Health benefits of reduced deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract The conversion of tropical forests in the Amazon region for agriculture and other land uses is associated with health risks linked, for example, to air and water pollution from forest fires and agrochemical use. Several conservation policies introduced in the 2000s aimed at reducing deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Here we exploit variations in the regional targeting of these policies to measure human health externalities of conservation policy enforcement using a double-difference approach at close distance to the Amazon biome border. We find that the change in deforestation pressure reduces forest fire incidence. As a consequence, fine particulate matter concentrations in the air—a main vector for adverse health effects of fire smoke—also decrease. This leads to a reduction in the hospitalization and death prevalence rate due to respiratory health problems and other health benefits for the local population.