Rapid Recent Deforestation Incursion in a Vulnerable Indigenous Land in the Brazilian Amazon and Fire-Driven Emissions of Fine Particulate Aerosol Pollutants

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is related to the use of fire to remove natural vegetation and install crop cultures or pastures. In this study, we evaluated the relation between deforestation, land-use and land-cover (LULC) drivers and fire emissions in the Apyterewa Indigenous Land, Eastern Brazilian Amazon. In addition to the official Brazilian deforestation data, we used a geographic object-based image analysis (GEOBIA) approach to perform the LULC mapping in the Apyterewa Indigenous Land, and the Brazilian biomass burning emission model with fire radiative power (3BEM_FRP) to estimate emitted particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5), a primary human health risk. The GEOBIA approach showed a remarkable advancement of deforestation, agreeing with the official deforestation data, and, consequently, the conversion of primary forests to agriculture within the Apyterewa Indigenous Land in the past three years (200 km2), which is clearly associated with an increase in the PM2.5 emissions from fire. Between 2004 and 2016 the annual average emission of PM2.5 was estimated to be 3594 ton year−1, while the most recent interval of 2017–2019 had an average of 6258 ton year−1. This represented an increase of 58% in the annual average of PM2.5 associated with fires for the study period, contributing to respiratory health risks and the air quality crisis in Brazil in late 2019. These results expose an ongoing critical situation of intensifying forest degradation and potential forest collapse, including those due to a savannization forest-climate feedback, within “protected areas” in the Brazilian Amazon. To reverse this scenario, the implementation of sustainable agricultural practices and development of conservation policies to promote forest regrowth in degraded preserves are essential.

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Relationship between Biomass Burning Emissions and Deforestation in Amazonia over the Last Two Decades

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12091217 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (9) ◽

pp. 1217

Author(s):

Guilherme A. V. Mataveli ◽

Gabriel de Oliveira ◽

Hugo T. Seixas ◽

Gabriel Pereira ◽

Scott C. Stark ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Biomass Burning ◽

Anthropogenic Activities ◽

Human Health Risk ◽

Agricultural Practices ◽

Remote Sensing Data ◽

Emission Model ◽

Early 21St Century ◽

Deforestation Rates ◽

Radiative Power ◽

Forested Areas

With deforestation and associated fires ongoing at high rates, and amidst urgent need to preserve Amazonia, improving the understanding of biomass burning emissions drivers is essential. The use of orbital remote sensing data enables the estimate of both biomass burning emissions and deforestation. In this study, we have estimated emissions of particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) associated with biomass burning, a primary human health risk, using the Brazilian Biomass Burning emission model with Fire Radiative Power (3BEM_FRP), and estimated deforestation based on the MapBiomas dataset. Using these estimates, we have assessed for the first time how deforestation drove biomass burning emissions in Amazonia over the last two decades at three scales of analysis: Amazonia-wide, country/state and pixel. Amazonia accounted for 48% of PM2.5 emitted from biomass burning in South America and current deforestation rates have reached values on par with those of the early 21st Century. Emissions and deforestation were concentrated in the Eastern and Central-Southern portions of Amazonia. Amazonia-wide deforestation and emissions were linked through time (R = 0.65). Countries/states with the widest spread agriculture were less likely to be correlated at this scale, likely because of the importance of biomass burning in agricultural practices. Concentrated in regions of ongoing deforestation, in 18% of Amazonia grid cells PM2.5 emissions associated with biomass burning and deforestation were significantly positively correlated. Deforestation is an important driver of emissions in Amazonia but does not explain biomass burning alone. Therefore, future work must link climate and other non-deforestation drivers to completely understand biomass burning emissions in Amazonia. The advance of anthropogenic activities over forested areas, which ultimately leads to more fires and deforestation, is expected to continue, worsening a crisis of dangerous emissions.

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Carbon loss from forest degradation exceeds that from deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon

Nature Climate Change ◽

10.1038/s41558-021-01026-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yuanwei Qin ◽

Xiangming Xiao ◽

Jean-Pierre Wigneron ◽

Philippe Ciais ◽

Martin Brandt ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Brazilian Amazon ◽

Forest Degradation ◽

Carbon Loss

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Farmlands Degradation with Conventional Agricultural Practices and Human Health Risk Assessment: A Case Study of Punjab Province, Pakistan

Land Degradation and Development ◽

10.1002/ldr.4051 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Javed Nawab ◽

Zia Ud Din ◽

Shah Faisal ◽

Sardar Khan ◽

Abid Ali ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Assessment ◽

Health Risk ◽

Human Health ◽

Health Risk Assessment ◽

Human Health Risk ◽

Agricultural Practices ◽

Human Health Risk Assessment ◽

Punjab Province

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Desenvolvimento participativo de produtos turísticos em terras indígenas na Amazônia brasileira

Revista Brasileira de Ecoturismo (RBEcotur) ◽

10.34024/rbecotur.2015.v8.6430 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Alessandra Helena Schneider ◽

Fernanda Alvarenga

Keyword(s):

Indigenous Peoples ◽

National Policy ◽

Brazilian Amazon ◽

Mato Grosso ◽

Indigenous Lands ◽

Management Plans ◽

Participative Approach ◽

Amazonas State ◽

Participative Planning ◽

Indigenous Land

O artigo apresenta a metodologia criada e experimentada para o planejamento participativo de produtos turísticos em terras indígenas e os principais resultados de sua aplicação. O turismo foi identificado pelos indígenas como uma atividade econômica alternativa ao desmatamento durante o desenvolvimento dos Planos de Gestão Territorial na Terra Indígena Sete de Setembro (RO/MT) do Povo Paiter-Suruí e na Terra Indígena Nove de Janeiro (AM) do Povo Parintintin. Com o objetivo de propor princípios e procedimentos para visitação turística ordenada, o processo de planejamento participativo buscou garantir que, além de ser uma alternativa economicamente viável, o turismo seja também um instrumento de resgate e valorização cultural, que respeita a diversidade, mitos, cosmovisão e modo de vida atual indígena. A metodologia utilizada para o desenvolvimento dos produtos turísticos envolveu uma série de atividades como oficinas de turismo, intercâmbio, inventários, planejamento de roteiros, propostas de infraestrutura e estudos de mercado específicos para cada uma das etnias. Como resultado obteve-se propostas de operações turísticas viáveis e adequadas ao mercado, mas que também atendem às expectativas e possibilidades dos indígenas. Estas experiências também resultaram em uma metodologia de desenvolvimento de produtos turísticos estruturada na relação entre o saber científico e tradicional, portanto em uma dinâmica participativa, que poderá contribuir para a regulamentação da atividade turística em Terras Indígenas, adequando-se à Política Nacional de Gestão Ambiental e Territorial Indígena. Participative development of tourism products in indigenous lands located in the brazilian Amazon ABSTRACT The article presents the methodology created and experimented for participative planning applied in the development of tourism products in indigenous lands and the principal results obtained. During the development process of the Territorial Management Plans for the Sete de Setembro Indigenous Land, belonging to Paiter-Suruí People (States of Roraima and Mato Grosso) and for the Nove de Janeiro Indigenous Land, belonging to Parintintin People (Amazonas State), tourism was identified by the indigenous peoples themselves as being a viable alternative economic activity to deforestation. With the aim of proposing standards and procedures for organized guided tours, this project sought to guarantee that, in addition to representing a viable economic alternative, tourism should also function as a means of valuing and reviving traditional indigenous culture, in a way that respects the diversity, mythology, worldview and the way of life of tribal peoples today. The methodology of development of tourism products involved a series of activities, such as tourism workshops, interchange, register, planning tourist routes, proposals related to infrastructure and market studies specifically designed for each ethnic group. The results of this work are proposes of viable tourism operations, those also fulfils the expectations and possibilities of the Indigenous peoples themselves. These experiences resulted in a methodology of developing tourism products based on a relationship between scientific and traditional knowledge, consequently using a participative approach, which may be useful when regulating tourism activities in Tribal Lands, in accordance with Brazil’s National Policy for the Territorial and Environmental Management of Indigenous Lands. KEYWORDS: Tourism in Indigenous Lands; Participative Planning; Sustainability; Tourism Goods; Brazilian Amazon.

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