Suchergebnisse

[Extract] In the midst of its worst fire crisis in living memory, the Indonesian government is taking a leap backward on forest protection. The recently signed Council of Palm Oil Producing Nations between Indonesia and Malaysia, signed at the weekend in Kuala Lumpur, will attempt to wind back palm oil companies' pledges to end deforestation.

Research during the past decade in the wet tropics region of Queensland has
yielded important insights into the responses of rainforest mammals to habitat
fragmentation. These findings are synthesised by assessing key processes in
fragmented landscapes, such as nonrandom deforestation patterns, edge effects,
dramatic shifts in predator assemblages, and the kinetics of local extinction.
Studies aimed at identifying ecological traits that affect the vulnerability
of mammal populations in fragmented forests are also reviewed. Collectively,
these investigations suggest that the composition and dynamics of fragment
biotas are strongly influenced by edge effects and by the matrix of modified
habitats surrounding fragments. Some implications of these findings for the
management of fragmented landscapes are considered.

Almost overnight, Jokowi has transformed from an environmental good-guy — someone who's battled destructive wildfires and noxious haze, tried to slow palm oil expansion and promoted several other eco-smart measures — into a nationalistic mouthpiece for the oil palm industry. Let's hope this 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' transformation of Jokowi is temporary — a kind of fleeting election madness that overtakes many politicians in the heat of battle. If not, Indonesia's forests and the endangered species living in them will be at even more risk.

O sistema de avaliação de impacto ambiental no Brasil ainda não é capaz de lidar com o desafio apresentado pelos planos plurianuais, que têm sido a forma de organizar as prioridades do governo desde 1996. Espera-se que esse desafio resulte no fortalecimento do sistema. Problemas genéricos com o processo de licenciamento incluem: a formação de lobby a favor da construção, antes de serem tomadas as decisões sobre a prudência dos projetos; o "efeito arrasto" de terceiros, devido à atividade econômica estimulada pela infraestrutura, que escapa do sistema de avaliação de impacto ambiental; uma forte tendência para empresas de consultoria produzirem relatórios favoráveis, como resultado de tentações embutidas no sistema; uma ênfase burocrática na existência de passos, tais como a submissão de relatórios e a realização de audiências públicas, sem considerar o conteúdo do que é dito; e a inabilidade do sistema de avaliação de impactos de considerar a cadeia de eventos que são deslanchados quando um determinado projeto é empreendido. O exemplo dos planos plurianuais, desde o Brasil em Ação (1996-1999) até o atual PAC- 2 (Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento-2, 2012-2015), deixa clara a necessidade de se repensar a maneira como grandes programas de desenvolvimento são decididos e promovidos, assim como a necessidade de se reconsiderar a prudência de vários projetos que os compõem. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Amazônia, desmatamento, impacto ambiental, rodovias. INFRASTRUCTURE IN AMAZONIA: lessons from Brazil's pluri-annual plans Philip M. Fearnside William Frederick Laurance Brazil's environmental impact assessment system is not yet capable of coping with the challenge presented by the pluri-annual plans that have been the means of organizing government priorities since 1996. It is hoped that this challenge results in strengthening of the system. Generic problems with the licensing process include stimulation of a lobby in favor of construction before decisions are made on the advisability of the projects, the "dragging effect" of third parties whereby economic activity is attracted to the infrastructure but escapes the environmental impact assessment system, a tendency for consulting firms to produce favorable reports, a bureaucratic emphasis on the existence of steps such as the submission of reports and the holding of public hearings without regard to the content of what is said, and the inability to take account of the chain of events unleashed when a given project is undertaken. The example of the pluri-annual plans from Brazil in Action (1996-1999) up to the current PAC-2 [Program for the Acceleration of Growth-2] (2012-2015) makes clear the need to rethink how major development decisions are made, and to reconsider a number of the plan's component projects. KEYWORDS: Amazonia, deforestation, environmental impact, highways. INFRASTRUCTURE EN AMAZONIE: les leçons des plans pluriannuels Philip Martin Fearnside William Frederick Laurance Le système d'évaluation de l'impact environnemental au Brésil n'est toujours pas en mesure de relever le défi des plans pluriannuels, élaborés depuis 1996 par le gouvernement, en vue d'organiser ses priorités. Ce défi devrait renforcer le système, c'est ce qu'on en attend. De nombreux problèmes d'ordre général sont liés aux processus d'autorisations, tels que: la formation de lobbying en faveur des constructions, avant même de connaître le bien fondé des projets; le fait "d'entraîner" des tiers, vu les activités économiques engendrées par une infrastructure qui échappe au système d'évaluation de l'impact sur l'environnement; une forte tendance qu'ont les cabinets de consultants d'émettre des rapports favorables, étant donné les tentations inhérentes au système; la lenteur de la bureaucratie pour franchir les étapes, qui exige l'élaboration de rapports et la réalisation d'auditions publiques, sans pour autant tenir compte du contenu de ce qui est dit; et aussi l'incapacité du système en matière d'évaluation des impacts qui doivent être pris en considération dans l'enchainement des événements lorsqu'un projet spécifique est entrepris. L'exemple des plans pluriannuels, allant du "Brésil en Action" (1996- 1999) au plan actuel "PAC-2" (Programme d'Accélération de la Croissance-2, 2012-2015), met en évidence la nécessité de repenser la façon de décider et de promouvoir les programmes de développement majeurs ainsi que le besoin de reconsidérer la raison d'être des projets qui les composent.MOTS-CLES: Amazonie, déforestation, impact environnemental, routes. Publicação Online do Caderno CRH: http://www.cadernocrh.ufba.br Publicação Online do Caderno CRH no Scielo: http://www.scielo.br/ccrh

O sistema de avaliação de impacto ambiental no Brasil ainda não é capaz de lidar com o desafio apresentado pelos planos plurianuais, que têm sido a forma de organizar as prioridades do governo desde 1996. Espera-se que esse desafio resulte no fortalecimento do sistema. Problemas genéricos com o processo de licenciamento incluem: a formação de lobby a favor da construção, antes de serem tomadas as decisões sobre a prudência dos projetos; o "efeito arrasto" de terceiros, devido à atividade econômica estimulada pela infraestrutura, que escapa do sistema de avaliação de impacto ambiental; uma forte tendência para empresas de consultoria produzirem relatórios favoráveis, como resultado de tentações embutidas no sistema; uma ênfase burocrática na existência de passos, tais como a submissão de relatórios e a realização de audiências públicas, sem considerar o conteúdo do que é dito; e a inabilidade do sistema de avaliação de impactos de considerar a cadeia de eventos que são deslanchados quando um determinado projeto é empreendido. O exemplo dos planos plurianuais, desde o Brasil em Ação (1996-1999) até o atual PAC-2 (Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento-2, 2012-2015), deixa clara a necessidade de se repensar a maneira como grandes programas de desenvolvimento são decididos e promovidos, assim como a necessidade de se reconsiderar a prudência de vários projetos que os compõem.

Brazil's environmental impact assessment system is not yet capable of coping with the challenge presented by the pluri-annual plans that have been the means of organizing government priorities since 1996. It is hoped that this challenge results in strengthening of the system. Generic problems with the licensing process include stimulation of a lobby in favor of construction before decisions are made on the advisability of the projects, the "dragging effect" of third parties whereby economic activity is attracted to the infrastructure but escapes the environmental impact assessment system, a tendency for consulting firms to produce favorable reports, a bureaucratic emphasis on the existence of steps such as the submission of reports and the holding of public hearings without regard to the content of what is said, and the inability to take account of the chain of events unleashed when a given project is undertaken. The example of the pluri-annual plans from Brazil in Action (1996-1999) up to the current PAC-2 [Program for the Acceleration of Growth-2] (2012-2015) makes clear the need to rethink how major development decisions are made, and to reconsider a number of the plan's component projects.

Data from 152 plots (0·8 ha) and 659 small quadrats (0·04 ha)
were used to assess rooting activity by feral pigs in forest communities in
north Queensland. Study sites spanned the rainforest–sclerophyll-forest
gradient along the western margin of the wet tropics region. Detailed
floristic, physiognomic and edaphic data were recorded for each plot and used
to develop a predictive model of pig activity in these habitats.
The most striking result was that rooting activity varied markedly among
different forest types. Wet sclerophyll forests consistently had the greatest
area disturbed, followed by mesic and dry sclerophyll forests. Both rainforest
and rainforest-invaded sclerophyll forests had relatively low activity levels.
There were some differences in rooting activity among different geographic
regions, but few effects of local topography, soil type or proximity to water.
A mathematical model was developed to predict the ecological associations of
pig rooting activity, using generalised linear modeling. Pig rooting was
associated with certain attributes of wet sclerophyll forests and with slopes
and ridge tops, but the model had limited effectiveness, with fitted values
explaining 16% of the actual variation in rooting activity. This may
have resulted because microhabitat preferences of pigs varied among different
forest types and seasons. We suggest that pigs could be consuming fungal
fruit-bodies in sclerophyll forests, and if so they may compete for food with
some native, mycophagous mammals.

We are currently living in the most explosive era of infrastructure expansion in human history. By 2050, it is projected that there will be an additional 25 million kilometers of paved roads on Earth—enough to encircle the planet more than 600 times. Around nine‐tenths of these roads will be built in developing nations and tropical regions, which sustain many of the planet's most biologically diverse and environmentally importantecosystems. Unfortunately, the contemporary avalanche of new infrastructure is having severe impacts on many ecosystems and species. However, not all infrastructure is 'bad' for the environment. In appropriate contexts, new infrastructure can yield sizeable social and economic benefits with only limited environmental costs. For instance, road improvements in already‐settled areas can facilitate increases in agricultural production and improve rural livelihoods, by giving farmers better access to urban markets, fertilizers, and new agricultural technologies. Our team at James Cook University, Cairns are working in conjunction with researchers from the University of Papua New Guinea, the Papua New Guinean government and non‐government organizations to devise and implement spatial land‐use planning tools that will minimize the environmental costs and maximize the socioeconomic benefits of road expansion.