Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

Traditional conservation strategies still the best option

Nature Sustainability volume 1, pages 608–610 (2018)Cite this article

Subjects

The conservation movement has lost its critical edge by befriending agribusiness. With deforestation on the rise and a continuous roll-back of environmental protection, it is time to rethink this strategy.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Annual deforestation rates in the Brazilian Amazon from PRODES project24 with the main events that influenced deforestation reduction (green) and the recent reversal (red).
Fig. 2

References

  1. Börner, J., Kis-Katos, K., Hargrave, J. & König, K. PLOS One 10, e0121544 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Arima, E. Y., Barreto, P., Araújo, E. & Soares-Filho, B. S. Land Use Pol. 41, 465–473 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Gibbs, H. K. et al. Science 347, 377–378 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Soares-Filho, B. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 107, 10821 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Davidson, E. et al. Nature 481, 321–328 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Soares-Filho, B. S. et al. Science 344, 363–364 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Fearnside, P. M. Science 353, 746–748 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Rochedo, P. et al. Nat. Clim. Change 8, 695–698 (2018).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Macedo, M. N. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 109, 1341–1346 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Merry, F. & Soares-Filho, B. S. Elementa Sci. Anthrop. 5, 1–12 (2017).

    Google Scholar 

  11. Programa Novo Campo: Praticando Pecuária Sustentável na Amazônia (Instituto Centro de Vida, 2014); https://go.nature.com/2QO39la

  12. Clay, J. Not Price, but Availability is the Future Issue (Future of Food Seminar, 2010); https://go.nature.com/2PycWMg

  13. Gollnow, F., Hissa, L. B. V., Rufin, P. & Lakes, T. 78, 377–385 (2018).

  14. Moratória da Soja Não é Necessária no Cerrado, diz Abiove (Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz, 27 October 2016).

  15. Klingler, M., Richards, P. D. & Ossner, R. Reg. Environ. Change 18, 33–46 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Maisonnave, F. IBAMA action against deforestation impacts JBS meatpacking plants. Folha de São Paulo (23 March 2017); https://go.nature.com/2Ey8CeC

  17. Runyon, L. JBS, world’s largest meat company, mired in multiple corruption scandals in Brazil. Harvest Public Media (3 August 2017); https://go.nature.com/2IZlxVN

  18. Oliveira, L. J. C., Costa, M. H., Soares-Filho, B. S. & Coe, M. Environ. Res. Lett. 8, 024021 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Abrahão, G. M. & Costa, M. H. Agric. Forest. Meteorol. 256–257, 32–45 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Azevedo, A. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 114, 7653–7658 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Nunes, F. S. M., Soares-Filho, B., Rajão, R. & Merry, F. Environ. Res. Lett. 12, 2–10 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Boyd, I. L. Nature 540, 520–521 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Adario, P. The Soy Moratorium, 10 Years on: How One Commitment is Stopping Amazon Destruction (Greenpeace, 2016); https://go.nature.com/2PHu1n6

  24. Projeto PRODES — Monitoramento da Floresta Amazônica Brasileira por Satélite (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, 2018); https://go.nature.com/2P07jt1

  25. Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (Produção Agrícola Municipal, 2017); https://go.nature.com/2Ad20OX

Download references

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge support from the Climate and Land Use Alliance, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa de Minas Gerais. B. S.-F. is also supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Remote Sensing, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

    Britaldo Soares-Filho

  2. Environmental Services Management Laboratory, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

    Raoni Rajão

Authors
  1. Britaldo Soares-Filho
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Raoni Rajão
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Britaldo Soares-Filho or Raoni Rajão.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Soares-Filho, B., Rajão, R. Traditional conservation strategies still the best option. Nat Sustain 1, 608–610 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-018-0179-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-018-0179-9

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing Anthropocene

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Anthropocene newsletter — what matters in anthropocene research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Anthropocene