The declining cocoa economy and the Atlantic Forest of Southern Bahia,Brazil: Conservation attitudes of cocoa planters

Summary The causes of the degradation of Brazilian Atlantic Forest in the south-eastern cocoa region of the State of Bahia are investigated by means of a survey on cocoa planter's forest conservation attitudes. Large land-owners were found to be responsible for most of the forest clearing that occurred in the past: cocoa prices compensated investment in the expansion of the area planted to cocoa on planters' forested land-holdings. Large land-owners were also responsible for most of the recent forest clearing, which occurred simply to sell trees in order to earn income while cocoa prices were depressed. Large land-owners are nonetheless more interested than small land-owners in conserving some of their forest. Policies encouraging private forest conservation, and the development of forest-conserving agricultural alternatives for the landless poor are recommended.Dr Keith Alger teaches at the Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz in Southern Bahia, a community college in Brazil's cocoa producing region. He is Vice-President of Fundação Pau Brasil, a non-profit association of local researchers and environmentalists whose objective is to encourage the conservation of biodiversity in regional, economic and social development. He does volunteer work for Projeto Mico-Leão Baiano (The Bahian Lion Tamarin Project), an environmental education project coordinated by maria Cristina Alves and sponsored by the Wildlife Preservation Trust International. Dr Alger's current research on land-use tendencies in a wildlife park buffer zone is supported by Conservation International and the World Wildlife fund. Marcellus Caldas took his MS in agricultural economics at the Universidade Federal de Viçosa in Minas Gerais, and teaches at the Universidade Federal da Bahia in Cruz das Almas, Bahia, Brazil.     

Trace analysis of parabens preservatives in drinking water treatment sludge,treated, and mineral water samples

Parabens have been widely used as antimicrobial agents, mainly in food products, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. Although they are known as safe preservatives, they also cause some harm to human health, which has been discussed lately. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of nine parabens (including isomers) in mineral and drinking waters, besides in drinking water treatment sludge (DWTS) samples with determination by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Both methods solid phase extraction (SPE) and QuEChERS were validated. Calibration curves showed a correlation coefficient of 0.99 for all compounds. LOQ values ranged from 0.04 to 4 μg L^?1 in aqueous matrices and from 5 to 500 ng g^?1 in DWTS. Recoveries between 70 and 115% were reached with RSD below 20% for all compounds in SPE whereas recoveries between 62 and 119% were found with RSD below 20% for almost all compounds in QuEChERS. Matrix effect had low values (<?20%); it was only above 20% for methylparaben in the SPE and for pentylparaben in the QuEChERS. Using a quick and simple extraction procedures with SPE, QuEChERS, and LC-MS/MS analyses, these methods proved to be selective and sensitive. They were successfully applied to real samples (treated water, mineral water, and sludge), and methylparaben was detected at concentration levels below 0.242 μg L^?1 in mineral and treated water samples and 10 ng g^?1 in DWTS samples.     

Strategies for reducing airborne pesticides under tropical conditions

Brazil is currently one of the largest pesticide consumers worldwide. However, a lack of scientific information regarding airborne pollution is still an issue, with tragic consequences to human health and the environment. To reduce pollution of the lower air layers, where pesticide spraying occurs, green barriers that filter the air could be an effective mitigation procedure. Modifying pulverization habits, by pulverizing in the late afternoon instead of in the morning could also reduce pesticide volatilization, while other recommendations with the purpose of lowering the pesticide amounts currently applied are likewise pursued. Data obtained about volatilization have demonstrated that, in order to reduce air pollution risks, one of the most effective preventive strategies is to ban products with high vapor pressure. Global/local stakeholders need to assume the responsibility to find the best way to reduce airborne pesticide pollution, which has increasingly shown disastrous effects as major poisons to human health and the environment.     

Determination of pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and pesticides in surface and treated waters: method development and survey

Water is fundamental to the existence of life since it is essential to a series of activities, such as agriculture, power generation, and public and industrial supplies. The residual water generated by these activities is released into the environment, reaches the water systems, and becomes a potential risk to nontarget organisms. This paper reports the development and validation of a quantitative method, based on solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, for the simultaneous analysis of 18 pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) and 33 pesticides in surface and drinking waters. The accuracy of the method was determined by calculating the recoveries, which ranged from 70 to 120 % for most pesticides and PPCPs, whereas limits of quantification ranged from 0.8 to 40 ng/L. After the validation step, the method was applied to drinking and surface waters. Pesticides and PPCPs were found in concentrations lower than 135.5 ng/L. The evaluation of different water sources with regard to contamination by pesticides and PPCPs has been quite poor in southern Brazil.     

Land-use choices: the case of conservation reserve program (CRP) re-enrollment in Kansas,USA

Among the important alternatives for land conservation is the US Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) that celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2015. This paper explores how landowners decide on alternative land-use choices made available by the expiration of CRP contracts in Kansas. The study uses survey data and multinomial Logit models to predict land-use choices. Two models were tested. The first model does not incorporate variables concerning farmer perceptions and attitudes about land-use choices, while the second model does. The results show that CRP re-enrollment depends on factors, such as years of experience in cropping and percent of cropland irrigated. However, when perception variables are added, the models become more robust in explaining other land choice alternatives. The results suggest that as the perception of unfairness of more inflexible environmental policy rises, these farmers may be more likely to re-enroll their marginal land in the CRP program.     

Heterogeneous alternative catalysts: A bibliometric and systematic evaluation of their application in solar photocatalytic processes

The present study sought to objectively demonstrate how a researcher can, in a structured way, select relevant articles about alternative heterogeneous catalysts in photocatalytic processes. Therefore, the ProKnow-C (Knowledge Development Process – Constructivist) method was used to systematize the results found, with the application bibliometric and systematic analysis techniques for the evaluation of the results. The search string adopted as criteria was: solar photocatalysis AND heterogeneous catalysts OR alternative catalysts AND effluents. The databases were Web of Science, Science Direct and Scopus. The final bibliographic portfolio obtained for the research theme was made up of 19 articles. It was possible to verify advances in the number of publications on the theme over the evaluated period, with the Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry standing out in the final portfolio. Evaluating each article in the portfolio individually, it was possible to verify that most studies use combinations of catalysts already reported to create an alternative material to those already investigated in the literature. Those that use waste as catalysts chose to source this material from treatment plants and the steel industry. Around 58% of the papers used hydrogen peroxide in their processes, while 42% chose not to use it. Finally, approximately 63% of the papers in the portfolio used synthetic effluent in their processes, while the rest (37% of the research) chose to use real effluent. The results obtained in this research by applying the method can contribute to studies related to heterogeneous photocatalysis by alternative means over the years.     

Economic Linkages to Changing Landscapes

Many economic processes are intertwined with landscape change. A large number of individual economic decisions shape the landscape, and in turn the changes in the landscape shape economic decisions. This article describes key research questions about the economics of landscape change and reviews the state of research knowledge. The rich and varied economic–landscape interactions are an active area of research by economists, geographers, and others. Because the interactions are numerous and complex, disentangling the causal relationships in any given landscape system is a formidable research challenge. Limited data with mismatched temporal and spatial scales present further obstacles. Nevertheless, the growing body of economic research on these topics is advancing and shares fundamental challenges, as well as data and methods, with work in other disciplines.     

The social viability and environmental sustainability of direct action land reform settlements in the Amazon

State-led agrarian reform (SLAR) settlements established in the Amazon in the 1970s led to environmental degradation and mixed socioeconomic outcomes. More recently, direct-action land reform (DALR) settlements have proliferated, which are leading to new forest clearing in the name of agrarian reform. The emergence of DALR begs questions about social and environmental outcomes in recent Amazon settlements. This paper compares DALR settlements in two different regions of the eastern Amazon: the South of Pará and the Transamazon. Analysis of household survey data shows that DALR settlements in the two study areas differ substantially in terms of their histories of formation and regional contexts. However, social and environmental outcomes do not always differ among the two study areas, which in turn resemble older SLAR settlements.     

Indirect land use change from ethanol production: the case of sugarcane expansion at the farm level on the Brazilian Cerrado

The expansion of sugarcane production in the Brazilian Cerrado has resulted in indirect land use change (ILUC), occurring when displaced land uses in one location are reallocated to another. Studies, however, usually identify ILUC at the regional or national level far from the original area of a displaced land use. This study examines the occurrence of ILUC due to sugarcane expansion for ethanol production at the farm level in the Brazilian Cerrado. It fills a gap in the literature by examining socioeconomic, policy and farm-level factors that influence ILUC at the farm level in the Brazilian Cerrado using face-to-face enumerated surveys. Results indicate that ILUC did occur at the farm (producer) scale and farmers who undertook ILUC intensified agricultural production on their farms. Results inform policymakers on how the intensification of agricultural practices may make it potentially difficult to keep protected lands out of production, reducing the environmental benefits from sugarcane-based biofuel production.