Biodiversity & Bio-fuels in Brazilian Agricultural Areas (original) (raw)
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Strategic Environmental Assessment for Planning Sugarcane Expansion: a Framework Proposal
The Brazilian sugarcane industry has experienced a rapid expansion during the 2000s. The prediction of the sugarcane crop expansion in the coming decades raises controversy about social and environmental impacts, which are partially evaluated in the current energy planning. In order to integrate these discussions to the decision-making, this article aims at presenting a Strategic Environmental Assessment framework to support the sugarcane expansion planning as presented in the national Decennial Energy Plan. The main positive aspects of this framework include: the integration of environmental, social and economic issues providing strategic focus and sustainability to the decision-making; the proposition of sustainability indicators whose data are available for watershed scale; and guidelines for analyzing alternative scenarios established in the energy planning. The authors believe this framework allows integrating sustainability into the decision-making of the sugarcane expansion planning supported by the Strategic Environmental Assessment.
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2015
The potential for sugarcane ethanol from Brazil to mitigate GHG emissions is undeniable, but the way that ethanol is produced during the agricultural and industrial phases will ultimately determine its benefits to society. In this paper, we evaluate the environmental impacts of sugarcane agriculture and ethanol production in Brazil as management practices continue to change and production expands to new frontiers. We focused our evaluation on the impacts on water, atmosphere, and soils, including how the application of organic and inorganic fertilizers and the accumulation of crop residue in the field affect emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG). We also addressed the impacts of land use changes on threatened biomes and discussed some of the present obstacles regarding conservation and restoration efforts. We concluded that, since a similar assessment was put forth in 2008, our knowledge about the environmental impacts of sugarcane ethanol in Brazil has advanced with regard to soil degradation, nitrogen dynamics, and soil carbon stocks. However, more information is still needed about the impacts of the increasing use of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers in sugarcane agriculture, especially on water resources. Furthermore, without a better understanding about how landscape fragmentation affects the biodiversity of terrestrial and aquatic tropical ecosystems and the services they provide, policies created to protect and restore them may be ineffective. On the other hand, the use of presently available scientific information to end unsustainable farming and the implementation of conservation strategies proposed by the Brazilian Forest Code could be a first step to guarantee that ethanol is produced more sustainably in Brazil.
Environmental, land-use and economic implications of Brazilian sugarcane expansion 1996–2006
Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 2009
Governments are promoting biofuels and the resulting changes in land use and crop reallocation to biofuels production have raised concerns about impacts on environment and food security. The promotion of biofuels has also been questioned based on suggested marginal contribution to greenhouse gas emissions reduction, partly due to induced land use change causing greenhouse gas emissions. This study reports how the expansion of sugarcane in Brazil during 1996–2006 affected indicators for environment, land use and economy. The results indicate that sugarcane expansion did not in general contribute to direct deforestation in the traditional agricultural region where most of the expansion took place. The amount of forests on farmland in this area is below the minimum stated in law and the situation did not change over the studied period. Sugarcane expansion resulted in a significant reduction of pastures and cattle heads and higher economic growth than in neighboring areas. It could not be established to what extent the discontinuation of cattle production induced expansion of pastures in other areas, possibly leading to indirect deforestation. However, the results indicate that a possible migration of the cattle production reached further than the neighboring of expansion regions. Occurring at much smaller rates, expansion of sugarcane in regions such as the Amazon and the Northeast region was related to direct deforestation and competition with food crops, and appear not to have induced economic growth. These regions are not expected to experience substantial increases of sugarcane in the near future, but mitigating measures are warranted.
Energy Policy, 2011
Three sustainability aspects of bioethanol production in Brazil were considered in this paper. Results show that the recent expansion of sugarcane has mostly occurred at the expense of pasturelands and other temporary crops, and that the hypothesis of induced deforestation is not confirmed. Avoided greenhouse gas emissions due to the use of anhydrous ethanol blended with gasoline in Brazil (E25) were estimated as 78%, while this figure would be 70% in case of its use in Europe (E10). Conversely, considering the direct impacts of land use change, the avoided emissions (e.g., ethanol consumed in Europe) would vary from À 2.2% (i.e., emissions slightly higher than gasoline) to 164.8% (a remarkable carbon capture effect) depending on the management practices employed previous to land use change and also along sugarcane cropping. In addition, it was shown that where the bulk of sugarcane production takes place, in state of São Paulo, positive socio-economic aspects are observed. The general conclusion is that a significant share of ethanol production in Brazil can be considered sustainable, in particular regarding the three aspects assessed. However, as production conditions are extremely heterogeneous, a generalization of results is not possible.
Journal of Applied Ecology, 2012
1. Brazil is one of the world's major producers of food and biofuels. Agricultural expansion has driven rapid economic development but has also had major impacts on biodiversity and the conservation of ecosystem services in the country. 2. Here, we analyse recent advances in applied ecological research on the consequences of agricultural expansion for biodiversity in Brazil, identify knowledge gaps, and discuss how ecological science can help guide the development of more sustainable agricultural systems. 3. The majority of native vegetation in Brazilian biomes is found within private lands, emphasizing the importance of recent reforms to the Brazilian Forest Act legislation. Using the example of the Forest Act, we critically assess the extent to which ecological research has provided guidance for policy decisions to date. We identify important knowledge gaps regarding the ecological impacts of agricultural expansion in Brazil and the general disconnection between ecological science and environmental policy processes. 4. Synthesis and applications. Increased efforts are needed from both researchers and policy makers to engage from the earliest stage possible in the identification, assessment and communication of environmental issues and possible management solutions. Narrowing the gap between research and policy is essential if the academic community is to capitalize effectively on recent governmental investments in research and provide the necessary evidence basis for reconciling agricultural production and environmental conservation in Brazil.
Summary for Policymakers - Environmental Power of Biodiversity: an innovative path for Brazil
2020
This summary for policymakers (SPM) objectively summarizes the Thematic Assessment "Environmental Power of Biodiversity: an innovative path for Brazil," a joint enterprise of the Brazilian Panel on Climate Change (PBMC, in Portuguese) and the Brazilian Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (BPBES) 1. The Assessment analyzes scientific literature, especially from the Fifth Assessment Report of IPCC, the reports of the PBMC 2 , the IPBES and the BPBES on the impacts on biodiversity and Brazilian ecosystems and the resulting socioecological vulnerability. Furthermore, from the revision of strategies and actions of mitigation and Ecosystem-based adaptations to climate change, this Assessment discusses proposed innovative pathways to sustainable development for the country. This initiative relied on the financial support of the MCTIC 3 , via National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq, in Portuguese), and the Boticário Group Foundation for Protection of Nature 4. The initiative also receives the institutional support of the Biota/ Fapesp program 5 , the Brazilian Society for Science Progress, the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, and the Brazilian Foundation for Sustainable Development. The report in which this SPM was drawn and the SPM in itself are available for download at the BPBES, PBMC, and Boticário Group Foundation webpages.
Biomass and Bioenergy, 2017
Sugarcane ethanol is an alternative to fossil fuels that can mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and offer socioeconomic benefits, but at the same time have a series of negative impacts. Brazil is the second largest producer of fuel ethanol globally, with this production predicted to almost double over the next 15 years. However sugarcane ethanol production in the country has been shown to interact with a range of ecosystem services. It is only when such interactions are understood that we can fully determine the potential trade-offs, synergies and sustainability outcomes of biofuel production in the country. This paper explores the local perceptions about the impacts of sugarcane production on ecosystem services in two municipalities in the state of Sao Paulo with significant sugarcane production: Capivari and Rancharia. Impact perceptions have been elicited through interviews with local residents, with the results showing that perceptions vary between the two study sites and are affected considerably by the different local experiences with sugarcane production. For example, although sugarcane farming has been traditionally performed in Capivari, it has been Rancharia that has experienced more recently a rapid sugarcane expansion that has caused considerable changes in land use and farming patterns. Interview results also suggest that the negative effects of sugarcane farming can be reduced through the adoption of good agricultural practices and the enforcement of existing laws, as many respondents cited considerable improvements in ecosystem health from such actions. Assessing the perception of local communities such as the one reported in this paper can be crucial in designing policies and planning land uses that enhance the sustainability of biofuel production.
Spatial Variation in Environmental Impacts of Sugarcane Expansion in Brazil
Land, 2020
In the past decades, sugarcane production in Brazil has expanded rapidly to meet increasing ethanol demand. The large majority of this expansion occurred in Sao Paulo state. We used an integrated approach considering location-specific biophysical characteristics to determine the environmental impacts of sugarcane expansion and their spatial variation in Sao Paulo state (2004–2015). The included environmental impacts are greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, biodiversity, soil erosion, and water quantity. All impacts were integrated into a single environmental performance index to determine trade-offs between impacts. Our results show a strong spatial variation in environmental impacts and trade-offs between them. The magnitude and direction of these impacts are mostly driven by the type of land use change and by the heterogeneity of the biophysical conditions. Areas where expansion of sugar cane has resulted in mostly negative environmental impacts are located in the center and east of th...
Renewable Energy, 2016
This paper discusses the oil palm expansion in the State of Par a, located in the Brazilian Amazon. It focuses on land use change aspects put in perspective with the sustainability criteria for biofuels of the European Renewable Energy Directive (RED). The study shows that palm oil production for energy purposes appears very promising in Brazil. In parallel to local targets, the mandatory European biofuel targets represent an important market potential for the country. It seems too early to know whether the export of palm oil biodiesel from Brazil to Europe will be significant or not. However, it is likely that palm oil exports for biodiesel production in Europe occur in the coming years. Although the RED includes some essential conditions for sustainable production of biofuels, we argue that the values imposed for calculating carbon stocks do not reflect diversity of pastureland where oil palm expansion occurs in the Brazilian Amazon. The use of certain land areas authorised within the RED may also represent a significant limit in terms of biodiversity protection. This study provides new insights that may be used to improve life cycle assessment of biodiesel from palm oil in order to avoid unintended policy consequences.