Evaluation of cetacean exposure to organotin compounds in Brazilian waters through hepatic total tin concentrations

In Brazil, there is no restriction to the use of organotins (OTs). Previous investigations have shown that hepatic ∑Sn in cetaceans is predominantly organic. Hepatic ∑Sn concentrations were determined by GFAAS in 67 cetaceans (13 species) that stranded on Rio de Janeiro (RJ) and Espirito Santo (ES) states. Concentrations (in ng/g wet wt.) of marine tucuxis (n = 20) from the highly contaminated Guanabara Bay (in RJ) varied from 1703 to 9638. Concentrations of three marine tucuxi foetuses and one newborn calf (all from Guanabara Bay) varied between 431 and 2107. Contrastingly, the maximum level among 19 oceanic dolphins was 346, and 15 out of these 19 specimens presented concentrations below detection limit. The levels of Sn in six marine tucuxis from a less contaminated area (ES) varied from below detection limit to 744. Comparing to the literature, coastal cetaceans from Brazil appear to be highly exposed to OTs.     

New ‘renewable’ frontiers: contested palm oil plantations and wind energy projects in Brazil and Mexico

ABSTRACT

This paper argues that new land conflict frontiers are emerging in the context of renewable energy production. The novel aspect of these frontiers is a ‘green’ framing of the use of land considered ‘degraded’, expressing it as a climate protection strategy, and consequently causing similar dynamics of conflict in different regions. With reference to political ecology debates on the notion of frontiers, we analyze the social conflicts over palm oil production for biodiesel and wind energy development in Brazil and Mexico, respectively. We show that green narratives, understood as forms of knowledge production concerning the protection of the climate and sustainable development, not only represent legitimization strategies for new land grabs, but also come with their own dynamics of social conflict and their own constellations of actors.     

Development,validation and application of a method to analyze phenols in water samples by solid phase micro extraction-gas chromatography-flame ionization detector

In this work the development, validation and application of method using Solid Phase Microexctration (SPME) for the analyses of five pollutants (phenol, 2-nitrophenol, 2,4-dimethylphenol, 2,4-dichlorophenol and 4-chloro, 3-methyl phenol) in supplying water, using gas chromatography (GC) with flame ionization detector (FID) is described. The optimal conditions obtained for SPME were: fiber type: Poliacrylate (PA); extraction time: 40 minutes; extraction temperature: 70°C; amount of salt added to sample (NaCl): 15%; desorption temperature: 8 minutes. The parameters studied in the method validation were: limit of detection (0.3 and 3.5 μ g.L^{? 1}); precision, measured by the variation coefficient (between 2.1 and 8.8%); calibration curve and linearity, by using the external standardization method (between 1 and 50 50 μ g.L^{? 1}). After the methodology development, samples of water collected in Atibaia River (São Paulo - Brazil) were analyzed, using the optimized methodology. Three water samples collected in the rain season showed a peak with retention time close to 4-chloro, 3 methyl phenol further analyzed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry for the identity confirmation. In spite of the fact that none target compounds were found in the river water samples analyzed, the presence of two phenols different from those investigated (p-terc butyl phenol; butylated hydroxytoluene) were detected. These results together with the results of the limit of detection (that showed to be lower than the maximum concentration of phenols demanded by different environment control agencies), and the results of the validation, indicate the applicability of this method for the analysis of selected phenols in river water samples.     

Evaluation of the possible adverse effects of legacy persistent organic pollutants (POPs) on the brown booby (Sula leucogaster) along the Brazilian coast

This study aimed to investigate the impact of contamination by persistent organic pollutants (POPs) on Brazilian wildlife. The concentrations of certain POPs, including dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), in the eggs of the brown booby (Sula leucogaster) were measured. The eggs were collected from breeding colonies located on three archipelagos (Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Abrolhos and Cagarras Islands) in the Atlantic Ocean, which are located at different distances from the Brazilian coast (range 4-1010 km). In addition, possible alterations in eggshell characteristics were evaluated. The average values of POPs found in eggs from the archipelago of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (0.05 μg g⁻¹ of ΣPCBs and 0.01 μg g⁻¹ of ΣDDT) and the archipelago of Abrolhos (0.19 μg g⁻¹ of ΣPCBs and 0.03 μg g⁻¹ of ΣDDT) were low compared to the reference values reported in the literature. In contrast, the concentrations measured in eggs from Cagarras (8.4 μg g⁻¹ of ΣPCBs and 1.8 μg g⁻¹ of ΣDDT) were the highest, and this total PCB level is close to the threshold values considered to be harmful to birds. Our findings indicate that the brown booby colony closest to the Rio de Janeiro coast has recently been exposed to DDT. Despite the high pollution levels found on the Cagarras Islands, no alterations in the eggshell weight or the thickness of the analyzed eggs were detected. Hence, more detailed studies are recommended to determine the actual effects of the selected POPs on the Cagarras breeding colony.     

Threshold responses of Amazonian stream fishes to timing and extent of deforestation

Deforestation is a primary driver of biodiversity change through habitat loss and fragmentation. Stream biodiversity may not respond to deforestation in a simple linear relationship. Rather, threshold responses to extent and timing of deforestation may occur. Identification of critical deforestation thresholds is needed for effective conservation and management. We tested for threshold responses of fish species and functional groups to degree of watershed and riparian zone deforestation and time since impact in 75 streams in the western Brazilian Amazon. We used remote sensing to assess deforestation from 1984 to 2011. Fish assemblages were sampled with seines and dip nets in a standardized manner. Fish species (n = 84) were classified into 20 functional groups based on ecomorphological traits associated with habitat use, feeding, and locomotion. Threshold responses were quantified using threshold indicator taxa analysis. Negative threshold responses to deforestation were common and consistently occurred at very low levels of deforestation (<20%) and soon after impact (<10 years). Sensitive species were functionally unique and associated with complex habitats and structures of allochthonous origin found in forested watersheds. Positive threshold responses of species were less common and generally occurred at >70% deforestation and >10 years after impact. Findings were similar at the community level for both taxonomic and functional analyses. Because most negative threshold responses occurred at low levels of deforestation and soon after impact, even minimal change is expected to negatively affect biodiversity. Delayed positive threshold responses to extreme deforestation by a few species do not offset the loss of sensitive taxa and likely contribute to biotic homogenization.     

Produced natures through the lens of biodiversity conservation and tourism: the Ponta Negra Caiçara in the Atlantic Forest Coast of Brazil

Understanding nature as an outcome of organising discourses generated through relative experiences of our surroundings has been the groundwork of a political ecology that deals with the distribution of environmental justice among people with different degrees of power. In this paper, we examine how the environmental legislation and the tourism industry have constructed the term Caiçara as a way to categorise the inhabitants of the Atlantic Forest Coast of Brazil, in ways that meet their goals, but in turn occludes the discourse of the Caiçara themselves. Ethnographic research conducted in Ponta Negra, a small coastal community located at the heart of the Juatinga Ecological Reserve (Paraty, Rio de Janeiro State), as well as a review of key legislation, management plans and tourism materials form the empirical basis of this research. First, we offer a critical examination of the historical origin of the term Caiçara. We then compare contradictory ideas of Caiçara produced by Brazilian environmental legislation and the tourism industry. While the environmental legislation has characterised the Caiçara as fallen angels who are no longer conservation allies, the tourism industry has profited by selling them as ecologically noble savages who still live in harmony with the environment. Our analysis shows how Ponta Negra people have become objects of powerful discourses of nature that hinder the recognition of their collective rights and weaken their position to negotiate for their own desires and aspirations related to their identity and livelihoods.     

关于温室气体限排目标的确定（巴西提案）

巴西提案是巴西代表团在联合团气候变化谈判中，提出的一套系统的全新的对中国家有利的理论体系，文章在对巴西提案中的有效排放量、简单气候模式、斐和限额分配方法、消沽发展基金等，进行深入睥评价的基础上，提出应将有效排放量与人均排放量与有机结合， 交圾效人均排放量曙室气体限排目标的指标。     

The stone forum: Implementing a consensus building methodology to address impacts associated with small mining and quarry operations

Small-scale mining, including quarry operations, continues to play an important social and economic role in hundreds of communities throughout Brazil. Often operating outside the formal economy, conflicts between the owners of small-scale mining operations, the mineworkers, various government agencies, and other stakeholders have contributed to the progressive degradation of the environment, poor health and safety standards, and low productivity. The Centre for Mineral Technology (CETEM) of Brazil is implementing a consensus building methodology in order to produce dimension stone by small-scale miners on a more sustainable basis in the Pádua region, located in the northwest of the State of Rio de Janeiro. The approach being used by CETEM is based on its own experience in working with gold prospectors in the Amazon, and lessons and experiences learned from Canadian officials and industry representatives. The lessons and insights gained from this project may prove to be useful to those involved in addressing similar problems elsewhere in Brazil, South America and around the world.     

Brazil's Balbina Dam: Environment versus the legacy of the Pharaohs in Amazonia

The Balbina Dam in Brazil's state of Amazonas floods 2360 km² of tropical forest to generate an average of only 112.2 MW of electricity. The flat topography and small size of the drainage basin make output small. Vegetation has been left to decompose in the reservoir, resulting in acidic, anoxic water that will corrode the turbines. The shallow reservoir contains 1500 islands and innumerable stagnant bays where the water's residence time will be even longer than the average time of over one year. Balbina was built to supply electricity to Manaus, a city that has grown so much while the dam was under construction that other alternatives are already needed. Government subsidies explain the explosive growth, including Brazil's unified tariff for electricity. Alternative power sources for Manaus include transmission from more distant dams or from recently discovered oil and natural gas deposits. Among Balbina's impacts are loss of potential use of the forest and displacement of about one third of the surviving members of a much-persecuted Amerindian tribe: the Waimiri-Atroari. The dam was closed on 1 October 1987 and the first of five generators began operation in February 1989. The example of Balbina points to important ways that the decision-making process could be improved in Brazil and in the international funding agencies that have directly and indirectly contributed to the project. Environmental impact analyses must be completed prior to decisions on overall project implementation and must be free of influence from project proponents. The current environmental impact assessment system in Brazil, as in many other countries, has an undesirable influence on science policy, in addition to failing to address the underlying causes of environmentally destructive development processes and inability to halt irreversible projects like Balbina.     

Evaluating the Brazilian zero tolerance drinking and driving law: Time series analyses of traffic-related mortality in three major cities

Objective: A zero tolerance alcohol restriction law was adopted in Brazil in 2008. In order to assess the effectiveness of this intervention, the present study compares specific mortality in 2 time series: 1980–2007 and 2008–2013.

Methods: Data on mortality and population were gathered from official Brazilian Ministry of Health information systems. Segmented regression analyses were carried out separately for 3 major Brazilian capitals: Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo.

Results: In 2 cities (Belo Horizonte and Rio de Janeiro) there were no significant changes in mortality rate trends in 2 periods, 1980 to 2007 and 2008 to 2013, where the observed rates did not differ significantly from predicted rates. In São Paulo, a decreasing trend until 2007 unexpectedly assumed higher levels after implementation of the law.

Conclusion: There is no evidence of reduced traffic-related mortality in the 3 major Brazilian capitals 5.5 years after the zero tolerance drinking and driving law was adopted.