Ações e percepções ambientais articuladas na sustentabilidade: estudos de múltiplos casos na indústria calçadista

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

Utilização do gesso para fabricação de artefatos alternativos, no contexto de produção mais limpa

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

La planificación ambiental estratégica en los instrumentos de ordenamiento territorial. Caso de estudio: el Plan Regulador Intercomunal del Alto Aconcagua (PRIAA), provincias de San Felipe y Los Andes, V Región, Valparaíso, Chile

El artículo presenta la aplicación de un modelo de Planificación Ambiental Estratégica al diseño de un Plan de Ordenamiento Territorial en la zona de estudio, cuyo territorio se caracteriza por poseer un significativo patrimonio ambiental en términos de recursos naturales, paisaje, historia, etc. Junto a lo anterior, muestra un fuerte dinamismo económico por su localización en relación a la Macrozona Central de Chile, el Mercosur y el futuro corredor bioceánico. El objetivo fue diseñar una metodología que permitiera incorporar la dimensión ambiental en cada en cada una de las etapas características de elaboración de un Plan Regulador. El estudio ambiental se baso en tres etapas: diagnóstico ambiental, evaluación ambiental de alternativas y definición del proyecto, para lo cual se desarrollaron metodologías especificas apoyadas en sistemas de información geográfica (SIG) y modelos de simulación. La aplicación del modelo de planificación ambiental estratégica permitió obtener un Plan territorial con zonas y ordenanzas que protejan el patrimonio ambiental existente y aminore los impactos ambientales negativos de futuras actividades que se instalen en un territorio.

Política de sensibilización ambiental

Uno de los objetivos del Programa de Ordenamiento y Protección de los Recursos Naturales de la Costa Atlántica de Río Negro es promover experiencias innovadoras, vinculadas a la protección del patrimonio natural y cultural del litoral costero rionegrino. Dentro de este marco, el objetivo general es establecer las bases para un desarrollo sustentable. Esto no es posible, si no se acompaña de una fuerte sensibilización ambiental dirigida a diferentes sectores sociales respecto de los valores que representa este ecosistema costero, actividad desarrollada en el marco del Proyecto Desarrollo de una Política de Sensibilización ambiental. La implementación de una estrategia de Educación Ambiental que permita generar en la comunidad una mayor capacidad para comprender el ambiente y que contribuyan a valorar el patrimonio natural y cultural, es el eje fundamental para alcanzar el desarrollo sustentable de la región. Es por ello que se plantea el objetivo de generar una política integral de sensibilización ambiental que permita incluir la temática ambiental en los diferentes sectores sociales y modalidades del sistema educativo. Para lograrlo se realiza el Primer Seminario Taller sobre Diseño de una Política de Capacitación y Sensibilización Ambiental, que es el primer paso que permitió generar las bases de una propuesta de una Política Integral de Sensibilización Ambiental. Posteriormente se realiza una encuesta dirigida a la comunidad en general y a docentes en la que se propone analizar cada una de las problemáticas ambientales reconocidas a la luz de cuatro variables: muy grave, grave, leve y no conoce/no contesta. No fue intención realizar un análisis profundo y detallado de las variables sino resaltar grandes rasgos que permitan establecer comparaciones para su ordenamiento y tratamiento. También la se realiza un Curso para Docentes que brinda el marco propicio para la Formulación e Implementación de una Política de Sensibilización Ambiental. Otra actividad es la organización de un concurso anual "Conozcamos Nuestras Costas" dirigido a la comunidad educativa, en el que participaron activamente 430 alumnos pertenecientes a las tres localidades costeras. Se elabora y distribuye materiales de sensibilización ambiental elaborados luego de un trabajo de diagnóstico, recopilación de información y material fotográfico. El mismo se organizó en sets de 10 juegos cada uno (rompecabezas, libro de imágenes, memotest, entre otros), cuyo contenido es de flora y fauna, áreas de mayor sensibilidad ecológica y los principios de conservación. Por último se realiza un Taller para la Cooperación en la Prevención y Mitigación de Impactos Ambientales en la Costa Atlántica. Como resultado de este taller se obtuvo una Red de Alerta y Comunicación, que contribuya a la formalización y fortalecimiento de la ya existente. La creación de un Centro de un Coordinación Ambiental (CCA) que tendría su sede en la Dirección de Defensa Civil.

VALORAÇÃO DE ATIVOS E MULTAS AMBIENTAIS: ANÁLISE SIMULADA DE EMPREENDIMENTOS HOTELEIROS EM ÁREAS PROTEGIDAS

O crescimento desordenado e a ausência de políticas públicas mais eficientes levaram a uma diversificação quanto ao uso dos recursos naturais, principalmente no que se refere à água para o saneamento básico. O marco regulatório estabelecido na década de 1980 registrou as políticas públicas para o meio ambiente, que trouxeram avanços sobre o tema, desencadeando uma série de ações voltadas tanto para a estrutura burocrática e da prevenção, quanto solução para os problemas de degradação e esgotamento dos recursos naturais. Com o advento das leis específicas de proteção aos mananciais e mediante a lei 13.579/09 do Estado de São Paulo que trata sobre a área da Billings, percebeu-se um avanço na questão do gerenciamento para proteção e desenvolvimento de acordo com as características da região. Instrumentos de políticas públicas para conter as ações referentes aos danos causados ao meio ambiente, como a lei contra crimes ambientais foram às ações práticas do Estado para conter tais ações. O Objetivo desta pesquisa é analisar as possíveis discrepâncias entre as penalidades financeiras aplicadas na ocorrência das infrações ambientais e os modelos de valoração dos ativos ambientais, utilizando a simulação de implantação de um hotel em áreas de proteção e recuperação de manancial no Município de São Bernardo do Campo no Estado de São Paulo. O desenvolvimento da pesquisa se baseou no método de custo de reposição (MCR) para dimensionar os possíveis impactos gerados por um empreendimento hoteleiro e seu respectivo valor econômico. Posteriormente, os impactos ambientais foram relacionados com a legislação do município para determinar os valores das possíveis penalidades aplicáveis ao dano causado. Dentre os resultados levantados, verificou-se uma significativa discrepância entre a valoração econômica e as multas aplicáveis, sendo que nos impactos referentes a impermeabilidade do solo e contaminação do lençol freático, com diferenças superiores em relação às penalidades de R$ 804.922,78 e R$ 453.333,33 respectivamente. A partir da metodologia aplicada na pesquisa, observou-se que as penalidades incidentes em casos de danos ao meio ambiente, muitas vezes não atinge o objetivo, que é inibir a ação do infrator, pois o real custo econômico não é medido na aplicação do valor da multa.

IT governance stability in a political changing environment : exploring potential impacts in the public sector

Public sector organisations (PSOs) operate in information-intensive environments often within operational contexts where efficiency is a goal. What's more, the rapid adoption of IT is expected to facilitate good governance within public sector organisations but it often clashes with the bureaucratic culture of these organisations. Accordingly, models such as IT Governance (ITG) and government reform -in particular the new public management (NPM)- were introduced in PSOs in an effort to address the inefficiencies of bureaucracy and under performance. This work explores the potential effect of change in political direction and policy on the stability of IT governance in Australian public sector organisations. The aim of this paper is to examine implications of a change of government and the resulting political environment on the effectiveness of the audit function of ITG. The empirical data discussed here indicate that a number of aspects of audit functionality were negatively affected by change in political direction and resultant policy changes. The results indicate a perceived decline in capacity and capability which in turn disrupts the stability of IT governance systems in public sector organisations.

Mitigating undesirable impacts in the marine environment: A review of market-based management measures

Internationally, marine biodiversity conservation objectives are having an increasing influence on the management of commercial fisheries. While this is largely being implemented through Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) other management measures, such as market based instruments (MBIs), have proved to be effective at managing target species catch in fisheries and reducing environmental impacts in industries such as mining and tourism. Market-based management measures aim to mitigate the impacts of activities by better aligning the incentives their participants face with the objectives of management, changing their behavior as a consequence. In this paper, we review the potential of MBIs as management tools to mitigate undesirable environmental impacts associated with commercial fishing. Where they exist, examples of previous applications are described and the factors that influence their applicability and effectiveness are discussed. Several fishing methods and impacts are considered and suggest that whilst no single approach is most appropriate in all circumstances either replacing or complementing existing management arrangements with MBIs has the potential to improve environmental performance. This has a number of implications. From the environmental perspective they should enable levels of undesirable impacts such as damage to sensitive habitat or the bycatch of protected species of turtles, marine mammals, and seabirds to be reduced. The increased flexibility MBIs allow industry when developing solutions also has the potential to reduce costs to both the industry and managers, improving the cost-effectiveness of regulation as a result. Further, in the increasingly relevant case of MPAs the need for publicly funded compensation, often paid to industry when vessels are excluded from grounds, may also be significantly reduced if improved environmental performance makes it possible for some industry members to continue operating.

Impacts of feeding system and season on milk composition and Cheddar cheese yield in a subtropical environment

Milk obtained from cows on 2 subtropical dairy feeding systems were compared for their suitability for Cheddar cheese manufacture. Cheeses were made in a small-scale cheesemaking plant capable of making 2 blocks ( about 2 kg each) of Cheddar cheese concurrently. Its repeatability was tested over 10 separate cheesemaking days with no significant differences being found between the 2 vats in cheesemaking parameters or cheese characteristics. In the feeding trial, 16 pairs of Holstein - Friesian cows were used in 2 feeding systems (M1, rain-grown tropical grass pastures and oats; and M5, a feedlot, based on maize/barley silage and lucerne hay) over 2 seasons ( spring and autumn corresponding to early and late lactation, respectively). Total dry matter, crude protein (kg/cow. day) and metabolisable energy (MJ/cow.day) intakes were 17, 2.7, and 187 for M1 and 24, 4, 260 for M5, respectively. M5 cows produced higher milk yields and milk with higher protein and casein levels than the M1 cows, but the total solids and fat levels were similar (P > 0.05) for both M1 and M5 cows. The yield and yield efficiency of cheese produced from the 2 feeding systems were also not significantly different. The results suggest that intensive tropical pasture systems can produce milk suitable for Cheddar cheese manufacture when cows are supplemented with a high energy concentrate. Season and stage of lactation had a much greater effect than feeding system on milk and cheesemaking characteristics with autumn ( late lactation) milk having higher protein and fat contents and producing higher cheese yields.

Reductions in insecticide use from adoption of Bt cotton in South Africa: impacts on economic performance and toxic load to the environment

The study reported presents the findings relating to commercial growing of genetically-modified Bt cotton in South Africa by a large sample of smallholder farmers over three seasons (1998/99, 1999/2000, 2000/01) following adoption. The analysis presents constructs and compares groupwise differences for key variables in Bt v. non-Bt technology and uses regressions to further analyse the production and profit impacts of Bt adoption. Analysis of the distribution of benefits between farmers due to the technology is also presented. In parallel with these socio-economic measures, the toxic loads being presented to the environment following the introduction of Bt cotton are monitored in terms of insecticide active ingredient (ai) and the Biocide Index. The latter adjusts ai to allow for differing persistence and toxicity of insecticides. Results show substantial and significant financial benefits to smallholder cotton growers of adopting Bt cotton over three seasons in terms of increased yields, lower insecticide spray costs and higher gross margins. This includes one particularly wet, poor growing season. In addition, those with the smaller holdings appeared to benefit proportionately more from the technology (in terms of higher gross margins) than those with larger holdings. Analysis using the Gini-coefficient suggests that the Bt technology has helped to reduce inequality amongst smallholder cotton growers in Makhathini compared to what may have been the position if they had grown conventional cotton. However, while Bt growers applied lower amounts of insecticide and had lower Biocide Indices (per ha) than growers of non-Bt cotton, some of this advantage was due to a reduction in non-bollworm insecticide. Indeed, the Biocide Index for all farmers in the population actually increased with the introduction of Bt cotton. The results indicate the complexity of such studies on the socio-economic and environmental impacts of GM varieties in the developing world.

Reductions in insecticide use from adoption of Bt cotton in South Africa: impacts on economic performance and toxic load to the environment

The study reported presents the findings relating to commercial growing of genetically-modified Bt cotton in South Africa by a large sample of smallholder farmers over three seasons (1998/99, 1999/2000, 2000/01) following adoption. The analysis presents constructs and compares groupwise differences for key variables in Bt v. non-Bt technology and uses regressions to further analyse the production and profit impacts of Bt adoption. Analysis of the distribution of benefits between farmers due to the technology is also presented. In parallel with these socio-economic measures, the toxic loads being presented to the environment following the introduction of Bt cotton are monitored in terms of insecticide active ingredient (ai) and the Biocide Index. The latter adjusts ai to allow for differing persistence and toxicity of insecticides. Results show substantial and significant financial benefits to smallholder cotton growers of adopting Bt cotton over three seasons in terms of increased yields, lower insecticide spray costs and higher gross margins. This includes one particularly wet, poor growing season. In addition, those with the smaller holdings appeared to benefit proportionately more from the technology (in terms of higher gross margins) than those with larger holdings. Analysis using the Gini-coefficient suggests that the Bt technology has helped to reduce inequality amongst smallholder cotton growers in Makhathini compared to what may have been the position if they had grown conventional cotton. However, while Bt growers applied lower amounts of insecticide and had lower Biocide Indices (per ha) than growers of non-Bt cotton, some of this advantage was due to a reduction in non-bollworm insecticide. Indeed, the Biocide Index for all farmers in the population actually increased with the introduction of Bt cotton. The results indicate the complexity of such studies on the socio-economic and environmental impacts of GM varieties in the developing world.

The impacts of learning styles, learning patterns and demographic factors on learners’ performance in a blended learning environment

Many studies have widely accepted the assumption that learning processes can be promoted when teaching styles and learning styles are well matched. In this study, the synergy between learning styles, learning patterns, and gender as a selected demographic feature and learners’ performance were quantitatively investigated in a blended learning setting. This environment adopts a traditional teaching approach of ‘one-sizefits-all’ without considering individual user’s preferences and attitudes. Hence, evidence can be provided about the value of taking such factors into account in Adaptive Educational Hypermedia Systems (AEHSs). Felder and Soloman’s Index of Learning Styles (ILS) was used to identify the learning styles of 59 undergraduate students at the University of Babylon. Five hypotheses were investigated in the experiment. Our findings show that there is no statistical significance in some of the assessed factors. However, processing dimension, the total number of hits on course website and gender indicated a statistical significance on learners’ performance. This finding needs more investigation in order to identify the effective factors on students’ achievement to be considered in Adaptive Educational Hypermedia Systems (AEHSs).