A confirmation of the indirect impact of sugarcane on deforestation in the Amazon

A widely discussed assumption that the expansion of sugarcane indirectly contributes to deforestation in Brazil has been backed statistically by only a handful of studies. The present research measures the indirect effect of sugarcane in Brazil’s frontier counties as a weighted summation of changes in sugarcane area in agricultural (non-frontier) counties, where weights are constructed using road distances and the bandwidth that minimizes overall model error. In addition to economic variables, indirect effect variables are employed to create a model that explains deforestation. Parameters are estimated following fixed-effects methodology. The results reveal that sugarcane indirectly contributed to deforestation in Brazil during the period from 2002 to 2012. The effect was estimated to be sizeable; in particular, 16.3 thousand km² of forest was cut by economic actors displaced by expanding sugarcane plantations. This figure constitutes 12.2% of deforestation in Brazil from 2002 to 2012 and is equivalent to 189.4 million Mg of carbon emissions.     

Evidence of the impacts of the national housing programme on the accessibility of the low‐income population in Rio de Janeiro

The Brazilian shift from a primarily rural to a more urban society has created major challenges that public policies must address. One of the most relevant challenges is deep social exclusion in urban areas, especially in terms of adequate housing and access to urban opportunities (e.g., jobs, housing, and services). In this context, land use and transport planning play a critical role in the sustainable development agenda. The work presented here analyses the accessibility of low‐income dwellings licenced under the Brazilian housing programme to the low‐income population. To evaluate the accessibility of the programme's target population, a case study was conducted in the city of Rio de Janeiro, where 58,000 homes licensed under the programme were analysed using GIS tools in terms of the present public transport network and the location of the homes. The amount of time it takes to access public transport on foot and the homes’ locations in relation to major urban opportunities were also analysed. Finally, the same analysis was performed for the future transport network, and the results of the two analyses were compared to identify the scope of the legacy generated by investments in preparation for the 2016 network.     

Conservation in Brazil's Chocolate Forest: The Unlikely Persistence of the Traditional Cocoa Agroecosystem

/ In southern Bahia, Brazil, the traditional cocoa agroecosystem with a dense shade canopy of native trees is now recognized as a secondary conservation route for highly endangered Atlantic Rainforest species. This "chocolate forest" of the densely shaded farms persists despite a massive 20-year Brazilian government modernization program in which shade was seen as a chief impediment to raising cocoa production. The objective of this study was to determine how this traditional agroecosystem endured. Although dense shade limits cocoa yield, it provides several agroecological benefits: control of insect pests and weeds, microclimate stability, and soil fertility maintenance. A keycomponent of modernization efforts was a shade-tree removal program designed to maximize cocoa production by using low shade and fertilizer while substituting agrochemicals for many beneficial roles of the overhead trees. This research found that many farmers rejected, or only partially accepted, the shade reduction process although it promised much higher cocoa yield and profit. Farmers employing a wide range of shading were interviewed, and it was found that decisions to remove or maintain the shade trees were linked to both agroecological and risk-minimization factors. Farmers' perceptions of the agroecological functions of the shade trees and individual willingness to entertain the economic risk associated with substituting agrochemicals for these were important. A less-profitable, but lower-risk approach of occasional fertilizer and agrochemical use with the traditional shade intact was a rational and widespread choice. Policies designed to maintain the traditional agroecosystem through the current economic crisis should heed the multiple functions of the overhead trees. KEY WORDS: Conservation; Brazil; Atlantic Rainforest; Cocoa; Agroecology; Risk; Agroforestry     

Bird Extinctions in Atlantic Forest Fragments of the Viçosa Region, Southeastern Brazil

Abstract:   We studied the conservation status of Atlantic forest birds in 43 forest fragments ranging in size from 1 to 384 ha in the Viçosa region of southeastern Brazil. We compared data from 15 years of field work with historical records from the region, mainly originating from specimens collected by João Moojen during the 1930s. We used published studies associated with museum data and current field work to assess the decline of forest birds during the last 70 years and to relate their disappearance to forest fragmentation and destruction. At least 28 bird species have become locally extinct, 43 are critically endangered, and 25 are vulnerable, representing 60.7% of the original forest bird community known to exist in the region. Vulnerability to fragmentation differed among guilds, forest strata, and endemicity status. Birds that feed on fruit and seeds, and those that feed on insects, were more threatened than omnivores and carnivores. Nectarivorous species were less threatened than other guilds. Moreover, terrestrial and understory birds or birds using only one forest stratum also were more likely to have been threatened. Finally, Atlantic forest endemics were more likely to have become extinct than nonendemic species. In general, sensitivity to environmental disturbance at the local level was similar to the predicted vulnerability to regional disturbance derived from the literature. Our results indicate that a serious decline of Atlantic forest birds is underway and that many other species of birds, not previously recognized as threatened, are of conservation concern .     

Political benefits as barriers to assessment of environmental costs in Brazil's Amazonian development planning: The example of the Jatapu Dam in Roraima

Development projects are rapidly changing the landscape in Brazilian Amazonia. Environmental impact assessments have been required since 1986, and the regulatory system is evolving as precedents are set by each new development project. The Jatapu Dam in Roraima provides an illustration of underlying impediments to assessment of environmental costs and to due consideration being given to these assessments when decisions are made. The high priority placed on the dam by the Roraima state government is unexplainable in terms of economic returns. The place of the dam in a long-term political strategy provides the best of several possible explanations, any one of which is incompatible with a rational weighing of economic and environmental costs and benefits. A number of lessons can be drawn from the experience of Jatapu, but some of the problems have no solution. The barriers to rational decision making illustrated by Jatapu apply to development projects in many parts of the world.     

Effects of Selective Logging on Bat Communities in the Southeastern Amazon

Abstract:  Although extensive areas of tropical forest are selectively logged each year, the responses of bat communities to this form of disturbance have rarely been examined. Our objectives were to (1) compare bat abundance, species composition, and feeding guild structure between unlogged and low-intensity selectively logged (1–4 logged stems/ha) sampling grids in the southeastern Amazon and (2) examine correlations between logging-induced changes in bat communities and forest structure. We captured bats in understory and canopy mist nets set in five 1-ha study grids in both logged and unlogged forest. We captured 996 individuals, representing 5 families, 32 genera, and 49 species. Abundances of nectarivorous and frugivorous taxa (Glossophaginae, Lonchophyllinae, Stenodermatinae, and Carolliinae) were higher at logged sites, where canopy openness and understory foliage density were greatest. In contrast, insectivorous and omnivorous species (Emballonuridae, Mormoopidae, Phyllostominae, and Vespertilionidae) were more abundant in unlogged sites, where canopy foliage density and variability in the understory stratum were greatest. Multivariate analyses indicated that understory bat species composition differed strongly between logged and unlogged sites but provided little evidence of logging effects for the canopy fauna. Different responses among feeding guilds and taxonomic groups appeared to be related to foraging and echolocation strategies and to changes in canopy cover and understory foliage densities. Our results suggest that even low-intensity logging modifies habitat structure, leading to changes in bat species composition.     

Toxicity of the venom in three neotropical Crematogaster ants (Formicidae: Myrmicinae)

Bioassays were performed to investigate and compare the toxic properties of the contact venoms of three Neotropical Crematogaster species (C. sp. prox. abstinens, C. distans and C. brevispinosa rochai), whose main venom compounds are chemically different (long chain derivatives linked to an aldehyde or a primary acetate, and furanocembrenoid diterpenes, respectively). Different quantities of venom were topically applied on the bodies of three target insect species (workers of the termite Nasutitermes ephratae, workers of the ant Solenopsis sp., “media” and “major” workers of the ant Cephalotes pusillus). The toxicity of the venom greatly varied according to the Crematogaster species, the venom of C. b. rochai showing the highest toxic activity towards all target species. The sensitivity of the target species also greatly varied, the workers of N. ephratae showing a great sensitivity to the venoms, while the heavily armoured workers of the ant C. pusillus, particularly “major” ones, were resistant. Cuticle thickness was found to be a key factor in the resistance to the toxic effects of Crematogaster venom. Sensitivity of the target workers was also directly related to the amount of venom applied to their cuticle. Workers of C. distans were resistant to topical application of their own venom, while C. sp. prox. abstinens and C. b. rochai were not. In all cases, the venoms were slow acting, as several hours to one or even several days were needed to obtain a significant mortality. The main biological activities of the Crematogaster venom could be related to more immediate repellent properties, as recently shown with the European species C. scutellaris.     

Do Hydroelectric Dams Mitigate Global Warming? The Case of Brazil's CuruÁ-una Dam

Hydroelectric dams in tropical forest areas emit greenhouse gases, as illustrated by the Curuá-Una Dam in the Amazonian portion of Brazil. Emissions include carbon dioxide from decay of the above-water portions of trees that are left standing in the reservoir and methane from soft vegetation that decays under anaerobic conditions on the bottom of the reservoir, especially macrophytes (water weeds) and vegetation that grows in the drawdown zone and is flooded when the reservoir water level rises. Some methane is released from the reservoir surface through bubbling and diffusion, but larger amounts are released from water passing through the turbines and spillway. Methane concentration in the water increases with depth, and the turbines and spillway draw water from sufficient depth to have substantial methane content. In 1990 (13 years after filling), the Curuá-Una Dam emitted 3.6 times more greenhouse gases than would have been emitted by generating the same amount of electricity from oil.     

Gemstone mining as a development cluster: A study of Brazil’s emerald mines

For many centuries, emeralds have bejeweled the rich and famous all over the world. Emeralds have also made many millionaires overnight, sometimes by chance, as in some of the cases reported in this study. On the other hand, even though emerald mining has brought some economic benefits, many of these have remained at the top of the production chain. In many cases mining activities have caused a number of negative social and environmental impacts locally. Working conditions in small mines are very poor in general: with bad ventilation, high temperatures, long working hours, lack of safety, informal working contracts and no health or life insurance. Environmental impacts can be significant, such as widespread deforestation, erosion of abandoned mines, and soil and water pollution in streams. The economic and social public benefits can be minimal. Even when taxes on gem mining are relatively low, much of the mining local activity is informal and the high value-added formal activities take place outside the mining regions. This study aims to understand the dynamics of emerald mining and its impact on local development using the concept of clusters. The research analyzes three case studies in Brazil: Campos Verdes/Santa Terezinha (Goias state), Nova Era/Itabira (Minas Gerais state) and Carnaiba/Campo Formoso (Bahia state). Emerald mining regions attract many migrants, increasing the demand for public services (infrastructure, health, education, etc.), but local governments are unable to provide for them because the activity produces little tax revenue. In the end, there is a growing mismatch between demand and supply of public services, leading to a series of social and environmental problems. However, working with the concept of cluster can help to shed light on policies to improve the local benefits of gem mining, by organizing the miners and their supporting organizations to allow investments that bring long term benefits locally.     

Framing community forestry challenges with a broader lens: case studies from the Brazilian Amazon

Community forestry initiatives have been shown to reduce rural poverty while promoting the conservation and sustainable use of forests. However, a number of challenges face communities wanting to initiate or maintain formal, community-based forest management. Through a grounded theory approach, this paper uses three case studies of community forest management models in the eastern Amazon to create a framework showing challenges faced by communities at different phases of formal management. The framework shows that, in the development phase, four root problems (land ownership, knowledge acquisition, community organization, and adequate capital) need to be addressed to obtain legal management permission. With this permission in hand, further challenges to operationalization are presented (deterring illegal loggers, maintaining infrastructure, obtaining necessary managerial skills and accessing markets). The interrelatedness of these challenges emphasizes that all challenges need to be addressed in a holistic manner for communities to maintain a profitable and self-sufficient operation. This contradicts current development approaches that only address part of this framework. The framework proposed here can be used as a starting point for community forestry initiatives in other regions.