There have been a few creatures I’ve featured on Fridays whose populations have been affected by deforestation- especially animals that live in the Amazon rainforest like the lowland tapir and the giant armadillo.

Animals aren’t usually the first thing that pops into a person’s mind when deforestation is mentioned. The air is usually the first topic of discussion because clearing trees affects air quality and most of us learn that in elementary school: “Trees help us breathe!”

Conserving biodiversity and Brazil’s recent commitment to reduce deforestation in order to lower carbon emissions in the country’s two million square miles of Amazon rainforest are probably what led to a University of Michigan (UM) study that explored the efficacy of Brazil’s policies.

The researchers used new remote-sensing-based datasets from over 200 protected areas in the Brazilian Amazon and sophisticated statistical analysis to judge the effectiveness of three categories of protected areas: strictly protected areas, sustainable use areas, and indigenous lands.

The UM study has found that strictly protected areas like national parks and biological reserves have been more effective at reducing deforestation in the Amazon rainforest than sustainable-use areas.

Sustainable-use areas allow for controlled resource extraction are still effective and let the people who have lived off the land continue to do so but more -for lack of a better word-sustainably.

The protected areas founded primarily with the rights and livelihoods of indigenous people performed well in areas where deforestation pressures are high.

Unsurprisingly the study found that all forms of protection successfully limit deforestation but the researchers pointed to a finding that was a shock.

“Perhaps the biggest surprise is the finding that indigenous lands perform the best when it comes to lower deforestation in contexts of high deforestation pressure,” said, Arun Agrawal, a professor of natural resources at UM SNRE and one of the study’s co-authors,  “Many observers have suggested that granting substantial autonomy and land rights to indigenous people over vast tracts of land in the Amazon will lead to high levels of deforestation because indigenous groups would want to take advantage of the resources at their disposal.

He added, “This study shows that — based on current evidence — such fears are misplaced.”

UM’s press office says the study is scheduled for online publication on Monday, March 11 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.