Efeitos da Expansão da Cana de Açúcar no Sudeste do Mato Grosso do Sul e Possíveis Caminhos para uma Agenda Sustentável

The Brazilian Alcohol program (Pró-Álcool) is pointed out as a sustainable development tool.However, the negative impacts produced throughout its production can minimize its benefits. Inrecent years, the area under sugar cane increased from 105 thousands hectares to more than700 thousands hectares in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Nonetheless, little is known about theimpacts faced by this region of Brazil. The goal of this project was to evaluate the sugarcaneimpacts in the Southwestern region of that state, through interviews, reports analysis and in locovisits. The better protection of Areas Legally Protected and the incensement in the number ofenterprises formally registered are within the positive effects. Related to the negative impacts,stands out conflicts related to Indigenous Lands and issues related to the public health system inthe cities analysed. The results point out the need, for the public governments create andcoordinate actions, alongside other sectors, with clear statements focused on the sustainabledevelopment.O programa do Álcool brasileiro é apontado como uma estratégia para o desenvolvimento sustentável, no entanto, seus impactos negativos podem minimizar os seus benefícios. Nos últimos dez anos, a área de cana de açúcar aumentou de 105 mil ha para mais de 700 mil ha no estado do Mato Grasso do Sul, entretanto, pouco se sabe sobre os impactos causados nesta região do Brasil. O objetivo desse trabalho foi fazer uma avaliação dos impactos da cana no sudeste deste estado por meio de entrevistas, análise de relatórios e visitas a campo. A maior proteção de Áreas Legalmente Protegidas e aumento no número de empresas formalmente cadastradas estão entre os fatores positivos encontrados. Quanto aos impactos negativos, sobressaem os conflitos com Territórios Indígenas e problemas relacionados à saúde pública nas cidades envolvidas analisadas. Os resultados apontam para a necessidade do poder público criar e coordenar ações junto aos diversos setores com diretrizes claras focadas no desenvolvimento sustentável

Extreme citizen science: Lessons learned from initiatives around the globe

The participation of communities living in high conservation value areas is increasingly valued in conservation science and practice, potentially producing multiple positive impacts on both biodiversity and local people. Here, we discuss important steps for implementing a successful extreme citizen science project, based on four case studies from conservation projects with Pantaneiro fishers living in Brazilian Pantanal wetland, Baka hunter-gatherers and Fang farmers in lowland wet forest in Cameroon, Maasai pastoralists in Kenya, and Ju|'hoansi rangers living in the semiarid deserts of Namibia. We highlight the need for a high level of trust between the target communities and project developers, communities' right to choose the data they will be collecting, and researchers' openness to include new tools that were not initially planned. By following these steps, conservation scientists can effectively create bottom-up collaborations with those living on the frontlines of conservation through community-led extreme citizen science

Achieving conservation through cattle ranching: The case of the Brazilian Pantanal

Cattle ranching in the ~140,000 km2 Brazilian Pantanal is considered one of the most important cases of sustainable use of natural resources in the global south. The region has had a successful history of balancing environmental protection with the production of >3.8 million cattle. However, global change, infrastructure projects, and deforestation, threaten the sustainable use of the Pantanal. Here, using Ostrom's design principles as a framework, we interviewed 49 local stakeholders and conducted a review of secondary information aiming to evaluate the sustainability of cattle ranching practices across the region and the threats to it. We show that well-defined property boundaries, congruence between appropriation and provision rules through low-intensity cattle ranching, and co-management of resources, are all key components for achieving sustainability in the Pantanal. However, we documented shortcomings in satisfying critical aspects of Orstrom's design principles. Specifically, we argue that the Pantanal needs better biodiversity and behavior monitoring, the creation of platforms or mechanisms to solve local conflicts around resource access and use, recognition by governments and international bodies of the local efforts to promote local sustainability, and the creation of networks effectively connecting existing sustainability initiatives

Impacto do estresse na saúde de cortadores de cana

OBJECTIVE Evaluate the impact of stress on sugar cane cutters and the prevalence of physical and psychological symptoms before and after harvest. METHODS We studied 114 sugarcane cutters and 109 urban workers in the pre-harvest and 102 sugar cane cutters and 81 urban workers in the post-harvest period in the city of Mendonça, SP, Southeastern Brazil, in 2009. Data analysis was based on the frequency and percentage of the assessed symptoms of stress, using the Lipp-ISSL test (Symptoms of Stress for Adults). The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The Fisher Test was used to compare the variable of stress between pre- and post-harvest within the sugar cane cutter and urban worker groups. P values below 0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS Stress in sugar cane cutters increased after harvesting (34.2% pre-harvest and 46.1% post-harvest); in urban workers, stress decreased from 44.0% pre-harvest to 42.0% post-harvest. There was prevalence of the phase of resistance to stress for both groups with signs more apparent from the near-exhaustion and exhaustion phases for sugar cane cutters. After harvest, there was a tendency for the number of sugar cane cutters with symptoms of near-exhaustion (6.4%) and exhaustion (10.6%) to increase. After harvest there was a trend for the number of sugar cane cutters with physical symptoms (pre-harvest = 20.5%, post-harvest = 25.5%) and psychological symptoms (pre-harvest = 64.1%; post-harvest = 70.2%) to increase. For both groups, predominantly psychological symptoms occurred in both phases (70.2% versus 64.7%). CONCLUSIONS The work process of cutting cane can cause stress. Individual factors such as cognitive perception of the experience, self-efficacy beliefs and expectations of the employee regarding their performance can influence the understanding of the reactions in their body in face of the work.OBJETIVO Analisar os níveis de estresse e a prevalência de sintomas físicos e psíquicos em trabalhadores do corte de cana antes e depois da safra. MÉTODOS Foram estudados 114 cortadores de cana, 109 trabalhadores urbanos na pré-safra, 102 cortadores de cana e 81 trabalhadores urbanos na pós-safra, na cidade de Mendonça, SP, em 2009. A análise dos dados baseou-se na frequência e porcentagem dos avaliados com sintomas de estresse, tendo sido utilizado o Inventário de Sintomas de Estresse para Adultos de Lipp-ISSL. Os dados gerais coletados foram analisados segundo estatística descritiva. Utilizou-se o teste Exato de Fisher para comparar a variável categórica representada pelo estresse pré e pós-safra nos grupos cortadores de cana e trabalhadores urbanos. Foram considerados significativos os valores de p menor que 0,05. RESULTADOS O estresse aumentou nos cortadores de cana após a safra (34,2% na pré-safra e 46,1% na pós-safra); nos trabalhadores urbanos, o estresse diminuiu de 44,0% na pré-safra para 42,0% na pós-safra. Houve predominância da fase de resistência do estresse para ambos os grupos, com sinais mais evidentes da fase de quase-exaustão e de exaustão para os cortadores de cana. Após a safra, houve tendência a aumentar o número de cortadores de cana com sintomas de quase-exaustão (6,4%) e exaustão (10,6%), bem como aumento na proporção de cortadores de cana com sintomas físicos (de 20,5% para 25,5%) e psicológicos (de 64,1% para 70,2%). Para os dois grupos, os sintomas psicológicos foram elevados nas duas fases (70,2% e 64,7%, respectivamente). CONCLUSÕES O processo produtivo de trabalho do cortador de cana pode provocar estresse. Fatores individuais, como a percepção cognitiva da experiência, crenças de autoeficácia e expectativas do trabalhador quanto ao seu desempenho, podem influenciar o entendimento sobre as reações em seu corpo diante do trabalho

Retrato de uma região: impacto da indústria sucroalcooleira, indicadores de saúde e a percepção dos gestores

This article analyzes health indicators in the municipalities of the São José do Rio Preto region (state of São Paulo, Brazil) and the demand of the population according to the managers regarding the sugar cane expansion process. Ten municipalities in the region that have sugar cane mills and 10 other municipalities with the same number of inhabitants, but without the presence of plants, were selected. Data were collected through interviews and Ministry of Health databases. It was observed that, regardless of the presence of sugar and alcohol plants, there was an improvement in health indicators. However, to the interviewed managers, despite there being plants or not, the presence of migrants to cut sugarcane worsened health indicators. Therefore, it was observed that the presence of plants in the municipalities did not interfere in health indicators, but managers perceived a drop in health quality in the municipality.Este artigo analisa indicadores de saúde dos municípios da região de São José do Rio Preto e a demanda da população segundo os gestores diante do processo de expansão da cana de açúcar. Dez municípios da região que possuem usinas de cana de açúcar e outros 10 municípios com o mesmo número de habitantes, mas sem usinas, foram selecionados. Os dados foram coletados por meio de entrevistas e em bancos de dados do Ministério da Saúde. Observou-se que, independentemente da presença de usinas sucroalcooleiras, houve melhora nos indicadores de saúde. Entretanto, para os gestores entrevistados, independentemente da presença ou ausência de usinas, a presença de migrantes para o corte da cana piorou os indicadores de saúde. Assim, constatou-se que a presença de usinas nos municípios não interferiu nos indicadores de saúde, mas os gestores consideram que a qualidade da saúde do município teve queda

Emergent sustainability in open property regimes

Current theoretical models of the commons assert that common-pool resources can only be managed sustainably with clearly defined boundaries around both communities and the resources that they use. In these theoretical models, open access inevitably leads to a tragedy of the commons. However, in many open-access systems, use of common-pool resources seems to be sustainable over the long term (i.e., current resource use does not threaten use of common-pool resources for future generations). Here, we outline the conditions that support sustainable resource use in open property regimes. We use the conceptual framework of complex adaptive systems to explain how processes within and couplings between human and natural systems can lead to the emergence of efficient, equitable, and sustainable resource use. We illustrate these dynamics in eight case studies of different social–ecological systems, including mobile pastoralism, marine and freshwater fisheries, swidden agriculture, and desert foraging. Our theoretical framework identifies eight conditions that are critical for the emergence of sustainable use of common-pool resources in open property regimes. In addition, we explain how changes in boundary conditions may push open property regimes to either common property regimes or a tragedy of the commons. Our theoretical model of emergent sustainability helps us to understand the diversity and dynamics of property regimes across a wide range of social–ecological systems and explains the enigma of open access without a tragedy. We recommend that policy interventions in such self-organizing systems should focus on managing the conditions that are critical for the emergence and persistence of sustainability

Challenges, Strategies, and Impacts of Doing Citizen Science with Marginalised and Indigenous Communities: Reflections from Project Coordinators

Citizen science is growing and increasingly realizing its potential in terms of benefiting science and society. However, there are significant barriers to engaging participants in non-Western, non-educated, non-industrialised, non-rich and non-democratic contexts. By reflecting on the experiences of 15 citizen science project coordinators, this paper contributes to the small but growing body of knowledge attempting to identify barriers and opportunities of doing citizen science with marginalised and Indigenous communities. Challenges affecting participation in the analysed projects include issues that range from lack of basic infrastructure and participant safety to unbalanced knowledge hierarchies and data rights. We found that, to overcome these challenges, projects have used several strategies, from promoting decentralized and low-tech solutions to engaging in bottom-up actions from a human-rights approach. Finally, our analysis of project impacts supports the idea that doing citizen science with marginalised and Indigenous communities might have a greater impact for participants than for science, as scientific achievements (although valuable) were not among the most important impacts highlighted in terms of project success. By providing stories from the field in a structured way, we aim to guide, to inform, and to inspire other citizen science projects, and to, ultimately, contribute to broader participation in citizen science in the futur

IS THE PANTANAL A PRISTINE PLACE? CONFLICTS RELATED TO THE CONSERVATION OF THE PANTANAL

Abstract The book "Biodiversidade e ocupação humana do Pantanal mato-grossense: conflitos e oportunidades" brings to discussion a hardly citied issue in academic debates: the conservation of the Pantanal. A place pointed out by some authors as pristine. The book is divided into three main chapters. The first one is about the physical / biological feature of the region and the second covers the local historical occupation. Important publications about the Pantanal are sumerized well in both chapters. The last chapter describes current conflict between local people and Protected Areas over land use. However the authors misuse several findings about local settlements in the region, leading to imprecise conclusions. The lack of scientific accuracy in the main part of the book undermines its potential academic impact. Nonetheless this book triggers important debates about the conservation of the Pantanal, showing that it is not pristine and free of threats as is widely claimed

The Displacement of Insufficiently 'Traditional' Communities:Local Fisheries in the Pantanal

The rise of community-based conservation (CBC) from the 1980s, heralded a paradigm shift in the global conservation and development agenda, increasing the engagement of conservationists towards the cause of the needs of Indigenous people. As a result, many international agreements were implemented, such as Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention (1989) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992). In Brazil, a National Policy for the Sustainable Development of Traditional Peoples and Communities (PNDSPCT) was introduced in 2007, which came to recognise the rights and existing sustainable use practices of 'traditional communities'. This paper uses data from a long-term ethnography of both the local people and the conservation agenda in the Pantanal wetland, Brazil, to discuss how environmentalists used the PNDSPCT to justify the displacement of local people by claiming they do not fit in any traditional community category, and instead should be called 'rural poor'. Interview-based evidence from these communities shows the contrary—pointing out a long history of occupation in the region, customary practices that guarantee sustainable use and self-recognition as a culturally differentiated group. The results are used to explore how narrow notions of indigenous identity have been used to oppress communities in Brazil and in other parts of the global south. The paper concludes that a flexible and fluid categorisation of traditional peoples or indigenous groups should be used in order to avoid reinforcing the already oppressive restrictions placed on local communities that are close to or part of conservation initiatives