A social and ecological assessment of tropical land uses at multiple scales: the Sustainable amazon network

Science has a critical role to play in guiding more sustainable development trajectories. Here, we present the Sustainable Amazon Network (Rede Amazônia Sustentável, RAS): a multidisciplinary research initiative involving more than 30 partner organizations working to assess both social and ecological dimensions of land-use sustainability in eastern Brazilian Amazonia. The research approach adopted by RAS offers three advantages for addressing land-use sustainability problems: (i) the collection of synchronized and co-located ecological and socioeconomic data across broad gradients of past and present human use; (ii) a nested sampling design to aid comparison of ecological and socioeconomic conditions associated with different land uses across local, landscape and regional scales; and (iii) a strong engagement with a wide variety of actors and non-research institutions. Here, we elaborate on these key features, and identify the ways in which RAS can help in highlighting those problems in most urgent need of attention, and in guiding improvements in land-use sustainability in Amazonia and elsewhere in the tropics. We also discuss some of the practical lessons, limitations and realities faced during the development of the RAS initiative so far

A social and ecological assessment of tropical land uses at multiple scales: the Sustainable Amazon Network

Science has a critical role to play in guiding more sustainable development trajectories. Here, we present the Sustainable Amazon Network (Rede Amazonia Sustentavel, RAS): a multidisciplinary research initiative involving more than 30 partner organizations working to assess both social and ecological dimensions of land-use sustainability in eastern Brazilian Amazonia. The research approach adopted by RAS offers three advantages for addressing land-use sustainability problems: (i) the collection of synchronized and co-located ecological and socioeconomic data across broad gradients of past and present human use; (ii) a nested sampling design to aid comparison of ecological and socioeconomic conditions associated with different land uses across local, landscape and regional scales; and (iii) a strong engagement with a wide variety of actors and non-research institutions. Here, we elaborate on these key features, and identify the ways in which RAS can help in highlighting those problems in most urgent need of attention, and in guiding improvements in land-use sustainability in Amazonia and elsewhere in the tropics. We also discuss some of the practical lessons, limitations and realities faced during the development of the RAS initiative so far.Keywords: Social–ecological systems, Tropical forests, Land use, Interdisciplinary research, Sustainability, Trade-off

A agroindústria canavieira do Paraná pós-desregulamentação: uma abordagem neoschumpeteriana

O trabalho tem como escopo analisar os principais condicionantes da evolução da agroindústria canavieira paranaense após a desregulamentação setorial, à guisa do instrumental neoschumpeteriano. Deve-se enfatizar o fato de as empresas paranaenses que compõem o setor agroindustrial canavieiro estarem, desde a desregulamentação setorial, ocorrida em 1990, inseridas no paradigma tecnológico vigente no setor, em que importa estar atento a atributos importantes para a maior competitividade setorial, tais como: maior apuração de custos; introdução de inovação em produtos e processos; e aquisição e construção de competências e habilidades no desenvolvimento de capacitações produtivas, tecnológicas e organizacionais. Como resultados a serem ressaltados pode-se citar a razoável capacidade de adaptação às condições de livre concorrência em que se encontraram as agroindústrias canavieiras paranaenses no período de 1990 a 2005, investindo em inovações tecnológicas de produtos e processos. Houve, neste aspecto, uma heterogeneidade tecnológica, no qual alguns se distanciam dos demais em função de adoção de estratégias tecnológicas ofensivas. Outros resultados relevantes, em termos de distribuição percentual das respostas das empresas pesquisadas, foram: o grande impacto causado pelas inovações tecnológicas ocorridas na área agrícola e o learning-by-interacting como tipo de aprendizado predominante na agroindústria canavieira paranaense.<br>The study has as aim to analyse the main conditions of the evolution of the Paraná State sugar cane agroindustry after the sectorial deregulation, according to the neoschumpeterian instrument. It must be emphasized the fact that the Paraná State companies which compose the sugar cane agro-industrial sector to be inserted, since the sectorial deregulation occured in 1990, in the effective technological paradigm in the sector, where it is necessary to be alert to the important attributes for the biggest sectorial competitiveness, such as: bigger verification of costs; introduction of innovation in products and processes; and acquisition and construction of abilities and skills in the development of productive, technological and organization qualifications. As corollary, the reasonable capacity of adaptation to the conditions of free competition in the Paraná State sugar cane agroindustries in the period of 1990 to 2005, investing in technological innovations of products and processes can be stood out. There was, in this way, a technological heterogeneity, where some move away because of the adoption of offensive technological strategies. Other excellent results, in percentile distribution, of the searched companies answers were: the great impact caused by the occured technological innovations in the agricultural area and learning-by-interacting as a type of predominant learning in the Paraná State sugar cane agroindustry