Agriculturization as a syndrome: a comparative study of agriculture in Argentina and Australia

Includes bibliography

Draft programme of statistical work of the ECLAC system, 2006-2007

Includes bibliography

Zoneamento geoambiental como subsídio aos projetos de reforma agrária. Estudo de caso: assentamento rural Pirituba II (SP)

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

Role of environmental awareness in achieving sustainable development

Includes bibliography

Are we building competitive and liveable cities?: Guidelines for developing eco-efficient and socially inclusive infrastructure

This guideline jointly published by The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), in partnership with the Urban Design Lab of the Earth Institute, Columbia University, provides practical tools for city planners and decision makers to reform urban planning and infrastructure design according to the principles of eco-efficiency and social inclusiveness. It includes case studies from the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, Japan and Sri Lanka.

The economics of climate change in the Caribbean

The present volume captures the results of the studies conducted during Phase 2 of the RECCC project to date. Chapter 1 provides the contextual framework within which the assessments were conducted and Chapter 2 focuses on the emissions scenarios as set out by the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The results of the economic assessments of the impacts of climate change on the agricultural, coastal and marine, energy and transportation, health, freshwater resources and tourism sectors in the Caribbean subregion are presented in Chapters 3 to 9, respectively. The report concludes with an examination of adaptation strategies and key policy recommendations for policymakers, in Chapter 10.

Implementation of the 2014-2015 programme of work: subprogramme 13: subregional activities in the Caribbean

This report highlights the activities carried out by ECLAC in the Caribbean subregion between 1 January 2014 and 31 March 2015. Subprogramme 13 of the ECLAC programme of work 2014-2015 (“Subregional activities in the Caribbean”) covers the Commission’s work in Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as Anguilla, Aruba, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Sint Maarten, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the United States Virgin Islands. Subprogramme 12 (“Subregional activities in Central America, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Mexico”) includes activities conducted in the Caribbean member States of Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. In addition, countries of the Caribbean were included in activities organized under the 12 other substantive subprogrammes of the ECLAC programme of work 2014-2015, namely: (i) linkages with the global economy, integration and regional cooperation; (ii) production and innovation; (iii) macroeconomic policies and growth; (iv) financing for development; (v) social development and equality; (vi) mainstreaming the gender perspective in regional development; (vii) population and development; (viii) sustainable development and human settlements; (ix) natural resources and infrastructure; (x) planning of public administration; (xi) statistics; and (xii) support for regional and subregional integration and cooperation processes and organizations.

Mineralogia e geoquímica de perfis de solo com Terra Preta Arqueológica de Bom Jesus do Tocantins, sudeste da Amazônia

A comparação de dados morfológicos, mineralógicos e químicos de solo com horizontes antrópicos - Terra Preta Arqueológica (TPA) com Argissolos adjacentes permitiu identificar os principais processos responsáveis pela formação da TPA em um sítio arqueológico no Município de Bom Jesus do Tocantins, sudeste do Estado do Pará. A similaridade entre os dados dos horizontes subsuperficiais do solo com TPA e solos adjacentes indica que o horizonte antrópico do solo TPA foi provavelmente desenvolvido a partir de um horizonte similar aos Argissolos adjacentes com posterior transformação pedogenética através da introdução de materiais orgânicos e inorgânicos por antigas colonizações humanas, resultando no espessamento do horizonte superficial e em concentrações maiores de CaO e P₂O₅ (teores totais), Zn (teor traço), P e Zn disponível (teores disponíveis), além de Ca e Mg trocáveis (teores trocáveis) em relação aos Argissolos adjacentes. Além disso, essa intervenção antrópica antiga também provocou modificações no horizonte subsuperficial do Argissolo com TPA, como concentrações altas de P₂O₅ e principalmente P disponível. O Soil Taxonomy e o Sistema Brasileiro de Classificação de Solos (SiBCS) são adequados para a identificação de solo com horizonte antrópico (p.exe. TPA), uma vez que priorizam nas ordens do solo os principais processos pedogenéticos atuantes na formação do solo, relacionados aos horizontes subsuperficiais, além das transformações pedogenéticas posteriores no horizonte superficial. Contudo, este trabalho recomenda o acréscimo de alguns atributos diagnósticos como quantidade de artefatos cerâmicos e líticos, P₂O₅, P e Zn disponíveis, C orgânico, Ca²++ Mg²⁺ (teores trocáveis), CTC e índice de saturação por bases no horizonte superficial para o agrupamento e distinção dos diversos tipos de solos antrópicos antigos da Amazônia.

O verde na selva de pedra: análise jurídica da proteção da vegetação na área urbana do município de Belém

O processo de urbanização com a concentração da maior parte da população mundial em cidades impõe novos desafios à organização de assentamentos humanos e à proteção ao meio ambiente, afetando adversamente a qualidade de vida das pessoas e a sustentabilidade ambiental, que inclui também o meio ambiente urbano. Dentre as muitas variáveis que interferem na sustentabilidade das cidades está a presença da vegetação urbana, mas que não possui tutela específica no ordenamento jurídico brasileiro. Nesse contexto, este trabalho objetiva definir o conteúdo jurídico da expressão “vegetação urbana” a partir da identificação e sistematização dos dispositivos legais existentes no ordenamento jurídico brasileiro que tutelem a flora no meio urbano no Município de Belém (PA). Utiliza o método dedutivo e a pesquisa documental. Problematiza os conceitos de cidade, urbano, sustentabilidade e qualidade de vida. Discorre sobre as competências constitucionais sobre direito ambiental e urbanístico a partir de 1988. Sistematiza as principais categorias jurídicas e não jurídicas utilizadas para definir e estudar a vegetação urbana, bem como apresenta um resumo de suas principais funções, evidenciando suas diferenças com o meio não-urbano e seu dinamismo, devendo a proteção da vegetação urbana ser entendida como um processo. Conclui que não há no ordenamento jurídico brasileiro definição que abarque todas as particularidades da vegetação urbana, mas há disposições em nível federal, estadual e municipal que a disciplina, mas estes dispositivos devem ser interpretados de acordo com particularidades e princípios que regem o espaço urbano, e à luz do federalismo cooperativo.

Slope stability analysis by multi-temporal DEMs and 3D modelling: The 2002 and 2007 Stromboli landslide events

Natural hazard related to the volcanic activity represents a potential risk factor, particularly in the vicinity of human settlements. Besides to the risk related to the explosive and effusive activity, the instability of volcanic edifices may develop into large landslides often catastrophically destructive, as shown by the collapse of the northern flank of Mount St. Helens in 1980. A combined approach was applied to analyse slope failures that occurred at Stromboli volcano. SdF slope stability was evaluated by using high-resolution multi-temporal DTMMs and performing limit equilibrium stability analyses. High-resolution topographical data collected with remote sensing techniques and three-dimensional slope stability analysis play a key role in understanding instability mechanism and the related risks. Analyses carried out on the 2002–2003 and 2007 Stromboli eruptions, starting from high-resolution data acquired through airborne remote sensing surveys, permitted the estimation of the lava volumes emplaced on the SdF slope and contributed to the investigation of the link between magma emission and slope instabilities. Limit Equilibrium analyses were performed on the 2001 and 2007 3D models, in order to simulate the slope behavior before 2002-2003 landslide event and after the 2007 eruption. Stability analyses were conducted to understand the mechanisms that controlled the slope deformations which occurred shortly after the 2007 eruption onset, involving the upper part of slope. Limit equilibrium analyses applied to both cases yielded results which are congruent with observations and monitoring data. The results presented in this work undoubtedly indicate that hazard assessment for the island of Stromboli should take into account the fact that a new magma intrusion could lead to further destabilisation of the slope, which may be more significant than the one recently observed because it will affect an already disarranged deposit and fractured and loosened crater area. The two-pronged approach based on the analysis of 3D multi-temporal mapping datasets and on the application of LE methods contributed to better understanding volcano flank behaviour and to be prepared to undertake actions aimed at risk mitigation.

Paleosol-based stratigraphy of late Quaternary deposits from the Po basin, between Bologna and the Po river (Northern Italy)

Stratigraphic studies carried out over the last decades in Italy and elsewhere testify a growing interest in Quaternary deposits and in the influence of climate change on their architecture. The subsurface of the Po Plain, in its topmost portion, is made up of alluvial deposits organized in depositional cycles at different scales. This PhD thesis provides millennial-scale stratigraphic reconstruction of the Late Pleistocene-Holocene deposits beneath the southern Po Plain, based on basin-scale correlation of laterally-extensive buried soil horizons. Far from the aim of characterizing palaeosols from a mineralogical and geochemical point of view, we focused on the physical and stratigraphic significance of these horizons. In the Bologna urban area, which hosts an abundance of stratigraphic data, the correlation between seventeen continuously-cored boreholes led to the identification of five vertically-stacked palaeosol-bounded sequences within the 14C time window. In a wide portion of the alluvial plain north of Bologna, far away from the Apenninic margin and from the Po River, where subsurface stratigraphic architecture is dominated by markedly lenticular sediment bodies, palaeosols revealed to be the only stratigraphic marker of remarkable lateral continuity. These horizons are characterized by peculiar resistance values, which make them easily identifiable via pocket penetration tests. Palaeosols reveal specific geometric relationships with the associated alluvial facies associations, allowing reliable estimates of soil development as a function of alluvial dynamics. With the aid of sixty new radiocarbon dates, a reliable age attribution and likely time intervals of exposure were assigned to each palaeosol. Vertically-stacked palaeosols delimitate short-term depositional cycles, likely related to the major episodes of climatic change of the last 40 ky. Through integration of stratigraphic data with 750 archaeological reports from the Bologna area, the impact of human settlements on depositional and pedogenic processes during the late Holocene was investigated.

Impact of anthropogenic stressors on the population genetics of the common bioindicator Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas, 1771)

Toxicant inputs from agriculture, industry and human settlements have been shown to severely affect freshwater ecosystems. Pollution can lead to changes in population genetic patterns through various genetic and stochastic processes. In my thesis, I investigated the impact of anthropogenic stressors on the population genetics of the zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha. In order to analyze the genetics of zebra mussel populations, I isolated five new highly polymorphic microsatellite loci. Out of those and other already existing microsatellite markers for this species, I established a robust marker set of six microsatellite loci for D. polymorpha. rnMonitoring the biogeographical background is an important requirement when integrating population genetic measures into ecotoxicological studies. I analyzed the biogeographical background of eleven populations in a section of the River Danube (in Hungary and Croatia) and some of its tributaries, and another population in the River Rhine as genetic outgroup. Moreover, I measured abiotic water parameters at the sampling sites and analyzed if they were correlated with the genetic parameters of the populations. The genetic differentiation was basically consistent with the overall biogeographical history of the populations in the study region. However, the genetic diversity of the populations was not influenced by the geographical distance between the populations, but by the environmental factors oxygen and temperature and also by other unidentified factors. I found strong evidence that genetic adaptation of zebra mussel populations to local habitat conditions had influenced the genetic constitution of the populations. Moreover, by establishing the biogeographical baseline of molecular variance in the study area, I laid the foundation for interpreting population genetic results in ecotoxicological experiments in this region.rnIn a cooperation project with the Department of Zoology of the University of Zagreb, I elaborated an integrated approach in biomonitoring with D. polymorpha by combining the analysis techniques of microsatellite analysis, Comet assay and micronucleus test (MNT). This approach was applied in a case study on freshwater contamination by an effluent of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in the River Drava (Croatia) and a complementary laboratory experiment. I assessed and compared the genetic status of two zebra mussel populations from a contaminated and a reference site. Microsatellite analysis suggested that the contaminated population had undergone a genetic bottleneck, caused by random genetic drift and selection, whereas a bottleneck was not detected in the reference population. The Comet assay did not indicate any difference in DNA damage between the two populations, but MNT revealed that the contaminated population had an increased percentage of micronuclei in hemocytes in comparison to the reference population. The laboratory experiment with mussels exposed to municipal wastewater revealed that mussels from the contaminated site had a lower percentage of tail DNA and a higher percentage of micronuclei than the reference population. These differences between populations were probably caused by an overall decreased fitness of mussels from the contaminated site due to genetic drift and by an enhanced DNA repair mechanism due to adaptation to pollution in the source habitat. Overall, the combination of the three biomarkers provided sufficient information on the impact of both treated and non-treated municipal wastewater on the genetics of zebra mussels at different levels of biological organization.rnIn my thesis, I could show that the newly established marker set of six microsatellite loci provided reliable and informative data for population genetic analyses of D. polymorpha. The adaptation of the analyzed zebra mussel populations to the local conditions of their habitat had a strong influence on their genetic constitution. We found evidence that the different genetic constitutions of two populations had influenced the outcome of our ecotoxicological experiment. Overall, the integrated approach in biomonitoring gave comprehensive information about the impact of both treated and non-treated municipal wastewater on the genetics of zebra mussels at different levels of biological organization and was well practicable in a first case study.

Middle to Late Holocene vegetation history of the Upper Engadine (Swiss Alps): the role of man and fire

o reconstruct the vegetation and fire history of the Upper Engadine, two continuous sediment cores from Lej da Champfèr and Lej da San Murezzan (Upper Engadine Valley, southeastern Switzerland) were analysed for pollen, plant macrofossils, charcoal and kerogen. The chronologies of the cores are based on 38 radiocarbon dates. Pollen and macrofossil data suggest a rapid afforestation with Betula, Pinus sylvestris, Pinus cembra, and Larix decidua after the retreat of the glaciers from the lake catchments 11,000 cal years ago. This vegetation type persisted until ca. 7300 cal b.p. (5350 b.c.) when Picea replaced Pinus cembra. Pollen indicative of human impact suggests that in this high-mountain region of the central Alps strong anthropogenic activities began during the Early Bronze Age (3900 cal b.p., 1950 b.c.). Local human settlements led to vegetational changes, promoting the expansion of Larix decidua and Alnus viridis. In the case of Larix, continuing land use and especially grazing after fire led to the formation of Larix meadows. The expansion of Alnus viridis was directly induced by fire, as evidenced by time-series analysis. Subsequently, the process of forest conversion into open landscapes continued for millennia and reached its maximum at the end of the Middle Ages at around 500 cal b.p. (a.d. 1450).

Nuevo enlace ferrovial interprovincial Santa Fe-Entre Ríos : Una oportunidad de escala regional

La provincia de Santa Fe, Argentina, se encuentra en una localización estratégica. La potencialidad de la Hidrovía Paraná-Paraguay, los corredores bioceánicos viales y la red existente de trazados ferroviarios le confieren gran dinamismo a su integración económica, social, cultural y política, no sólo hacia el interior del propio territorio, sino también en relación a las demás provincias y más allá de los confines nacionales. La región capital, cuyo núcleo es la ciudad de Santa Fe, se encuentra caracterizada por factores realmente dinámicos: el riesgo hídrico que es intrínseco del área, la intensificación de los flujos económicos pasantes, los procesos de concentración demográfica y la creciente interdependencia entre ciudades, como es el casode Santa Fe y Paraná (capital de la vecina provincia de Entre Ríos), bajo un progresivo proceso de metropolización binuclear. Estos factores, sumados a la escasa cantidad de conexiones físicas sobre el sistema fluvial del río Paraná, han instalado la creciente necesidad de contar con un nuevo enlace interprovincial, adaptado a una hipótesis de reactivación ferroviaria. El proyecto se encuentra en fase preliminar. La cuestión principal gira en torno a la decisión de su localización específica, que deberá considerar el profundo efecto transformador propio de una obra civil de gran calibre, tanto en relación a la plataforma natural como al sistema de asentamientos humanos. También sus alcances territoriales y el impacto potencial en la micro, meso y macroescala. El propósito de la investigación reside en profundizar sobre las dimensiones involucradas por el proyecto (técnica, social, económica, ambiental, de movilidad), en la búsqueda de una toma de posición que permita echar luz sobre los escenarios más beneficiosos y/o menos desfavorables, en relación a las numerosas propuestas de localización que se encuentran actualmente en discusión. El resultado es una matriz analítica basada en variables cuantitativas y cualitativas, que permite una evaluación integral de las propuestas en función de considerar, en síntesis, el grado de impacto sobre la plataforma natural sustentante, sus capacidades para revertir las problemáticas territoriales actuales, y finalmente sus posibilidades para generar nuevos ejes de desarrollo en la región o bien potenciar los existentes. Se concluye que análisis preliminares de tipo pluridimensional son necesarios para someter a discusión, como instancia previa a estudios específicos de factibilidad y viabilidad, puesto que permiten una visualización integral de las variables intervinientes, marcando el camino hacia su adecuada ponderación. Palabras clave: enlace, multimodalidad, región, transformaciones

The Darién Region, Connecting Road of the Americas, among the expressions of hydric wealth, land vocation and the extractive exploration on its violated forms

Colombia has oceanic waters, catchment areas, like lakes, cienagas and swamps, water flows, like rivers, gorges and streams, small rivers and groundwater. The oceanic waters are the Caribbean Sea-1600 km and the Pacific Ocean-1300 km that comprise the north and west continental territory, respectively. Actually the Region of Darién, geographically bounded by the Carribean Sea to the north is becoming to be focused by studies due to use conflicts and disputes about water and a forest reserve on its territories. Considering its location, strategic at northwestern Colombia, frontier region with Central America, several dynamics are imposed. One of them is the implantation of a road system entitled Connecting Road of the Americas. This fact means the construction of an infra-structure that will cross a special zone formed by swamps and jungle known as The Darién Gap. Evidences of such interests are revealed by projects like the constructions of Turbo's Port in the Atlantic Ocean, Department of Antioquia and Tribugá's Port in the Pacific Ocean, Department of Choco, the mountain road and the coastal conection Colombia-Venezuela attending to the main intentions of the central region of the department (Metropolitan Area of Aburrá Valley-AMVA). Human settlements form a productive system, based on small and medium familiar agriculture's production, corresponding to the western portion and piedmont of Abibe's mountain at its antioquian portion, alluvial plan that forms the rivers on this area, the littoral zone that delimits the Carribean Sea, the Darién and Baudó Mountains and the gulf that receives, among other waters, the ones from Atrato and León, as well as the exodus process constitutes a forced exit resulting from actions of several armed groups. It can be identified intense historical, cultural, political and environmental relations, specially the last one associated with strategic ecosystems that are fundamental for the hydric regulation of the region, as well as food safety of the local inhabitants. Results from two researches (UPB, 2007 y 2010) reveals this quick transformation in the spatial re-configuration, demographical and economical indicators and the exacerbated fight for resources, damaging the extractive vocation in the Region. Path to commerce of illegalities (drugs, guns) and to implementation of the agroindustrial project for biofuel production, cooperation program that involves Venezuela, Brazil and Colombia. Appropriation modes allow the existence of strategies since global interests revealing a development logic that privileges the conception of an artificialized nature. Since the smallest portion of rural areas, specific modes of resources exploration are linked to imposed interests of transnational corporations. Disparate consequences are going deeper evidenced by social, technical and nature transformations, envisioning risks for the habitability's condition