Brazil’s policy of protecting portions of the Amazonian forest from development is capable of buffering the Amazon from climate change, according to a new study led by Michigan State University researcher Robert Walker, professor of geography.

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, contends that state and federal governments in Brazil have created a sustainable core of protected areas within the Amazon. And even if the remaining Brazilian Amazon is deforested, the climate will not significantly change — thereby protecting the Amazon’s ecosystems.

The research was supported by a grant from NASA and conducted under the auspices of the Large-scale Biosphere/Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia, an international project led by the Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology. Joining Walker on the research team were Nathan Moore, Cynthia Simmons and Dante Vergara from MSU, as well as researchers from other universities across the United States and in Brazil.