The Insistent (and Unrelenting) Challenges of Protecting Biodiversity in Brazil: Finding "The Law That Sticks"

Abstract

Brazil's environmental laws - beginning with a robust section of the 1988 Constitution - are comprehensive and well thought through, models of the form. At the same time, however, many of them exist on paper only, and suffer from weak enforcement. This article examines that dilemma through the lens of Law 9,985 of 2000 law creating the National System of Conservation Units, or "SNUC" in its Portuguese acronym. The article both describes SNUC and its legislative history for non-Portuguese speakers and then critically examines the law, suggesting that a less comprehensive and less detailed law might be easier to enforce and thus to serve its long-term goals.

Keywords: protected areas, biodiversity, conservation, natural resources, international environmental, Latin America, Brazil