Pathways to Enhanced Action on Jurisdictional Approaches: Policy Recommendations and Lessons Learned From Five Brazilian States

This policy brief draws attention to the flourishing scenario of subnational jurisdictional strategies that are being built in Latin America, offering policy recommendations based on the lessons learned from five Brazilian States: Mato Grosso, Pará, Acre, Tocantins, and Maranhao. Based on desk research and interviews with civil society organizations that work in these territories, policymakers and practitioners will be able to use the key findings presented to guide their action toward more effective strategies with the private sector and civil society in general. 

The policy brief is divided as follows. After a conceptual introduction, section 2 provides an overview of Brazil’s main policy challenges and their relationship with the Jurisdictional and Landscape Approaches (JA/LA) agenda. Section 3 maps the gaps of the main consolidated Brazilian jurisdictional approaches platforms – Mato Grosso, Pará, and Acre – that could hinder efforts to drive improved economic, social, and environmental performance. Section 4 identifies how far Tocantins and Maranhao have progressed with the development of policy frameworks that enable JA/LA implementation, and how these gaps impact the development of landscape-scale intervention. Finally, section 5 provides general insights and recommendations based on the specific findings.