Editorial
Revista Ambiente & Sociedade/The Journal of Environment & Society, published by Anppas1 1 ANPPAS Brazilian Association for Post-Graduate Studies and Research on the Environment and Society , begins 2013 with a historic milestone: this is our first bilingual issue. This initiative is in line with our continuous process of editorial innovation which not only foresees an increase in the number of publications to four per year, but also aims to boost our readership by offering an English version of published articles. In this way, we expect to further consolidate our intellectual and academic links with international researchers, allowing Revista Ambiente & Sociedade/the Journal of Environment & Society - an academic publication which has been highly regarded throughout its history - to significantly increase the number of its readers and provide the opportunity for Brazilian and Latin American research to become more widely disseminated, crossing borders and gaining new audiences. This innovation was made possible by the financial support of CNPq2 2 CNPq Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development. , which is providing part of the editing and translation costs for 2013. In this issue, only one article was not translated into English.
Volume 16-1 of the Journal of Environment & Society starts with the article Sustainability in the period of conferences on the environment and development an insight into ecology and economics by Roberto Donato Silva Junior and Leila da Costa Ferreira. The authors present an analysis of the academic production in the field of ecology and economics on the issue of sustainability. It charts the conceptual transformations of the term during the period encompassed by the UN Conference on the Environment and Development - Rio 92 and the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development - Rio+20. The authors conclude that economics and ecology operate by employing the same epistemological "register" in that their analytic categories relate to each other without major conceptual disparities or large semantic conflicts. However, the incorporation of "social issues" and the dialogue with the social sciences only takes place in a small number of the academic papers analyzed.
The three following articles deal with the topic of water management from different perspectives. In the article Environmental justice and water resources governance practices: re-introducing issues of equality to the agenda, Ana Paula Francalanza, Amanda Martins Jacob and Rodrigo Furtado Eça analyze how social vulnerability linked to environmental health is associated to environmental justice in Brazil. By looking at environmental injustice from the point of view of inequality of access to water in both quantity and quality which are adequate for human supply in the urban environment, the authors discuss the consequences of decision-making processes in relation to water resources management in face of the lack or weak participation of low-income social groups within water basin committees. In this context, good water governance practices, which are characterized by integrating water resources policies with soil occupation and basic sanitation policies, can lead to a reduction in vulnerabilities and environmental injustices.
Still on the subject of water management, in the article Water Framework Directive: a critical review and its potential application in Brazil Sheila Cardoso-Silva, Teresa Ferreira and Marcelo Luiz Martins Pompêo discuss whether it is viable to apply the principles of the European water resources management model to the Brazilian context. The question which guided this study was whether it is possible to apply the concepts of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) to Brazil and, more specifically, to fresh water and surface water bodies, with a view to improving the Brazilian water resources management system. By critically analyzing the European model, the authors conclude that despite its promising potential, the WFD is not easy to implement and its applicability to Brazilian situations should be viewed with caution as this would require adaptations to the Brazilian social, political and economic reality.
In the article Water supply and sewerage system: comparative study of management models in Santa Catarina, José Roberto Paludo and Julian Borba conduct a comparative analysis of the management of water and sanitary sewage provision in two municipalities in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, which adopted different management models, one based on joint management and the other on a privatized model. The authors argue that both the privatized model, focusing on financial resources of the operating company and the joint management model geared towards social participation, are affected by the socio-economic context and the ideological-political positioning of governments in power. The main differences between the two management models do not refer to economic results (the cost or the tariff) or technical results (access targets), but to environmental aspects and social inclusion, which are better addressed by the joint management model.
In the area of political ecology, José Irivaldo Alves Oliveira Silva, in his article Conservation of Natural Resources in the Semiarid region and development: the case of private preservation areas, analyzes the model which establishes private conservation units known as Private Reserves of Natural Heritage - RPPNs - within the semiarid biome, in the Brazilian northeast region. The author investigates contradictions and environmental conflicts resulting from the implementation of this model of conservation policy, within a social context marked by land concentration, a low human development index, the marginalization of social groups and inequality in power between the actors involved in these conflicts. He also discusses the relationship between public and private with regard to the rights and duties relating to conservation units, and he analyzes the appropriation of the environmental discourse by the region's landowners and the tension between conservation and agrarian policies in the semiarid region.
In the article Development of the Brazilian REDD strategy: the simplification of the debate which prioritizes the Amazon Biome, Caroline Almeida Souza analyzes the mechanism for Reducing Emissions due to Deforestation and Degradation-REDD, which aims to provide financial support for initiatives which mitigate climate change. The author argues that by prioritizing the Amazon, the Brazilian strategy does not take advantage of the potential of other biomes in the country. Finally, she highlights the importance of reviewing the development of this strategy so as to take advantage of the immediate potential of each biome, encouraging the maximum reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the scope of this mechanism within the Brazilian scenario.
Silvia Stuchi Cruz and Sônia Regina Paulino, in their article Local use of resources from Clean Development Mechanism projects in landfill sites in the City of São Paulo, analyze the generation and employment of resources resulting from certified emission reductions from Clean Development Mechanism projects-CDM, implemented in the Bandeirantes and São João landfills in the city of São Paulo. The authors argue that these resources could be effective tools for sustainable local development, funding projects which were discussed with and include the participation of stakeholders. However, based on documental research and interviews, they noted that the demands on the part of society were not being taken into account. They further observed deficiencies in the process for monitoring the application of these funds.
In the article Rice husks and scrap tires co-processing and reverse logistics in cement manufacturing, Miguel Afonso Sellitto, Nelson Kadel Jr., Miriam Borchardt, Giancarlo Medeiros Pereira and Jeferson Domingues analyze co-processing practices in cement manufacturing supported by reverse logistics operations which re-introduce used products and waste to the production cycle. By using a case study, the authors observed that these operations led to a significant reduction in burning fossil fuels, in the exploitation rate of natural deposits and in transport costs. The authors concluded that co-processing practices may be a sustainable energy solution in cement manufacturing.
With this set of articles Revista Ambiente & Sociedade/the Journal of Environment & Society enters a new phase where the greatest challenge is ensuring its four-monthly publication. A further challenge is to increase the number of reviewers who, from the start, have played a fundamental role in the Journal's success and also in relation to the growing visibility of this publication, both in Brazil and abroad. They have facilitated the dissemination of Brazilian and Latin American academic research, and that of other countries, through a Brazilian publication.
Publication Dates
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Publication in this collection
10 May 2013 -
Date of issue
Mar 2013
