Rethinking environmental governance by integrating global value chains and socio-ecological systems analysis: The case of the Brazilian Amazon beef value chain

Abstract

Global value chains (GVCs) are vital to global trade, transforming natural capital into products through complex transborder production systems coordinated by lead firms. While GVCs facilitate economic integration and development opportunities, they are often associated with social and environmental harms particularly in ecologically sensitive regions. Efforts to mitigate these harms usually involve fragmented governance mechanisms that treat the environment as an externality, rather than as a dynamic system shaping and shaped by value chain activities. The GVC approach is effective at analyzing governance structures, lead firm strategies, and power asymmetries in global production, but tends to overlook ecological feedback. In contrast, the Socio-Ecological Systems (SES) framework conceptualizes the environment as endogenous, emphasizing feedback loops between ecosystems and governance. However, the SES framework is typically applied at local scales, and its application to globalized production remains limited. This article bridges these literatures by developing a GVC-SES analytical framework, systematically linking governance, power, and ecological feedback across scales. We apply this framework to the Brazilian Amazon’s beef cattle value chain using primary and secondary data. Findings reveal how global demand, land governance, and infrastructure drive deforestation through land valuation, credit regimes, and development incentives, while misaligned governance and power asymmetries hinder sustainability. The GVC-SES framework offers a novel tool to holistically assess sustainability outcomes across GVCs and the SESs in which they are embedded. The GVC-SES framework contributes to both literatures by embedding GVC governance in its socio-ecological context and extending SES analysis to globalized production systems.