The Last Unfinished Page of Genesis: Euclides da Cunha and the Amazon

A preocupação de Euclides da Cunha com o meio ambiente, a economia política e a justiça social situa sua obra no âmbito daquilo que atualmente denomina-se ecologia política. Embora haja sempre o perigo de que a “escola” intelectual de hoje se torne a moda ultrapassada de ontem, a abordagem da Ecologia Política vem demonstrando grande longevidade. Nesse sentido, a obra amazônica de Euclides da Cunha é particularmente importante, devido à sua ênfase na análise ambiental, história social, relações sociais de produção, análise em larga escala e seus impactos sobre o meio ambiente, mostrando claramente ter sido o assunto de interesse do autor, um importante precursor da ecologia política. O presente trabalho examina a obra de Euclides da Cunha sobre a Amazônia a partir dessa perspectiva

The New Rurality: Globalization, Peasants and the Paradoxes of Landscapes

O desmatamento ocupa a maior parte das manchetes da imprensa, mas também há processos de expansãoflorestal espalhados pela América Latina que não têm a mesma visibilidade. Este artigo explora o porquêdeste processo ser tão invisível e discute algumas das teorias utilizadas para se entender a recuperaçãoflorestal. O artigo também examina uma série de estudos de caso. A globalização desempenha um papelcada vez mais importante na estruturação das economias rurais. O trabalho analisa, ainda, como asvárias formas de integração global, desde remessas, transferências do estado, capacitação, mercados,até ideologias de identidade e territorialidade, produziram recuperação florestal em paisagens rurais e camponesas.Deforestation captures most of the headlines, but there are also processes of forest expansion that arewidespread in Latin America. This paper explores why this process is so invisible and some of the theoriesthat have been used to understand woodland recovery. The article then examines a series of case studies.Globalization plays an increasingly important role in structuring rural economies. This paper analyzeshow global integration of many types, ranging from remittances, state transfers, skilling, markets, andideologies of identity and territoriality produced forest recovery in peasant landscapes

Firing up:Policy, politics and polemics under new and old burning regimes

International audienc

A economia da pecuária na Amazônia oriental

Este trabalho é uma simulação econômica de operações pecuárias em grande escala na Bacia Amazônica, as quais receberam linhas de crédito subsidiado e incentivos fiscais de vários tipos. Nosso estudo analisa a lucratividade de operações de bovinocultura sob quatro tecnologias de produção, sob preços variáveis de insumos e produtos e a diferentes taxas de valorização da terra. O desenvolvimento da infra-estrutura e o comprometimento do governo brasileiro em integrar a regiao à economia nacional produziu uma alta generalizada nos preços das terras, contribuindo para uma dinâmica especulativa que caracterizou os mercados de terra brasileiros ao longo dos últimos vinte anos.Este estudo demonstra haver muitas condições sob as quais o investimento em pecuária na Amazônia pode ser lucrativa, embora a maioria dos cenários envolva sobrepastejo, subsídios, preços altos para o gado e baixos para os insumos, valorização da terra ou ainda combinações de todas essas condições. O que mais se destaca na simulação é o fato de o sobrepastejo ser a mais lucrativa estratégia de produção na maior parte dos cenários considerados, em virtude do rápido declínio da produtividade das pastagens na Amazônia. Estes resultados tern duas importantes implicações: primeira, que a pecuaria pode expandir-se e ser lucrativa mesmo sem subsídios, sob certos preços do produto e/ou através de uma estrat´égia de contínuo desflorestamento e sobrepastejo: segunda, que a lucratividade do investimento é aumentada em meio a contextos de maior utilização de insumos e maior produção, marcados pela presença de subsídios e/ou valorização da terra.This study is an economic simulation of large scale livestock operations in the Amazon Basin which recieved subsidized credit lines and fiscal incentives of various types. Our study analyses the profitability of livestock operations under four production technologies, under varying input and product prices, and at different rates of land appreciation. Infrastructure development, and the commitment of the Brazilian government to integrate the region into the national economy produced a generalized boom in land prices which contributed to a speculative dynamic in Brazilian land markets that has continued for the last twenty years. This study shows that there are many conditions where investment in livestock [n the Amazon can be profitable, but most of these scenarios imply either overgrazing, subsidies, conditions of high cattle prices and low input prices, land appreciation or combinations of all of these. What is most salient in the simulation is that overgrazing is the most profitable production strategy under most pricing scenarios given the rapid decline of pasture productivity in Amazonia. These results have two important implications: first, livestock activities can expand and be profitable even without subsidies under certain product prices and/or through a strategy of continued clearing and overgrazing. Second, profitability of investment is increased across more input and product contexts with subsidies and/or land appreciation

Priorities for Governing Large-scale Infrastructure in the Tropics

National governments, International Financial Institutions, and the G-20 have intensified investments of infrastructure to boost economic growth in the wake of economic recessions and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This infrastructure enables investments in large-scale agriculture, ranching, mining, and oil and gas extraction which tend to intensify the current inequalities. These activities is slated to occur in tropical forests and on lands historically occupied by Indigenous, Afro-Descendant, Traditional and other rural peoples. This has unprecedented negative impact on the ecosystem, the biodiversity as well as on the peoples. This article calls for a \u27three-leg\u27 agenda to align infrastructure, development, and sustainability. The first one deals for the stakeholders and society at large to rethink our understanding of the relationships between infrastructure and development. The second one involves with infrastructure planning and decision-making which must be based on territorially-based planning that includes all voices that are affected by these changes. Lastly, approaches to infrastructure planning must greatly expand the scope for public debate and oversight of what infrastructure is needed

Critical transitions in the Amazon forest system

The possibility that the Amazon forest system could soon reach a tipping point, inducing large-scale collapse, has raised global concern1-3. For 65 million years, Amazonian forests remained relatively resilient to climatic variability. Now, the region is increasingly exposed to unprecedented stress from warming temperatures, extreme droughts, deforestation and fires, even in central and remote parts of the system1. Long existing feedbacks between the forest and environmental conditions are being replaced by novel feedbacks that modify ecosystem resilience, increasing the risk of critical transition. Here we analyse existing evidence for five major drivers of water stress on Amazonian forests, as well as potential critical thresholds of those drivers that, if crossed, could trigger local, regional or even biome-wide forest collapse. By combining spatial information on various disturbances, we estimate that by 2050, 10% to 47% of Amazonian forests will be exposed to compounding disturbances that may trigger unexpected ecosystem transitions and potentially exacerbate regional climate change. Using examples of disturbed forests across the Amazon, we identify the three most plausible ecosystem trajectories, involving different feedbacks and environmental conditions. We discuss how the inherent complexity of the Amazon adds uncertainty about future dynamics, but also reveals opportunities for action. Keeping the Amazon forest resilient in the Anthropocene will depend on a combination of local efforts to end deforestation and degradation and to expand restoration, with global efforts to stop greenhouse gas emissions

CCNE1 and survival of patients with tubo-ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma: An Ovarian Tumor Tissue Analysis consortium study

BACKGROUND: Cyclin E1 (CCNE1) is a potential predictive marker and therapeutic target in tubo-ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC). Smaller studies have revealed unfavorable associations for CCNE1 amplification and CCNE1 overexpression with survival, but to date no large-scale, histotype-specific validation has been performed. The hypothesis was that high-level amplification of CCNE1 and CCNE1 overexpression, as well as a combination of the two, are linked to shorter overall survival in HGSC. METHODS: Within the Ovarian Tumor Tissue Analysis consortium, amplification status and protein level in 3029 HGSC cases and mRNA expression in 2419 samples were investigated. RESULTS: High-level amplification (>8 copies by chromogenic in situ hybridization) was found in 8.6% of HGSC and overexpression (>60% with at least 5% demonstrating strong intensity by immunohistochemistry) was found in 22.4%. CCNE1 high-level amplification and overexpression both were linked to shorter overall survival in multivariate survival analysis adjusted for age and stage, with hazard stratification by study (hazard ratio [HR], 1.26; 95% CI, 1.08-1.47, p = .034, and HR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.05-1.32, p = .015, respectively). This was also true for cases with combined high-level amplification/overexpression (HR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.09-1.47, p = .033). CCNE1 mRNA expression was not associated with overall survival (HR, 1.00 per 1-SD increase; 95% CI, 0.94-1.06; p = .58). CCNE1 high-level amplification is mutually exclusive with the presence of germline BRCA1/2 pathogenic variants and shows an inverse association to RB1 loss. CONCLUSION: This study provides large-scale validation that CCNE1 high-level amplification is associated with shorter survival, supporting its utility as a prognostic biomarker in HGSC