from its current development model to sustainable development. This paper focuses on the Brazilian Amazon and uses a systematic literature review to assess the development strategies implemented from 2004 to 2022 to protect the Amazon Forest. The paper also reviews the potential achievements of the strategies implemented, the barriers that may be encountered and the possible future improvements. The main findings are that forest conservation strategies in the Brazilian Amazon comprise land use, policy, external investment, and other types of strategies. The biggest barriers to implementing these strategies at present are the absence of unambiguous policies. The lack of funds and the lack of awareness among local people are also serious problems. In the future, there is a need to provide clear policy support and reasonable funds for implementation of all the strategies, and to increase public participation in the forest conservation measures.