Subject(s)
Conservation of Natural Resources , Ecosystem , Environmental Policy , Brazil , Climate Change/economics , Conservation of Natural Resources/economics , Conservation of Natural Resources/legislation & jurisprudence , Conservation of Natural Resources/trends , Environmental Policy/economics , Environmental Policy/legislation & jurisprudence , Environmental Policy/trendsSubject(s)
Conservation of Natural Resources , Environmental Policy , Federal Government , Forestry , Forests , Politics , Brazil , Climate Change , Conservation of Natural Resources/legislation & jurisprudence , Conservation of Natural Resources/methods , Conservation of Natural Resources/trends , Environmental Policy/legislation & jurisprudence , Environmental Policy/trends , Forestry/legislation & jurisprudence , Forestry/methods , Forestry/trendsABSTRACT
The Amazon forest carbon sink is declining, mainly as a result of land-use and climate change1-4. Here we investigate how changes in law enforcement of environmental protection policies may have affected the Amazonian carbon balance between 2010 and 2018 compared with 2019 and 2020, based on atmospheric CO2 vertical profiles5,6, deforestation7 and fire data8, as well as infraction notices related to illegal deforestation9. We estimate that Amazonia carbon emissions increased from a mean of 0.24 ± 0.08 PgC year-1 in 2010-2018 to 0.44 ± 0.10 PgC year-1 in 2019 and 0.52 ± 0.10 PgC year-1 in 2020 (± uncertainty). The observed increases in deforestation were 82% and 77% (94% accuracy) and burned area were 14% and 42% in 2019 and 2020 compared with the 2010-2018 mean, respectively. We find that the numbers of notifications of infractions against flora decreased by 30% and 54% and fines paid by 74% and 89% in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Carbon losses during 2019-2020 were comparable with those of the record warm El Niño (2015-2016) without an extreme drought event. Statistical tests show that the observed differences between the 2010-2018 mean and 2019-2020 are unlikely to have arisen by chance. The changes in the carbon budget of Amazonia during 2019-2020 were mainly because of western Amazonia becoming a carbon source. Our results indicate that a decline in law enforcement led to increases in deforestation, biomass burning and forest degradation, which increased carbon emissions and enhanced drying and warming of the Amazon forests.
Subject(s)
Carbon Dioxide , Carbon Sequestration , Conservation of Natural Resources , Environmental Policy , Law Enforcement , Rainforest , Biomass , Brazil , Carbon Dioxide/analysis , Carbon Dioxide/metabolism , Environmental Policy/legislation & jurisprudence , Atmosphere/chemistry , Wildfires/statistics & numerical data , Conservation of Natural Resources/statistics & numerical data , El Nino-Southern Oscillation , Droughts/statistics & numerical dataSubject(s)
Biodiversity , Conservation of Natural Resources , Federal Government , Parks, Recreational , Travel , Animals , Automobiles , Birds/physiology , Brazil , Conservation of Natural Resources/legislation & jurisprudence , Endangered Species , Environmental Policy/legislation & jurisprudence , Female , Forestry , Male , NoiseABSTRACT
Cooperation is thought to be a necessary condition to solve collective action dilemmas such as climate change or the sustainable use of common pool resources. Yet, it is poorly understood how situations pervaded by thresholds shape the behaviour of people facing collective dilemmas. Here we provide empirical evidence that resource users facing thresholds maintain on average cooperative behaviours in the sense of maximising their individual earnings while ensuring future group opportunities. A framed field experiment in the form of a dynamic game with 256 Colombian fishers helped us investigate individual behavioural responses to the existence of thresholds, risk and uncertainty. Thresholds made fishers extract less fish compared to situation without thresholds, but risk had a stronger effect on reducing individual fishing effort. Contrary to previous expectations, cooperation did not break down. If cooperation can be maintained in the face of thresholds, then communicating uncertainty is more policy-relevant than estimating precisely where tipping points lay in social-ecological systems.
Subject(s)
Conservation of Natural Resources/statistics & numerical data , Cooperative Behavior , Farmers/psychology , Fisheries/statistics & numerical data , Uncertainty , Colombia , Conservation of Natural Resources/legislation & jurisprudence , Decision Making , Environmental Policy/legislation & jurisprudence , Games, Experimental , Humans , Risk-Taking , Surveys and Questionnaires/statistics & numerical dataSubject(s)
Conservation of Natural Resources/legislation & jurisprudence , Environmental Policy/legislation & jurisprudence , Environmental Policy/trends , Global Warming/legislation & jurisprudence , Wetlands , Wildfires/prevention & control , Wildfires/statistics & numerical data , Animals , Brazil , Conservation of Natural Resources/economics , Conservation of Natural Resources/trends , Environmental Policy/economics , Global Warming/economics , Global Warming/prevention & control , Global Warming/statistics & numerical data , International Cooperation/legislation & jurisprudence , Rain , Risk Assessment , Tropical Climate , Wildfires/economicsABSTRACT
Enhanced silicate rock weathering (ERW), deployable with croplands, has potential use for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) removal (CDR), which is now necessary to mitigate anthropogenic climate change1. ERW also has possible co-benefits for improved food and soil security, and reduced ocean acidification2-4. Here we use an integrated performance modelling approach to make an initial techno-economic assessment for 2050, quantifying how CDR potential and costs vary among nations in relation to business-as-usual energy policies and policies consistent with limiting future warming to 2 degrees Celsius5. China, India, the USA and Brazil have great potential to help achieve average global CDR goals of 0.5 to 2 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year with extraction costs of approximately US$80-180 per tonne of CO2. These goals and costs are robust, regardless of future energy policies. Deployment within existing croplands offers opportunities to align agriculture and climate policy. However, success will depend upon overcoming political and social inertia to develop regulatory and incentive frameworks. We discuss the challenges and opportunities of ERW deployment, including the potential for excess industrial silicate materials (basalt mine overburden, concrete, and iron and steel slag) to obviate the need for new mining, as well as uncertainties in soil weathering rates and land-ocean transfer of weathered products.
Subject(s)
Agriculture , Carbon Dioxide/isolation & purification , Crops, Agricultural , Geologic Sediments/chemistry , Global Warming/prevention & control , Goals , Silicates/chemistry , Atmosphere/chemistry , Brazil , China , Environmental Policy/economics , Environmental Policy/legislation & jurisprudence , Global Warming/economics , India , Iron/isolation & purification , Mining , Politics , Probability , Silicates/isolation & purification , Steel/isolation & purification , Temperature , Time Factors , United StatesABSTRACT
Recomenda à Presidência da República e ao Ministério do Meio Ambiente que inclua o Ministério da Saúde no Conselho Nacional do Meio Ambiente (CONAMA), em cumprimento da lei vigente e em atenção à missão institucional do Ministério da Saúde.
Subject(s)
Advisory Committees/organization & administration , Federal Government , Environmental Policy/legislation & jurisprudenceABSTRACT
Recomenda: 1. Ao Ministério do Meio Ambiente: A retomada de uma política de preservação sustentável do meio ambiente, especialmente uma ação emergente para estancar as queimadas e o desmatamento, tanto na Amazônia, quanto em outras regiões do país. 2. Ao Congresso Nacional: a) Que reconheça a veracidade e seriedade dos dados publicizados pelo INPE sobre o aumento do desmatamento no país. b) Que instaure uma Comissão Parlamentar de Inquérito (CPI) para a investigação das responsabilidades pelos atos de desmatamento ilegal e aumento das queimadas na Amazônia Legal e em outros Estados. 3. Ao Conselho Nacional do Ministério Público: Que solicite aos órgãos de fiscalização, os motivos pela não realização das ações fiscalizatórias na proteção ao ambiente, detendo o desmatamento, garantindo-se a retomadas das políticas de preservação sustentável do meio ambiente.
Subject(s)
Environmental Health/legislation & jurisprudence , Conservation of Natural Resources/legislation & jurisprudence , Environmental Policy/legislation & jurisprudenceABSTRACT
An overview about the presence of arsenic (As) in groundwaters of Argentina, made by a transdisciplinary group of experts is presented. Aspects on As occurrence, effects of As on human health, regulations regarding the maximum allowable amount of As in drinking water as well as bottled water, and analytical techniques for As determination are presented. The most affected region in Argentina is the Chaco-Pampean plain, covering around 10â¯millionâ¯km2, where approximately 88% of 86 groundwater samples collected in 2007 exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline value. In the Salí river basin, As concentrations ranged from 11.4 to 1660⯵g/L, with 100% of the samples above the WHO guideline value. In the Argentine Altiplano (Puna) and Subandean valleys, 61% of 62 samples collected from surface and groundwaters exceeded the WHO limit. Thus, it can be estimated that, at present, the population at risk in Argentina reaches around four million people. Pathologies derived from the chronic consumption of As, the metabolism of As in the human body and the effects of the different As chemical forms, gathered under the name HACRE (hidroarsenicismo crónico regional endémico in Spanish, for chronic regional endemic hydroarsenicism) are described. Regarding the regulations, the 10⯵g/L limit recommended by the WHO and the United States Environmental Protection Agency has been incorporated in the Argentine Food Code, but the application is still on hold. In addition, there is disparity regarding the maximal admitted values in several provinces. Considerations about the As concentrations in bottled water are also presented. A survey indicates that there are several Argentine laboratories with the suitable equipment for As determination at 10⯵g/L, although 66% of them are concentrated in Buenos Aires City, and in the Santa Fe, Córdoba and Buenos Aires provinces. Conclusions and recommendations of this first part are provided.