Key messages

• The ecological-economic zoning (ZEE, zoneamento ecológico-econômico) process in Acre emerged in the context of a successful grassroots movement supported by the state government.
• The multi-stakeholder forum (MSF) organizers and most participants from diverse sectors sympathized with a forest-based sustainable development model, which facilitated collaboration and balanced power relations among participants. This led to a high perception of equity in the MSF's processes and outcomes.
• Stakeholders expressed concerns about the implementation of the MSF's outcome and its limited impact on the ground, suggesting that a high perception of equity does not guarantee a high perception of the outcome's effectiveness, which can also be influenced by external institutions and contextual factors such as financial allocation, political will and market forces.
• In Acre, carrying out a ZEE process using an MSF together with other types of governance mechanisms particularly aimed at reaching the general population and respecting Indigenous peoples' autonomy appeared to improve the equity and effectiveness of the ZEE process as a whole.