The complexities of environmental regulation: the example of the BrazilianAmazon

International concern over deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon motivated the G-7 to initiate a Pilot Programme for this region in 1990. It was based on a positive assessment of the changes in Brazilian environmental policy. The preparations for the programme and the implementation of its projects met with considerable difficulties. These included domestic opposition to e nvironmental regulation and to international interest for the Amazon, decli ning commitment to the environmental issue after UNCED, both nationally and internationally, and weak financial and institutional capacity of environm ental agencies. However, by proceeding cautiously, representatives of the B razilian government, the World Bank, donors and NGOs have succeeded in achi eving some progress. The Pilot Programme for the Brazilian Amazon clearly i llustrates the complexities of the regulation process, particularly in the case of international interest in reducing a primarily nationally induced e nvironmental problem.