Banking on the Amazon: How the Finance Sector Can Do More to Avoid Tropical Deforestation

Summary

This report analyses the policies put in place by financial institutions to prevent deforestation. It first presents pressures put on the Amazon, like cattle farming, agriculture, mining, infrastructure and oil and gas extraction. In a second part the report conducted a qualitative analysis of policies put in place by banks to discover gaps and test the robustness of the policies. The report concludes suggesting that banks should join initiatives and platforms where they can exchange information and experience, and that banks should implement more stringent requirements and work across sectors, a cooperation which is often lacking in the policies so far. More emphasis should also be put on monitoring and implementation checks.