scholarly journals Forest frontiers out of control: The long-term effects of discourses, policies, and markets on conservation and development of the Brazilian Amazon

AMBIO ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benno Pokorny ◽  
Pablo Pacheco ◽  
Wil de Jong ◽  
Steffen Karl Entenmann

AbstractWith the Brazilian military governments of the 1960s, systematic economic development of the Amazon began. Social and environmental concerns have entered Amazonian discourses and policies only since the 1990s. Since then, reports of threats to forests and indigenous people have alternated with reports of socio-economic progress and environmental achievements. These contradictions often arise from limited thematic, sectoral, temporal, or spatial perspectives, and lead to misinterpretation. Our paper offers a comprehensive picture of discourses, policies, and socio-environmental dynamics for the entire region over the last five decades. We distinguish eight historical policy phases, each of which had little effect on near-linear dynamics of demographic growth and land-use expansion, although some policies showed the potential to change the course of development. To prevent local, national, and international actors from continuing to assert harmful interests in the region, a coherent long-term commitment and change in the collective mindset are needed.

Author(s):  
John S. Gray ◽  
Michael Elliott

Given the discussion above regarding natural changes in the marine benthos, we should now consider the human-mediated (anthropogenic) changes and the response of benthic systems to human impacts. From the 1960s to the 1980s the general opinion seemed to be that pollution (considered in the next chapter) was the most important marine problem, but we now realize that habitat change and habitat loss are of greater concern: see, for example, the Quality Status Report 2000 (OSPAR 2000). One of the greatest effects on the integrity of the seabed and hence its biota is now known to be caused by bed trawling. This has now generated an enormous literature, and the reader is directed to Daans and Eleftheriou (2000) and Hollingworth (2000) for more details. We can take this information and summarize the overall ecosystem effects of fisheries in detailed flow diagrams (referred to as ´horrendograms´!) to show the interlinked and complex nature of the impact—the effects trawling are included here, but see also those in McLusky and Elliott (2004) (e.g. Fig. 8.1). Historically, the effects of trawling on benthos caused concern as early as 1376 when a petition was made to the English parliament by fishermen concerned over the damage done to the seabed and fisheries by bottom trawling (De Groot 1984). This was despite the gear used by sailing vessels in those days being relatively light and towed at slow speeds and in shallow water only. When steam trawlers were developed in the early 1900s, everything changed. The weight and size of trawls increased and use of tickler chains (mounted on the bottom rope to disturb bottom-living fish upwards and into the trawl net) were of great concern, although studies done in the 1970s to allay the fears of fishermen did not find long-term effects on macrobenthos (Jones 1992). At the end of World War II the otter trawl was developed and its use became widespread. This and the beam trawl (see Fig. 8.4) were (and still are) the types of gear most widely used to fish the seabed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (229) ◽  
pp. 99-118
Author(s):  
Hamid Noghanibehambari

Health capital development during childhood can affect later-life outcomes. This paper examines the long-term effects of the introduction of Medicaid during the 1960s as one of the earliest attempts in US history to provide publicly financed health insurance for the poor. Using a large panel dataset and a difference-in-differences- in-differences identification strategy, I show that exposure to Medicaid during ages 0-5 has sizable and significant effects on economic and non-economic outcomes throughout ages 25-55, including income, employment, education, disability, and wealth. Exposure to Medicaid among fully eligible cohorts is associated with roughly 0.4 percentage higher wage income, equivalent to an increase of $145 above the mean of annual wages. It also implies a minimum of 7.8% externality of the programme in labour market wages.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn Meskell

Abstract:Between the 1960s and 1980s, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) launched a number of international salvage campaigns at the behest of its member states, the most notable being the Nubian Monuments Campaign. Saving ancient monuments and discovering archaeological sites in Egypt and Sudan was viewed as a landmark in twentieth-century heritage conservation and international co-operation; it was never to be repeated again. Requests for assistance continued, yet the campaigns were configured as conservation missions rather than integrated field projects. In retrospect, this action delimited UNESCO’s goals to bridge education, science, and culture and, ultimately, impacted the potential of cross-cultural dialogue and partnerships afforded by archaeological field research. This article focuses on UNESCO’s International Campaign for the Safeguarding of Moenjodaro (1974–97) and traces the role of experts, both archaeological and hydrological, within UNESCO’s mission. It uncovers the organization’s handling of the monumental challenges and long-term effects of a multimillion-dollar salvage effort. In doing so, the article reveals the early role of prominent archaeologists Mortimer Wheeler and John Otis Brew, the ideological shift at UNESCO from archaeological research to monumentality and preservation, and the tensions that emerged as world heritage was reimagined.


Author(s):  
Catherine Carstairs

While people often associate the opposition to community water fluoridation with the extreme right, most people opposed to fluoridation were concerned about the impact that it might have on health and the environment. In the 1960s and 1970s, anti-fluoridationists frequently mentioned the possibility that fluoride would accumulate in our bodies and in our environment, leading to long-term health problems. They were assisted by a new generation of scientists, interested in toxicology and environmental health, who began publishing articles critical of water fluoridation. By the 1970s, the environmental critique of water fluoridation was having a significant impact. For example, in the late 1970s, the legislation mandating compulsory water fluoridation in Quebec was suspended, largely because of environmental concerns. The debate over water fluoridation is just one example of how Canadians became more concerned about the relationship between the environment and human health in the second half of the twentieth century.


Author(s):  
T. M. Seed ◽  
M. H. Sanderson ◽  
D. L. Gutzeit ◽  
T. E. Fritz ◽  
D. V. Tolle ◽  
...  

The developing mammalian fetus is thought to be highly sensitive to ionizing radiation. However, dose, dose-rate relationships are not well established, especially the long term effects of protracted, low-dose exposure. A previous report (1) has indicated that bred beagle bitches exposed to daily doses of 5 to 35 R 60Co gamma rays throughout gestation can produce viable, seemingly normal offspring. Puppies irradiated in utero are distinguishable from controls only by their smaller size, dental abnormalities, and, in adulthood, by their inability to bear young.We report here our preliminary microscopic evaluation of ovarian pathology in young pups continuously irradiated throughout gestation at daily (22 h/day) dose rates of either 0.4, 1.0, 2.5, or 5.0 R/day of gamma rays from an attenuated 60Co source. Pups from non-irradiated bitches served as controls. Experimental animals were evaluated clinically and hematologically (control + 5.0 R/day pups) at regular intervals.


Author(s):  
D.E. Loudy ◽  
J. Sprinkle-Cavallo ◽  
J.T. Yarrington ◽  
F.Y. Thompson ◽  
J.P. Gibson

Previous short term toxicological studies of one to two weeks duration have demonstrated that MDL 19,660 (5-(4-chlorophenyl)-2,4-dihydro-2,4-dimethyl-3Hl, 2,4-triazole-3-thione), an antidepressant drug, causes a dose-related thrombocytopenia in dogs. Platelet counts started to decline after two days of dosing with 30 mg/kg/day and continued to decrease to their lowest levels by 5-7 days. The loss in platelets was primarily of the small discoid subpopulation. In vitro studies have also indicated that MDL 19,660: does not spontaneously aggregate canine platelets and has moderate antiaggregating properties by inhibiting ADP-induced aggregation. The objectives of the present investigation of MDL 19,660 were to evaluate ultrastructurally long term effects on platelet internal architecture and changes in subpopulations of platelets and megakaryocytes.Nine male and nine female beagle dogs were divided equally into three groups and were administered orally 0, 15, or 30 mg/kg/day of MDL 19,660 for three months. Compared to a control platelet range of 353,000- 452,000/μl, a doserelated thrombocytopenia reached a maximum severity of an average of 135,000/μl for the 15 mg/kg/day dogs after two weeks and 81,000/μl for the 30 mg/kg/day dogs after one week.


2012 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 42
Author(s):  
MITCHEL L. ZOLER
Keyword(s):  

VASA ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 243-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Drinda ◽  
Neumann ◽  
Pöhlmann ◽  
Vogelsang ◽  
Stein ◽  
...  

Background: Prostanoids are used in the treatment of Raynaud’s phenomenon and acral perfusion disorders secondary to collagenosis. In subjective terms, intravenous administration of these agents produces success in more than 50% of patients. The therapeutic outcome of clinical administration of alprostadil or iloprost may vary from individual to individual. Patients and methods: The following variables were analysed in a cross-over study in 27 patients with collagenosis and Raynaud’s phenomenon: plasma viscosity and erythrocyte aggregation (rheological variables), partial pressure of oxygen and laser Doppler flowmetry in the finger region, and lymphocyte phenotyping and interleukin (IL) determinations (immunological variables). Results: Laser Doppler flowmetry revealed significant differences between patients with secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon and a control group of 25 healthy subjects. Laser Doppler readings did not change significantly as a result of the treatments. Therapy with iloprost produced a reduction in IL-1beta, L-selectin (CD 62 L) and IL-6. Conclusion: The change in immunological variables due to iloprost may explain the long-term effects of prostaglandins in the treatment of Raynaud’s phenomenon. From our results it is not possible to infer any preference for iloprost or alprostadil.


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