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Ecological Economic and Socio Ecological Strategies for Forest Conservation pp 241–258Cite as

Understanding Adoption and Design of Incentive-Based Forest Conservation Policies: A Case Study of the SISA Program in Acre, Brazil

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Abstract

This chapter analyzes the process that led to the design of Acre’s System of Incentives for Environmental Services (Sistema de Incentivos a Serviços Ambientais – SISA), the first attempt at constructing a jurisdiction-level REDD+ system in the world. We discuss the state’s move from attempting to build a state-wide Payments for Environmental Services project to the design of an institutional structure that intends to serve as an umbrella for all forest conservation initiatives in the state. We analyze the political and historical developments behind SISA’s construction, focusing on the state’s institutional structures, and the most important actors. Our findings point to the importance of the environment in the state government’s political discourse over the past decade, to Acre’s experience in implementing environmental and territorial policies, and to the closeness between government actors and the grassroots movement as important factors shaping the design of SISA.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The analytical framework is referred to as “institutional work” in the original references. It will be named “institutional governance” throughout the chapter to facilitate understanding.

  2. 2.

    According to a widely used definition, PES are “voluntary transactions between service users and service providers that are conditional on agreed rules of natural resource management for generating offsite services” (Wunder 2015, p. 241).

  3. 3.

    Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Development Research, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany

    Hugo Rosa Da Conceição

  2. Center for Development Research/Institute for Food and Resource Economics, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany

    Jan Börner

Authors
  1. Hugo Rosa Da Conceição
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  2. Jan Börner
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Economics Institute, Faculty of Economics and Administration, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile

    Felix Fuders

  2. Institute of Forests and Society, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile

    Pablo J. Donoso

Appendix – List of Interviews

Appendix – List of Interviews

1.1 Acre

  1. 1.

    High-level decision maker

  2. 2.

    High-level decision maker

  3. 3.

    SISA staff

  4. 4.

    SISA staff

  5. 5.

    SISA staff

  6. 6.

    Foreign technical cooperation staff

  7. 7.

    NGO staff

  8. 8.

    SISA staff

  9. 9.

    Environment secretariat staff

  10. 10.

    SISA staff

  11. 11.

    Family production secretariat staff

  12. 12.

    Family production secretariat staff

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Rosa Da Conceição, H., Börner, J. (2020). Understanding Adoption and Design of Incentive-Based Forest Conservation Policies: A Case Study of the SISA Program in Acre, Brazil. In: Fuders, F., Donoso, P. (eds) Ecological Economic and Socio Ecological Strategies for Forest Conservation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35379-7_13

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