Containing destruction from Brazil's Amazon highways: now is the time to give weight to the environment in decision-making

2006 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 181-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
PHILIP F. FEARNSIDE
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
The State ◽  
Future Plan ◽  
Mato Grosso ◽  
Soybean Production ◽  
The Road ◽  
Economic Argument

The BR-163 Highway (Fig. 1) was originally built by the Brazilian Army in 1973 and 1974. It has remained passable since, although poor road conditions in the unpaved portion (the 646-km portion in the state of Pará from the border with Mato Grosso to Trairão) impede use of the road as a significant export route. Reconstructing the highway has been a (so-far unimplemented) part of an evolving series of plans for massive expansion of infrastructure: Brasil em Ação (Brazil in Action) for 1996–1999, Avança Brasil (Forward Brazil) for 2000–2003, and the Pluriannual Plan for 2004–2007 (Laurance et al. 2001; Fearnside 2002). Soybean plantations in the northern part of the state of Mato Grosso have been rapidly expanding, partly in anticipation of the BR-163 being reconstructed and paved (Fearnside 2001). The governor of Mato Grosso since 2003 is Brazil's largest soybean entrepreneur and a major force in inducing the federal government to pave the road. With the construction of the BR-163, northern Mato Grosso would be linked to the ports of Miritituba and Santarém (Fig. 1), halving the current distance for transportation, as currently soybeans from northern Mato Grosso are exported through the port of Paranaguá in the state of Paraná. A future plan would take the soybeans by rail from Cuiabá to Santos. Cost savings for soybean export of US$ 11.6 per tonne relative to the rail route through Santos (Alencar et al. 2005) provide an economic argument for the BR-163 project. Soybean production in northern Mato Grosso was 3.61 million tonnes in 2004 (Alencar et al. 2005), worth approximately US$ 813 million. Nevertheless, even with substantial monetary benefits for the BR-163, the various forms of impact from the project must be quantified and compared to the benefits before a decision is made (Fearnside 2005).

scholarly journals Optimization method applied to decision-making on intermodal alternative for soybean outflow in the State of Pará-Brazil

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 124-140
Author(s):  
Vitor Hugo Pereira de Oliveira ◽  
Maisa Sales Gama Tobias ◽  
Marcus Pinto da Costa da Rocha ◽  
Valcir João da Cunha Farias ◽  
Miercio Cardoso de Alcantara Neto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Programming Model ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Optimization Method ◽  
The State ◽  
Transport Costs ◽  
The Road ◽  
Alternative Routes ◽  
Wealth Generation ◽  
Support Decision Making

In Brazil, the sector of agribusiness suffers with the lack of infrastructure for the production outflow and as transportation costs increase, they affect its competitiveness in the world scenario. In this work, an optimization model was developed to support decision-making to soybeans transport for export, in regions in the state of Para (Brazil) near to Tocantins-Araguaia waterway. The study applied a Linear Programming model, adopting the transport problem, in search of minimizing the costs of alternative routes, restricted to the respective supply and demand limitations. The model aimed to minimize the transport costs from the production centers to the exporting port, through the current infrastructure and suggesting the road and waterway intermodal alternative by means of the interior navigation, considering diverse points for transshipment. The results showed a cost reduction for production outflow in the base year of the study when the intermodal transport was used. Furthermore, the new routes only by waterway created a new transport network configuration, decreasing the road distances for the municipalities production outflow, supporting the increasing of competitiveness of the state, as well as providing wealth generation in the region.

scholarly journals Strategic Foresight in the Federal Government: A Survey of Methods, Resources, and Institutional Arrangements

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph M. Greenblott ◽  
Thomas O’Farrell ◽  
Robert Olson ◽  
Beth Burchard
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Strategic Planning ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Institutional Arrangements ◽  
Federal Agencies ◽  
The State ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Strategic Foresight

The goal of this study is to help identify approaches and practices for improving Federal foresight efforts and the means for integrating foresight work into strategic planning and decision making. We present the results of semistructured interviews with people involved with foresight in 19 Federal agencies, and with two non-Federal experts on foresight in government. We discuss where agencies use similar approaches and where their approaches diverge, and include particularly insightful quotes from interviewees. We also discuss “broader observations” regarding the state of strategic foresight efforts across the Federal government and how our findings relate to opportunities and challenges to institutionalizing foresight in the Federal government.

scholarly journals Model for soybean production forecast based on prevailing physical conditions

2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anibal Gusso ◽  
Damien Arvor ◽  
Jorge Ricardo Ducati
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Local Level ◽  
The State ◽  
Coefficient Of Determination ◽  
Series Data ◽  
Production Forecast ◽  
Mato Grosso ◽  
Soybean Production

Abstract: The objective of this work was to evaluate the reliability of the physiological meaning of the enhanced vegetation index (EVI) data for the development of a remote sensing-based procedure to estimate soybean production prior to crop harvest. Time-series data from the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (Modis) were applied to investigate the relationship between local yield fluctuations of soybean and the prevailing physically-driven conditions in the state of Mato Grosso, located in the south of the Brazilian Amazon. The developed methodology was based on the coupled model (CM). The CM provides production estimates for early January, using images from the maximum crop development period. Production estimates were validated at three different spatial scales: state, municipality, and local. At the state and municipality levels, the results obtained from the CM were compared with official agricultural statistics from Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística and Companhia Nacional de Abastecimento, from 2001 to 2011. The coefficients of determination ranged from 0.91 to 0.98, with overall result of R2=0.96 (p≤0.01), indicating that the model adheres to official statistics. At the local level, spatially distributed data were compared with production data from 422 crop fields. The coefficient of determination (R2=0.87) confirmed the reliability of the EVI for its applicability on remote sensing-based models for soybean production forecast.

scholarly journals The Principle of «Positive Amount» in the Road Sector: Decentralization of Roads

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (515) ◽  
pp. 369-377
Author(s):  
T. V. Paliichuk ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Financial Support ◽  
The State ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Road Infrastructure ◽  
The Road ◽  
Communal Property ◽  
The Status ◽  
Road Projects ◽  
Budget Decentralization

The article is aimed at disclosing the issue of financial support for the construction, reconstruction, repair and maintenance of motor roads in the context of implementation of budget decentralization and decentralization of road management. The article specifies the steps taken towards implementation of decentralization in the sphere of road infrastructure of Ukraine and the introduction of budget decentralization: distribution of functions and powers in the road sphere at the subregional level of management and the updated mechanism of financing the road industry. Both the dynamics of formation and distribution of the State Road Fund and the status of distribution of subvention on the streets and roads of settlements are analyzed. The vision of the main risks of financial support for the maintenance of streets and roads of communal property in settlements in 2021 is disclosed. The directions of improvement of the system of financial support for the construction, reconstruction, repair and maintenance of motor roads are proposed, including in particular: the need to deepen diversification of sources of formation of the State Road Fund; consolidation of the proper guaranteed part of the State Road Fund’s costs for the maintenance of streets and roads of communal property in settlements; balancing the expenditure load and financial support for the implementation of road projects; increasing the level of transparency of decision-making in the distribution of financial resources intended for the construction, reconstruction, major, ongoing repair of motor roads.

scholarly journals State Post-Conviction Remedies in the Next Fifteen Years: How Synergy Between the State and Federal Governments Can Improve the Criminal Justice System Nationally

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 298-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric M. Freedman
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
The State ◽  
Habeas Corpus ◽  
Shared Interest ◽  
The Creation

In the years ahead both the state and federal governments will have a shared interest in improving the fairness of state post-conviction review systems. Under Cullen v. Pinholster, 131 S. Ct. 1388 (2011) states' post-conviction rulings will be given considerable deference on federal habeas corpus review if but only if they emerge from procedurally sound systems. This gives the states a finality interest and the federal government a cost-savings interest in the creation of such systems. At the same time unsound systems are increasingly vulnerable to attacks under Section 1983. These converging circumstances make it more desirable than ever that the states provide competent counsel in state post-conviction proceedings.

scholarly journals Applying analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to identify decision-making in soybean supply chains: a case of Mato Grosso production

2022 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Carlo Toloi ◽  
João Gilberto Mendes dos Reis ◽  
Marley Nunes Vituri Toloi ◽  
Oduvaldo Vendrametto ◽  
José António Sarsfield Pereira Cabral
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Analytic Hierarchy Process ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Analytic Hierarchy ◽  
Mato Grosso ◽  
Soybean Production ◽  
Financing Cost ◽  
Hierarchy Process ◽  
The Empirical Analysis ◽  
Rural Production

Abstract: This paper aims to identify and analyze the factors that influence the decision of Mato Grosso’s farmers to produce soybean using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). We found evidence that decision-making of soybean production is related to rural production aspects such as climate, financing, cost of inputs, and soil quality rather than marketing and logistics. The novelty of this paper is the empirical analysis of the decision-making in agricultural production using AHP. The decision model was created and tested considering 21 farmers and 19 experts linked to the soybean production. Three different scenarios were considered: farmers' view, experts' view, and combined view. Our findings indicate that farmers and experts agree with rural aspects are predominant in the decision to plant soybean. Moreover, logistics have been used as an important flag of soybean competitiveness on international trade by soybean stakeholders in Brazil. However, our results show that logistics impact in the soybean decision-making process is low. Due to data limitation access, this study focuses only on Mato Grosso. However, this study has an exploratory character and presents empirical results that may help to understand soybean production over the country.

scholarly journals Legal and social aspects of the state participation in the governance of the large corporations in Russia

2020 ◽  
Vol 222 ◽  
pp. 06004
Author(s):  
Oxana Cherkasova ◽  
Sergey Sosnovskikh
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Market Competition ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
The State ◽  
Managerial Decision ◽  
State Participation ◽  
Large Corporations

This paper evaluates the legal status of the Russian federal government as a corporate governance participant using the example of large sectorial companies. The state commonly regulates economic processes and focuses on pursuing the public interest. It also acts as a guarantor of social responsibility, and this affects decision-making processes in state-owned corporations. In Russia, the federal government has always played an essential role in the business activities of enterprises. Many companies are known to be state-owned or have close links to the state authorities and policymakers. This raises an academic debate concerning the development of market competition, state participation, and business environment. We propose approaches to understanding the participation of the state and unitary enterprises in corporate governance in Russia. By employing secondary data analysis as well as examining the Russian legislation in corporate law, we attempt to determine the legal and social status of the federal government in managing large corporations. This study addresses the issues of the duality of the legal status of the government in corporate governance and its impact on managerial decision-making.

Minimizing Missed Opportunities: Modeling Relationships between the State and Business in Russia

2009 ◽  
pp. 42-61
Author(s):  
A. Oleynik
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Common Good ◽  
The State ◽  
Power Relationships ◽  
Individual Decision ◽  
Missed Opportunities ◽  
Power Domination ◽  
Individual Decision Making ◽  
Optimal Outcomes

Power involves a number of models of choice: maximizing, satisficing, coercion, and minimizing missed opportunities. The latter is explored in detail and linked to a particular type of power, domination by virtue of a constellation of interests. It is shown that domination by virtue of a constellation of interests calls for justification through references to a common good, i.e. a rent to be shared between Principal and Agent. Two sources of sub-optimal outcomes are compared: individual decision-making and interactions. Interactions organized in the form of power relationships lead to sub-optimal outcomes for at least one side, Agent. Some empirical evidence from Russia is provided for illustrative purposes.

Institutionalism: Theory, Decision-making Basis, Method of Criticism

2009 ◽  
pp. 110-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Moskovsky
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Institutional Economics ◽  
Economic Reforms ◽  
The State ◽  
Economic Approach ◽  
Main Attention ◽  
Technological Imperative ◽  
Logical Inconsistency ◽  
Basis Method

The author analyzes the state of institutional economics in contemporary Russia. It is characterized by arbitrary confusion of the ideas of «old», «new» and «mathematical» versions of institutionalism which results in logical inconsistency and even eclectics to be observed in the literature. The new and mathematical versions of institutionalism are shown to be based on legal, political and mathematical determinism tightly connected with the so-called «economic approach» (G. Becker). The main attention is paid to the discussion of theoretical and practical potential of the contemporary classical («old») institutionalism. The author focuses on its philosophical grounds and its technological imperative, the institution of science, the method of criticism, the opportunity of using classical institutionalist ideas as the ideology of economic reforms in Russia.

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