Colonial law helped shape modern deforestation. Legal historian Mariana Dias Paes explains how 19th-century property law, land dispossession, and colonial legal systems accelerated rainforest destruction in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest and continue to influence environmental conflicts today. This episode of Green Frequency explores colonialism, Indigenous land rights, private property, environmental history, and the legal foundations behind modern climate and conservation crises across the Atlantic world, including the Amazon and Congo rainforests. Recorded live at The American University of Paris, the conversation connects legal history to present-day environmental governance, climate justice, and biodiversity loss. Full video version with presentation slides and maps available on YouTube.

Episode Guests: Dr. Mariana Dias Paes

Browse Dr. Dias Paes’ publications on Google Scholar

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Audio Editing by Clark Marchese, Video Editing by Madelyn Cho Weir

Videography and Set Design by Le Studio Du Passage

Cover Art by Laurel Wong

Theme music by Nela Ruiz

Find some more Pine Forest Media podcasts below

Listen to Oceanography on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Listen to Plastic Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Listen to South Pole on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Listen to Something in the Water on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

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