Poder político, território e crise ambiental na Colômbia

Political power, territory and environmental crisis in Colombia. We describe some forms of operation of the political power of the Colombian State and their impacts on the territory. The analysis uses some results of a doctoral research that sought to understand the institutional and regulatory foundations and the water management practices in two metropolitan areas of South America, Cali in Colombia, and Campinas in Brazil. The theoretical framework, primarily based on critical thought, starts by making an approach to the concept of power and then links it with the concepts of territory and governance. We present empirical evidence on how the political power of the Colombian State operates on the environmental institutional structure. We concluded that the authoritarian interference of the executive power has generated crisis on the institutional framework and facilitated the advancement of the neo-liberal capitalist model.

Direitos civis dos jovens e a insegurança urbana

Este ensaio parte do reconhecimento de uma conjuntura de crise institucional, para analisar o contexto da formação dos direitos civis dos jovens e suas fragilidades ,com vista a alcançar, por meio dessa reflexão, uma exposição dos aspectos da insegurança urbana presentes na sociedade brasileira.

The debt crisis: a re-appraisal

The 1980s' debt crisis is a landmark in developing economies' growth and stabilization. According to the most quoted empirical articles, external shocks and vicissitudes gave rise to crisis just because of delays in stabilization policies, engendered by internal conflicts and institutional immaturity. I review some of these papers, and find out some problems - in the measurement of shocks and foreign indebtedness, namely - whose corrections lead to opposite results: external shocks and foreign indebtedness explain that crisis regardless of domestic policies. At the same time, the strong correlation of income distribution to terms of trade changes and foreign indebtedness suggest that inequality may have contributed differently to that crisis: either through an economic channel, or through a political channel based on delays in reforms.

Regional hydroclimatic variability and Brazil's 2001 energy crisis

Purpose - This paper seeks to address the issue of persistent and widespread drought conditions during 2000 and 2001, which were the apparent cause of the decline of water levels in the reservoirs of Brazilian hydroelectric power plants. Design/methodology/approach - This issue is addressed here through a case study of the hydroclimatology of the Paraíba river basin, in Southeast Brazil, home to four large multi-purpose operational reservoirs. Findings - The data analysis shows that neither changes in the frequency nor magnitude of extreme hydrological events (droughts and floods) nor in annual rainfall amounts can be detected from the existing climate record. The explanation is consistent with the fact that the terrestrial water and energy cycles are tightly, and non-linearly, coupled through evapotranspiration. Research limitations/implications - Therefore small change in the seasonality of rainfall can have a significant impact on the basin's overall hydrologic regime, and thus on the availability of water resources. Originality/value - Often, adaptation and resilience to climate variability are discussed in the context of catastrophic events such as floods and droughts. This study suggests that a different type of impacts, those associated with subtle, yet persistent changes of seasonality in the terrestrial water cycle, cannot be ignored in studies of long-term sustainability of water resources. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Catastrophic regime shift in water reservoirs and São Paulo water supply crisis

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)