Fragile Social Norms:(un)sustainable Exploration of Forest Products
Abstract: Abstract: The exhaustion of natural resources is a central problem in the international agenda. The particular case of Amazon forest is at the top on the international environmental discussion. The predatory use of the natural resources of the forest mainly timber and genetic resources.The region is populated by initiatives of international non-governmental-organizations, most of them carrying good intentions but lacking the necessary knowledge on local formal and informal institutions to find ways to reach sustainable development. The result is the accelerated process of natural resources depletion, and social disorganization. The case of the production of Brazilian Nuts stands as a corollary of the lack of an institutional structure of property rights that does not provide incentives for sustainable development. The opposite effect is being observed as a result of the fragility of observable institutional arrangements.
