Pinto, Heverton Eustáquio2026-08-192026-08-192026OLIVEIRA, Juliana Soares de. Pagamento por serviços ambientais e incentivos econômicos à conservação: uma análise econômica do direito do Programa Cerrado em Pé no agronegócio goiano. Goiânia (GO), 2026. 96 f. Dissertação (Mestrado Profissional em Direito Constitucional Econômico) - Centro Universitário Alves Faria, 2026.http://repositorio.unialfa.com.br/handle/123456789/815The growing need to reconcile environmental conservation with economic growth has stimulated the development of public policy instruments capable of aligning private incentives with the collective interests of protecting natural resources. In this context, Payments for Environmental Services (PES) mechanisms emerge as regulatory tools designed to economically value environmental conservation. In the state of Goiás, Brazil, particular attention is given to the Programa Cerrado em Pé, a public policy that provides annual financial compensation to rural landowners for the voluntary preservation of native vegetation areas beyond those already protected by environmental legislation. Within this framework, this dissertation investigates the extent to which the Cerrado em Pé Program demonstrates regulatory effectiveness and the capacity to structure economic incentives capable of making environmental conservation a rational choice for rural producers, considering the theoretical assumptions of Law and Economics. The general objective of the research is to evaluate the functioning and impacts of Payments for Environmental Services mechanisms within the agribusiness sector of Goiás, examining the legal framework governing these instruments, the transaction costs involved in their implementation, and the adequacy of the economic incentives offered to compensate for the opportunity cost of productive land use. The methodology adopted is based on a qualitative, exploratory, and analytical approach supported by bibliographic review, normative analysis of the legal framework governing PES instruments, and empirical examination of the Cerrado em Pé Program. The investigation was conducted through three central analytical dimensions: regulatory efficiency, transaction costs, and the structure of economic incentives. The findings indicate that the program represents a relevant institutional advancement by introducing economic instruments aimed at valuing environmental conservation within the Cerrado biome. However, the analysis also reveals important structural limitations related to the economic competitiveness of conservation when compared to the high profitability of agricultural activities, particularly in regions characterized by highly productive agribusiness systems. In such areas, the opportunity cost of land use tends to significantly exceed the payments offered by PES schemes, thereby reducing the economic attractiveness of program participation. Beyond the economic dimension, the research also identifies institutional weaknesses associated with the program’s design, particularly with regard to the temporal predictability and stability of its operational parameters. As the Cerrado em Pé Program was initially structured as a pilot initiative, operating through annual enrollment cycles and relying on financial resources from the State Environmental Fund, both its continuity and payment structure remain subject to administrative decisions and the budgetary availability of the state government. This institutional arrangement may generate uncertainty among rural producers, thereby weakening the intertemporal credibility of the environmental incentive and limiting its ability to influence long-term land-use decisions. In light of these findings, the study recommends the institutional strengthening of the program through greater predictability regarding its duration, the consolidation of more stable financing mechanisms, and the reinforcement of regulatory security for participating landowners. It also suggests the adoption of more flexible and regionally differentiated public policy strategies capable of accounting for variations in agricultural profitability and land opportunity costs across different regions of the state. 8 Finally, the study highlights the need for further research on economic instruments of environmental policy in Brazil, particularly with regard to the empirical evaluation of the regulatory effectiveness of PES programs and the development of institutional models capable of more efficiently aligning the economic incentives of agricultural production with the broader objectives of environmental conservation and sustainable regional development.ptPagamento por Serviços Ambientais (PSA)Programa Cerrado em PéPolítica ambientalÁnalise Econômica do Direito (AED)