Institutional vulnerability and environmental judicial protection in amazon border regions

Abstract

The article examines the judicial protection of the environment in the Amazon border regions from the perspective of institutional vulnerability. It is based on the understanding that, although the Brazilian legal system provides a broad normative framework for environmental protection, persistent institutional limitations continue to undermine the effectiveness of such protection in Amazonian border areas, which are increasingly affected by economic, territorial, and geopolitical pressures. The study adopts a qualitative and theoretical-analytical methodology grounded in constitutional and environmental doctrine, case law from higher courts, and critical literature on the State, federalism, and environmental governance. The findings indicate that decision-making omissions, federative fragmentation, and asymmetries in state capacity contribute to the formation of areas marked by low effectiveness of environmental law. The study concludes that institutional vulnerability constitutes a structural element of environmental judicial protection in the Amazon border regions, revealing the need for doctrinal and institutional reinterpretations capable of reducing the recurring gap between normative protection and its practical implementation.