Integrated transport systems in Latin America and the Caribbean: converging initiatives

The year 1998 is shaping up to be a year of grand regional initiatives focusing on the setting up of regional integrated transport systems. The past six months have seen intense activity in Latin America and the Caribbean. It would seem that the public and private sectors have agreed to launch converging initiatives, each from its own perspectives. In Central America, a multimodal transport project is already under way, while a new transport master plan put forward by the Permanent Secretariat of the General Treaty on Central American Economic Integration (SIECA) is being prepared; in South America, the Latin American Integration Association (LAIA) and Latin American Railways Association (ALAF) have launched a prefeasability study concerning a plan for the sustainable development of transport; the second Summit of the Americas adopted a plan of action that now takes in the work of the Executive Committee of the Western Hemisphere Transport Initiative; and the private sector also held its regional meeting in São Paulo, Brazil, with Intermodal 98, the fourth in a series. These initiatives are taking shape around similar lines of thought and action; their backgrounds are similar, and they tend towards the same goal: taking action in the immediate environment with a view to expanding linkages with the global economy. The background is the observation that after several years of growth, transport infrastructure, equipment and services appear unable to satisfy the growing demand of international trade in the region. The goal is to implement the requisite reforms in the transport sector so as to meet the challenges posed by global competition. This issue of the Bulletin is devoted to news about recent initiatives and possible future developments.

The current state of metro and railway systems in Latin America

This issue of the FAL Bulletin describes how metro and railway systems contribute to sustainable mobility, looking at some of the current challenges and their technical solutions.

Methodological Guide for developing Environmental and Sustainable Development Indicators in Latin American and Caribbean countries

This methodological guide is intended as a practical tool for the design and implementation of systems of national indicators to evaluate the success of environmental and sustainable development initiatives, and to define policymaking priorities. The methodology derives from work carried out in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries keeping in mind that the manner in which indicators are constructed and updated has an impact on their overall quality and possible uses.

Efeito de complexo homeopático no controle e tratamento de mastite em vacas leiteiras sob manejo orgânico

Pós-graduação em Medicina Veterinária - FMVZ

An assessment of the economic impact of climate change on the Agriculture, Health and Tourism sectors in Saint Lucia

This report analyses the agriculture, health and tourism sectors in Saint Lucia to assess the potential economic impacts of climate change on the sectors. The fundamental aim of this report is to assist with the development of strategies to deal with the potential impact of climate change in Saint Lucia. It also has the potential to provide essential input for identifying and preparing policies and strategies to help advance the Caribbean subregion closer to solving problems associated with climate change and attaining individual and regional sustainable development goals. Some of the key anticipated impacts of climate change for the Caribbean include elevated air and sea-surface temperatures, sea-level rise, possible changes in extreme events and a reduction in freshwater resources. The economic impact of climate change on the three sectors was estimated for the A2 and B2 IPCC scenarios until 2050. An evaluation of various adaptation strategies for each sector was also undertaken using standard evaluation techniques. The key subsectors in agriculture are expected to have mixed impacts under the A2 and B2 scenarios. Banana, fisheries and root crop outputs are expected to fall with climate change, but tree crop and vegetable production are expected to rise. In aggregate, in every decade up to 2050, these sub-sectors combined are expected to experience a gain under climate change with the highest gains under A2. By 2050, the cumulative gain under A2 is calculated as approximately US$389.35 million and approximately US$310.58 million under B2, which represents 17.93% and 14.30% of the 2008 GDP respectively. This result was unexpected and may well be attributed to the unavailability of annual data that would have informed a more robust assessment. Additionally, costs to the agriculture sector due to tropical cyclones were estimated to be $6.9 million and $6.2 million under the A2 and B2 scenarios, respectively. There are a number of possible adaptation strategies that can be employed by the agriculture sector. The most attractive adaptation options, based on the benefit-cost ratio are: (1) Designing and implementation of holistic water management plans (2) Establishment of systems of food storage and (3) Establishment of early warning systems. Government policy should focus on the development of these adaption options where they are not currently being pursued and strengthen those that have already been initiated, such as the mainstreaming of climate change issues in agricultural policy. The analysis of the health sector placed focus on gastroenteritis, schistosomiasis, ciguatera poisoning, meningococal meningitis, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases and malnutrition. The results obtained for the A2 and B2 scenarios demonstrate the potential for climate change to add a substantial burden to the health system in the future, a factor that will further compound the country’s vulnerability to other anticipated impacts of climate change. Specifically, it was determined that the overall Value of Statistical Lives impacts were higher under the A2 scenario than the B2 scenario. A number of adaptation cost assumptions were employed to determine the damage cost estimates using benefit-cost analysis. The benefit-cost analysis suggests that expenditure on monitoring and information provision would be a highly efficient step in managing climate change and subsequent increases in disease incidence. Various locations in the world have developed forecasting systems for dengue fever and other vector-borne diseases that could be mirrored and implemented. Combining such macro-level policies with inexpensive micro-level behavioural changes may have the potential for pre-empting the re-establishment of dengue fever and other vector-borne epidemic cycles in Saint Lucia. Although temperature has the probability of generating significant excess mortality for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, the power of temperature to increase mortality largely depends on the education of the population about the harmful effects of increasing temperatures and on the existing incidence of these two diseases. For these diseases it is also suggested that a mix of macro-level efforts and micro-level behavioural changes can be employed to relieve at least part of the threat that climate change poses to human health. The same principle applies for water and food-borne diseases, with the improvement of sanitation infrastructure complementing the strengthening of individual hygiene habits. The results regarding the tourism sector imply that the tourism climatic index was likely to experience a significant downward shift in Saint Lucia under the A2 as well as the B2 scenario, indicative of deterioration in the suitability of the island for tourism. It is estimated that this shift in tourism features could cost Saint Lucia about 5 times the 2009 GDP over a 40-year horizon. In addition to changes in climatic suitability for tourism, climate change is also likely to have important supply-side effects on species, ecosystems and landscapes. Two broad areas are: (1) coral reefs, due to their intimate link to tourism, and, (2) land loss, as most hotels tend to lie along the coastline. The damage related to coral reefs was estimated at US$3.4 billion (3.6 times GDP in 2009) under the A2 scenario and US$1.7 billion (1.6 times GDP in 2009) under the B2 scenario. The damage due to land loss arising from sea level rise was estimated at US$3.5 billion (3.7 times GDP) under the A2 scenario and US$3.2 billion (3.4 times GDP) under the B2 scenario. Given the potential for significant damage to the industry a large number of potential adaptation measures were considered. Out of these a short-list of 9 potential options were selected by applying 10 evaluation criteria. Using benefit-cost analyses 3 options with positive ratios were put forward: (1) increased recommended design speeds for new tourism-related structures; (2) enhanced reef monitoring systems to provide early warning alerts of bleaching events, and, (3) deployment of artificial reefs or other fish-aggregating devices. While these options had positive benefit-cost ratios, other options were also recommended based on their non-tangible benefits. These include the employment of an irrigation network that allows for the recycling of waste water, development of national evacuation and rescue plans, providing retraining for displaced tourism workers and the revision of policies related to financing national tourism offices to accommodate the new climate realities.

Network for Cooperation in Integrated Water Resource Management for Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean No. 43

Editorial remarks.-- Open discussion: Energy efficiency and economic regulation in water supply and sewerage services ; Policies and institutional frameworks for drinking water supply and sanitation.-- News of the network: The goal of food self-sufficiency of the countries of the cooperation council for de Arab States of the Gulf ; Narrowing the gaps in drinking water and sanitation: an opportunity for users ; Water Users'Organizations Act of Peru ; Commission for the Integrated management of the Tárcoles River Basin, Costa Rica ; Water and sanitation Management Unit in Panama.-- Courses: Course "Strategic aspects of irrigation".-- Internet and WWW news

The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals: An opportunity for Latin America and the Caribbean

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the 193 Member States of the United Nations at the General Assembly in September 2015, outlines a transformative vision for economic, social and environmental development and will guide the work of the Organization towards this vision for the next 15 years. This new road map presents a historic opportunity for Latin America and the Caribbean, since it addresses some of the region’s most urgent priorities, such as reducing inequality in all its dimensions, promoting inclusive economic growth with decent work for all, creating sustainable cities and addressing climate change. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) associated with the Agenda help the region’s countries to gauge the starting point from which they set out towards this new, collective vision of sustainable development set forth in the 2030 Agenda and to analyse and craft the means of its implementation. The SDGs also represent a planning tool for the countries at the national and local levels. With their long-term approach, they offer support for each country on its path towards sustained, inclusive and environmentally friendly development, through the formulation of public policies and budget, monitoring and evaluation instruments. The 2030 Agenda is a civilizing agenda that places dignity and equality at the centre. At once far-sighted and ambitious, its implementation will require the engagement of all sectors of society and of the State. Accordingly, the representatives of governments, civil society, academic institutions and the private sector are invited to take ownership of this ambitious agenda, to discuss and embrace it as a tool for the creation of inclusive, fair societies that serve the citizens of today as well as future generations.

Segurança alimentar e nutricional sustentável: a coordenação de políticas públicas locais na CRSANS Central – SP

Pós-graduação em Alimentos e Nutrição - FCFAR

Produção de dejetos e caracterização de possibilidades de aproveitamento em sistemas de produção de suínos com alta tecnologia no estado de São Paulo

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Energia na Agricultura) - FCA

Etnoecologia, pesca e manejo comunitário de quelônios aquáticos na várzea do Baixo rio Amazonas

O presente estudo descreve, registra e compara estratégias de pesca e manejo comunitário de quelônios aquáticos em três comunidades da várzea de Santarém. Avaliou-se também o consumo de quelônios, incluindo preferências, rejeições e tabus alimentares, e uso destes como recursos terapêuticos na medicina popular. As técnicas de pesca de quelônios empregadas foram descritas, compreendendo variações espacial e sazonal de uso e espécies capturadas e seletividade das técnicas fundamentadas nos saberes locais. Analisaram-se ainda o rendimento das pescarias e as relações entre investimento e retorno das mesmas. Os dados foram coletados entre junho de 2007 a julho de 2008. Realizaram-se conversas informais, acompanhamento das atividades pesqueiras e observação participante nas comunidades. Entrevistas semi-estruturadas também foram realizadas adotando-se o método recordatório alimentar, monitoramento do consumo anual de quelônios e recordações das últimas pescarias de quelônios. Os primeiros relatos de manejo de quelônios na Amazônia são datados da época do contato entre populações ameríndias e europeias. Na década de 70 ações do governo brasileiro foram implementadas fundamentadas no gerenciamento centralizado no poder do Estado. Hoje, práticas de comanejo de quelônios ocorrem em vários lugares na Amazônia, como nas comunidades Ilha de São Miguel, Costa do Aritapera e Água Preta. Mesmo pautados na demanda comunitária os manejos dessas três comunidades apresentam perspectivas diferenciadas em virtude do variado grau de experiência com sistemas de manejo comunitário. A Ilha de São Miguel já realiza o manejo de quelônios há cerca de 40 anos com certo grau de sucesso, enquanto na Água Preta o co-manejo vem sendo estabelecido há 22 anos de forma menos rigorosa e na Costa do Aritapera não se obteve êxito em sua recente implementação. De modo geral, a inclusão dos principais usuários dos recursos naturais em seu manejo ainda se constitui uma tarefa de difícil execução. O grande desafio para o manejo de quelônios e outros recursos da fauna cinegética na Amazônia é o reconhecimento legal de seu uso. O consumo de quelônios é uma tradição enraizada na cultura amazônica, entretanto é criminalizado, constrangendo a maior parte da população a assumir seu uso. Por ser considerada atividade ilegal não há estimativas da quantidade de animais explorados, tornando difícil a implantação de formas de manejo comunitário sustentáveis. Percebeu-se na dieta dos ribeirinhos desse estudo a participação de peixe como principal fonte de proteína animal, enquanto o consumo de quelônios registrado foi relativamente pequeno. Constataram-se diferenças quanto às espécies de quelônios consumidas. Em geral, tracajá (Podocnemis unifilis) (carne e ovos) configura-se como quelônio mais consumido nas três comunidades, sendo a pitiu (Podocnemis sextuberculata) (carne e ovos) consumida principalmente na Costa do Aritapera. As tartarugas (Podocnemis expansa) são pouco utilizadas, não houve registros de coleta de seus ovos, sendo sua carne consumida principalmente na Ilha de São Miguel. Tais variações podem estar relacionadas à combinação de fatores ecológicos e ao histórico do manejo presentes em cada comunidade. Não foram observadas diferenças culturais nas comunidades estudadas quanto ao uso de quelônios. Tartaruga é a espécie mais rejeitada, usada principalmente na medicina popular; tracajá e pitiu em geral são os quelônios preferidos, sendo os três considerados reimosos (animais sujeitos a tabus alimentares em algumas circunstâncias, como doenças, menstruação, gravidez e pós-parto). A espécie mais capturada foi o tracajá, seguindo-se a pitiu e em menor proporção a tartaruga. O tracajá é encontrado em vários ambientes, sendo coletado durante o ano todo nas três comunidades; pitius são capturadas principalmente na Costa do Aritapera no período da seca e da vazante, quando estão concentradas durante a migração ao saírem das áreas inundáveis em direção aos rios e às praias de desova, enquanto tartarugas são pescadas nos lagos protegidos da Ilha de São Miguel, na enchente e na cheia. As técnicas de pesca apresentam uso diferenciado em função do nível do rio. Os pescadores reconhecem tais variações sazonais, as quais aliadas a um conjunto de saberes locais são utilizadas na seleção das técnicas de pesca de quelônios. A pesca de quelônios é realizada em geral de modo oportuno, durante as pescarias de peixes. O rendimento das pescarias de quelônio foi maior quando estas não incluíram a captura de peixes e quando realizadas com uso da mão. O rendimento com base na CPUE_N diferiu entre as comunidades estudadas e entre os períodos de pesca, porém não houve diferença significativa no rendimento das pescarias entre esses parâmetros quando a biomassa foi utilizada nos cálculos de CPUE. O pescador, em geral, não está preocupado em maximizar seu rendimento, já que a maior parte das pescarias não se destina a comercialização. O rendimento, desta forma, acaba refletindo mais o acerto de um bom local de pesca do que o esforço de deslocamento empregado na mesma.Quando a mancha era boa os pescadores gastavam pouco tempo, enquanto em manchas menos produtivas gastavam mais tempo. Alguns pontos a serem adotados com vistas à concretização e sucesso do manejo comunitário são sugeridos nesse estudo: (1) definição clara dos direitos de acesso aos recursos e das sanções em caso de infração dos acordos; (2) estabelecimento de programas de capacitação de lideranças comunitárias; (3) criação de um fundo comunitário para desenvolvimento de outras atividades econômicas e investimento na melhoria da qualidade de vida dos moradores e nas próprias ações envolvidas no manejo; (4) reconhecimento e uso do conhecimento ecológico local e do direito de se utilizar o recurso; (5) ampliação regional do modelo comunitário para outras áreas, considerando que algumas espécies realizam grandes migrações; (6) monitoramento das populações exploradas; (7) avaliação periódica da efetivação do manejo e seu papel para os moradores locais; (8) repartição dos benefícios entre os comunitários. No caso específico dos quelônios recomendam-se também a proteção de outros ambientes além das áreas de nidificação e a determinação de um sistema de cotas voltado ao aproveitamento de ovos que seriam perdidos com possibilidade de comercialização para criadores.

Cleaner Production initiatives and challenges for a sustainable world: an introduction to this special volume

This special volume of the Journal of Cleaner Production is comprised of articles presented at the 3rd International Workshop Advances in Cleaner Production held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2011. The content underscores the recognition of the pressing and inescapable need for making changes from unsustainable to sustainable production and consumption patterns. The 48 articles from 15 countries provide different, but complimentary approaches to help industrial and societal sectors in advancing on their paths towards sustainability. Initiatives and challenges are included, which systematically address problems affecting raw material changes, technological modifications, product and policy changes. The findings range from proposals for alternative uses of wastes, substitution of raw materials for environmentally friendlier substances, optimization of industrial processes by source reductions of wastes and emissions and documented economic and environmental advantages of a wide array of initiatives. The roles of operational and managerial practices are also stressed, highlighting the role of diverse stakeholders as promoters of implementation and internalization of innovative cleaner technologies within companies. Systemic assessment tools are employed and experimented with in order to more effectively evaluate the environmental performance of systems on the biosphere scale. The methodological procedures and proposals presented can help in the design and management of production systems, for governmental and corporate policy development, for implementing and monitoring CP Programs, prevention and mitigation strategies, and evaluation of the outcomes of CP initiatives in the production and service sectors. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Energy and hydraulic efficiency in conventional water supply systems

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

Iron oxides and quality of organic matter in sugarcane harvesting systems

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

Fishery of the Uçá Crab Ucides Cordatus (Linnaeus, 1763) in a Mangrove Area in Cananéia, State of São Paulo, Brazil: Fishery Performance, Exploitation Patterns and Factors Affecting the Catches

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

Fisiografia e uso da terra de uma bacia hidrográfica em área de afloramento do sistema aquífero Guarani (SAG): o caso do Ribeirão do Jacú, Tejupá/SP (UGRHI-14)SP

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Irrigação e Drenagem) - FCA