The Sustainable Use of Biodiversity and Its Implications in Agriculture: The Agroforestry Case in the Brazilian Legal Framework
Brazil is one of the biggest exporters of farm products and one of the most biologically diverse countries in the world. Nevertheless, agricultural expansion and the constant search for higher productivity are main factors leading to biodiversity loss. Thus, the promotion of rural sustainable development is considered a major challenge for Brazilian agricultural policy. In this context, agroforestry system of production might represent a viable solution, since it promotes biodiversity conservation without jeopardizing farm output. However, the complexity of the system may represent an obstacle to its legal implementation. Hence, this paper aims to analyse whether the Brazilian legal framework is well enough structured to implement this system in all its complexity. More widely, this research is seeking solutions to the conflict between traditional farming methods and the biodiversity conservation imperative in Brazil. In order to assess these issues question applied research was implemented and supported by an in depth literature and legislation review. Amongst the results, this paper shows that according to the green economy's theory of strong sustainability, the agroforestry way of production represent a sustainable agricultural system because the quality and the quantity of each component of the natural stock is maintained in its original state. Nevertheless, this paper concludes that, regarding the Brazilian context, the potential of the agroforestry systems is constraint by the lack of supportive regulatory framework.