Reactive improvement of environmental policies: lessons from the Mariana and Brumadinho disasters

The State is not always able to proactively improve environmental policies. Eventually, policy improvements are a result of disasters that expose pre-existing problems. This situation is reflected in the state of Minas Gerais (Brazil), where, after the failures of the Fundão and B1 tailings dam, in Mariana and Brumadinho, several problems in dam safety and emergency policies were exposed. This study had a twofold objective: 1) to identify the mechanisms used by the government of Minas Gerais to improve environmental policies, and 2) to understand how the Mariana and Brumadinho’s disasters affected dam safety and emergency policies. Based on semi-structured interviews and regulatory analysis, the study revealed that the state government of Minas Gerais has been predominantly reactive in controlling environmental policies. Additionally, it was observed that the disasters catalysed a learning process that culminated in potentially better dam safety policies.

Municipal environmental management and regional conservation in eastern Amazon: perceived performance by public agents in the Pará state, Brazil

Public agents play a key role in municipal environmental management (MEM) under decentralised regimes. This study aimed to evaluate the MEM through the combined perception of municipal agents and the municipal performance previously calculated by secondary data in Pará, Brazil. A questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale was applied to environmental agents. The respondents (n = 75) from 53 municipalities were divided into poorly performing and well-performing municipalities. The perception of agents from poorly performing municipalities was more optimistic than shown by empirical data. Agents from well-performing municipalities prioritised “economic issues” as significant threats to management over the “institutional capacity” chosen by the other group, indicating a broader view of the reality. As the perception over land-use practices was vital to differentiate the agents from different groups, we concluded for the use of mixed monitoring methods and feedback information for agents for a better MEM, focusing on five variables (Rural environmental register – CAR, in Portuguese acronym; degraded area; deforested area; rural credit; and abandoned pasture) that differentiated the municipalities.

Applying a participatory methodology to evaluate ecosystem services in the Pampa biome: lessons learned from the Tessa methodology in Uruguay

Identifying and measuring ecosystem services involving local stakeholders has been characterised as a novel approach in the literature. This article describes the methodology used in the participatory workshops, the lessons learned, and the specific results of applying the Tessa method. The methodology was piloted with 56 researchers and technicians, more than 22 institutions, and 54 livestock producers involved with the grassland conservation initiative, Alianza del Pastizal. Identified change agents with the most significant impact include the absence of a rural workforce, the lack of family succession, and weeding and overgrazing of grasslands. The primary ecosystem services identified included the production of fodder, meat/wool, wildlife forage, way of life/culture, and medicinal plants. The methodology presented here is replicable, capable of expansion to more groups, contributes to a better understanding, by the producers, of their problems and points to the need for the development of public incentive policies.

Gender budgeting: a vital element for ensuring sustainable development

The article aims to highlight the latest approaches to the introduction of countries gender budgeting. The authors propose the application of the method of ranking countries based on 4 key indicators related to the gender gap (Economic participation and opportunity, Educational attainment, Health and survival, Political empowerment) of the Global gender gap index and then analyse the result considering the level of socio-economic development of each country. Ten sample countries were randomly chosen. The results of the study confirmed the mutual influence between the gender gap and socio-economic development. The proposed method of ranking countries compared to socio-economic, political and environmental development allows countries with a high value of the gender gap index to offer specific tools to reduce it. The research conducted can help improve existing practices, facilitate initiatives to develop gender parity and further work on geographical and sectoral orientation.

São Paulo’s strategic master plan and the challenges of sustainable urban transformation

Cities play an essential role in the challenge of sustainability, and urban planning is one of the main tools for guiding urban transformation processes. This paper analyses the São Paulo Master Plan 2014, considering the principles and guidelines on compact cities, sustainable adaptation and ecosystem-based adaptation. An urban development model within sustainable parameters, however, involves conflict dynamics. In this sense, the views and demands of the main stakeholders seeking to influence the regulatory arena of São Paulo's urban policy are mapped. The analysis focuses on attempts to change the zoning law that would affect several of the definitions agreed in the Master Plan, prioritising mainly the interests of real estate developers.

The sustainability of indigenous lands in Amapá state

We herein assess population growth in indigenous lands (ILs) Wajãpi, Uaçá, Galibi and Juminã in Amapá State-Brazil, which has influenced deforestation increase. We assumed the hypothesis of no association between demographic density and deforestation because population density in these areas is low. We used population growth, deaths, and deforestation data by considering a historical series (2002-2018). Demographic data have shown that Uaçá and Wajãpi ILs recorded the highest population growth. The highest demographic density was observed for Galibi ILs and the lowest one for Wajãpi ILs. The highest deforestation was observed for Uaçá ILs and the lowest one for Juminã ILs. Therefore, indigenous lands in Amapá State have an essential role in forest conservation.

Role of water infrastructure programs for family farmers in strengthening adaptive capacities to climate change: lessons from the Cisterns Program in Semi-arid Brazil

The semi-arid region of Brazil, marked by low human development indicators, has historically suffered from water scarcity, being the focus of public policies to reduce socioeconomic, water, and climatic vulnerabilities for more than a century. Among the recent initiatives, the Cisterns Program stands out as an attempt to guarantee water and food security for family farmers through the construction of social technologies for water storage, such as cisterns production. Thus, the research objective was to analyse the perception of farmers and institutional actors involved with the Program about the impact of the 2011-2018 drought on the functioning of cisterns and to discuss how water infrastructure programs can improve the adaptive capacity of farmers affected by climate change. Through semi-structured interviews with institutional actors at the regional/national level and with farmers in semi-arid Brazil in the years of 2017/2018, the results indicate that access to the social technology seems to strengthen the relationship between water and food security, and the specific capacity of farmers in dealing with climatic risks. We conclude with lessons and recommendations from the Brazilian experience that can be useful for actors from other semi-arid regions involved in water infrastructure programs.

Integrated and sustainable agroecological production for medicinal plants: a proposal based on strategic management

A management plan based on Integrated and Sustainable Agroecological Production (Pais) technology for the cultivation of medicinal plants, through a case study. The Swot-AHP technique was adopted to evaluateproblems to agroecological cultivation, indicating stages of the implementation work, before the physical structuring of the project, integrated with a participative social action with employees of the institution who revealed the use of 64 medicinal plants, highlighting boldo, lemongrass, and lemon balm, while 174 plant species were identified in official Brazilian documents. The lack of electricity and funding delays by funders are the most significant problems, while the space for work and gardening courses are the best potential. The integration of these data has proposed the implementation of teams for fundraising and project implementation, based on a list of medicinal species to compose the future structure made with Pais social technology.

Nature vs policy: drought and famine in the northeast of Brazil, 1877-79

Droughts followed by famines were common in Brazil, mainly in Northeast Brazil, until the 1980s and were frequently devastating, destroying livelihoods. A succession of droughts resulted in harvest failure, triggering famines in some cases. Famine-like conditions prevailed mainly in the 1877-79 Grande Seca (Great Drought), in which many died of malnutrition-related causes. In subsequent droughts, famine-like conditions reoccurred, but the extent of starvation-induced deaths declined to almost zero. Do only available political theories and known natural and socio-political factors, such as climate, topography, and market viability, provide sufficient data to investigate the causes of the drought of 1877-1879? The author concludes that there is little or no research, accumulated knowledge and information on the possible factors that satisfactorily explain why the drought and famine episodes were so impactful in that period.