Stopping deforestation in the Amazon also cut homicides by 15%

The Brazilian government used a real-time satellite system to monitor and fine illegal deforestation in the Amazon. It turns out this environmental enforcement also reduced homicides in the region by 15% each year.

Governments usually justify environmental protection by its ecological benefits. This paper shows that stopping deforestation can also make communities safer, preventing hundreds of deaths a year. It means environmental policy can now be argued as a public safety measure, changing the calculus for funding and political will.