Bethany College
Department of History and Political Science
POLS 321, INTD 112 - Nature and Society
Professor: Clinton Maffett
* This course is a required course in the interdisciplinary environmental studies major and an elective in the political science major. Please note that it was offered last year as an elective January Term course but is now a permanent course offering in the Political Science major.
INTRODUCTION: This course has been designed as an examination of the interactive and problematic relationship between human society and the natural environment. Although it began as a course in the international political economy of natural resources, it is now the basic course offered as part of the environmental literacy requirement. This course is interdisciplinary and approaches the human-nature relationship from a variety of perspectives and schools of thought. The course also encompasses levels of analysis in that it examines the human-nature relationship from the local level to the international level. In the process it utilizes the comparativist method of analysis through its examination of many different countries and each deals with various environmental problems. For example, three countries - the United States, Brazil, and the Russian Federation - are used as in depth case studies representing countries that differ culturally and that are at different stages of development.
It is important to note that this course utilizes a conceptual framework which includes four basic components each requiring approximately two weeks of discussion. The first component focuses on ecological understanding and presents a global schematic which outlines the various issues/problems and interrelationships of the global environmental crisis. The second component focuses on the environmental economics of the various environmental problems. The third component focuses on the philosophy and ethics of the human-nature relationship. The fourth component focuses on the politics of the environment while the fifth, and last, component, consists of specific country case studies. This conceptual framework is then applied to the specific country case studies of the United States, Brazil and Russia.
REQUIRED READINGS :
Worldwatch Institute, State of the World: l998
Clinton Maffett, Society and Nature
Various reading assignments to be handed out by the professor
ASSIGNMENTS:
1) Students are required to prepare a paper of 15-20 TYPED pages as the basis for a class presentation. Two copies of the paper must be handed in at class in the week prior to the presentation. One of these copies will be put on Reserve for other students to read. The presentations should be of approximately 15 minutes duration and give a broad review of the material in the paper. A late penalty of a letter grade per day will be enforced.
2) Each student must also write a 1500 word critique, about 6 typed pages double-spaced (typed), of 2 other students. The critique must be handed in at the class when the paper being critiqued is presented. A late penalty of a letter grade per day will be enforced.
3) A three-hour final examination at the time prescribed by the Registrar.
The allocation of grades for these assignments is as follows:
Term paper - 30%/presentation - 15 %/critiques - 15%/final exam - 40%.
*Essay topics, term paper, presentation, and critique guidelines will be handed out by the professor. Students are reminded that proper credit must be given to their sources. When another author's words are used they must be identified as quotations, by using either quotation marks or an indented quotation. The use of another author's particular ideas must also be credited in a note. All work submitted for this class must be the student's original work done for this class.
OFFICE HOURS :
Monday through Thursday from 1-3:00 p.m. in Cochran 322. I can be reached by phone at X7406 or e-mail at cmaffett@bethany.mail.edu.
Outline of Readings and Lectures
Ecology and the Global Environmental Crisis
(Week One)
A. Crisis or not? biological systems and the global economy
Worldwatch, State of the World, chapter 1
Clinton Maffett, Society and Nature, chapter 2
B. Spatial and temporal dimensions of the nature-society relationship:
A historical overview
C. Demographics is destiny: population and the Cairo conference
Worldwatch, State of the World, chapter 2
Clinton Maffett, Society and Nature, chapter 1
(Week Two)
D. A global environmental schematic - biosphere, croplands,
forests, fisheries, energy and non-energy resources, Grazing Lands
E. Natural phenomena and science: research, sources, modeling, and interpretation
Worldwatch, State of the World, chapter 2
II.Environmental Economics
(Week Three)
A. Global environmental schematic continued - the economic relationships
Worldwatch, State of the World, chapter 3
Clinton Maffett, Society and Nature, chapter 3
B. Neo-classical or bio-economics?
C. Neo-malthusians vs. cornucopians: the great debate
(Week Four)
D. Environmental protection and the economics of regulatory
policy: cost benefit, risk analysis, etc.
E. The five paradigms of environmental management
Clinton Maffett, Society and Nature, chapter 5
III. The Philosophy and Ethics of Nature
(Week Five)
A. The anthropocentric and biocentric view of nature
Clinton Maffett, Society and Nature, chapter 4
B. Religion and nature: exploitation or stewardship?
(Week Six)
C. Issues: Do we consume too much? Should we be responsible
for future generations? Development vs. Extinction?
IV. The Politics of Ecology (Political Ecology)
(Week Seven)
A. Environmental protection and the need for "good" government
Worldwatch, State of the World, chapter 7 and 8
Clinton Maffett, Society and Nature, chapter 7 and 8
B. Global environmental politics: the emergence of international environmental regimes
(Week Eight)
C. International security and the environment: expansion or redefinition?
Worldwatch, State of the World, chapter 9 and 10
D. Crisis or not?
Clinton Maffett, Society and Nature, chapter 9
(Week Nine)
Country Case Studies
V. The United States
A. Public Awareness in the l980s: mainstreaming the environment
Clinton Maffett, Society and Nature, chapter 10
B. Regulatory policy in the l990s: toward a new paradigm?
(Week Ten)
C. International environmental management and U.S. policy
D. Salient issues for 2000 and beyond
(Week Eleven)
VI. Brazil and Sustainable Development
A. The political economy of environmental protection
Society and Nature , chapter 11
B. Saving the Mata Atlantica rainforest
Film, Simulation Proposed Action Plan
(Week Twelve)
C. Brazilian civil society: the role of environmental NGOs
Handout: "IBAM and the Environment"
D. Sao Paulo State: meeting the challenges of Agenda 21
Handout: "Rio on the Road"
E. Rio de Janeiro: meeting the challenges of Agenda 21
(Week Thirteen)
F. Amazonas State: economic development, human rights, and preservation - 2 Lectures
Simulation exercise
G. Curitiba: an urban model of sustainable development?
(Week Thirteen)
VII. Russia
A. The environmental legacy of Soviet communism
Clinton Maffett, Society and Nature, chapter 12
B. The problem of pollution and health
C. The nuclear program
D. Siberian forests
(Week Fourteen)
VIII. Class presentations
NARRATIVE
This course has been developed in conjunction with the Environmental Literacy Foundation, created by this author, whose mission is to create an environmentally literate citizenry through the establishment of environmental education as a general course requirement at American colleges and universities. The traits of an environmentally literate student are an awareness and appreciation of a student's natural and human built environment; a knowledge of natural systems and ecological concepts; an understanding of the range of current environmental issues; and the ability to use investigative, critical-thinking, and problem-solving skills toward the resolution of environmental issues. It follows that these are also the key objectives of environmental education.
Nearly every state in the country currently has an environmental education program in some form for students in K-12. However, few states have comprehensive programs of the sort that can foster widespread environmental literacy in the populace. Comprehensive programs infuse environmental education into most or all subject areas and grade levels through curriculum requirements; subject-area frameworks, pre-service and in-service teacher training, opportunities for small grants for teachers and schools, resource guides and networks, statewide advisory councils, interagency networks and more. Across the nation, several "model" states have achieved all or most of the components of such a program although much work remains to be done.
On the university level in America there are many institutions which offer environmentally related courses and programs yet the students enrolled in such courses and programs remains a minority. While many institutions offer environmentally related minors or majors, they do not require even basic instruction in environmental literacy. Thus, the vast majority of students are not enrolled in programs focused on the environment; most never even enroll in a general environmental studies course. Colleges and universities have been challenged to increase their role in developing environmentally literate citizenry. Agenda 21, the blueprint for action adopted by the world's leaders at the l992 United Nations Earth Summit, calls for aggressive measures to strengthen the environmental education received by the world's citizens. In a similar vein, the Council of State Government's l994 book of Suggested State Legislation includes model environmental education legislation that is recommended for adoption by state legislatures. The model legislation states: "Universities, colleges and vocational institutions are required to implement programs that encourage environmental literacy and provide opportunities for environmental stewardship among the student population." To accomplish this, universities are directed to implement "an environmental studies course requirement for all graduates, or the development of an integrated general education program that accomplishes environmental literacy through its integration in a variety of courses."
This course is designed to meet the needs described above and will be offered as such to the Bethany College faculty in the coming year. It will also be offered by the Environmental Literacy Foundation as a model to be emulated in its effort to promote curricular changes on the university level. In sum, this course should provide students with the ability to:
*Describe the relationship of human society to natural systems and how the two have affected each other.
*Analyze a wide variety of historic and current environmental issues, ranging from local to global importance.
*Describe the ecological, political, social and economic implications of selected environmental issues and assess alternative solutions to those issues.
*Identify, describe and evaluate their own individual impacts on the environment.
The hope is that increasing numbers of colleges and universities will follow examples described here and take steps to incorporate environmental literacy instruction in their general education curriculum. There is no other instruction more basic than that which focuses on perpetuation of both environmental quality and the quality of life.
The construction of an environmental studies course to be used as a general education requirement is not an easy task. The course must be politically objective, based on the most recent scientific evidence and understanding, interdisciplinary in scope, and, importantly, must be comparative and international in nature. The last requirement, in other words, requires a course which examines, in depth, specific countries other than the United States and conducts that examination across levels of analysis. It is particularly important that students understand the challenges faced by developing countries such as Brazil and the Russian Federation, the two countries, other than the U.S. used in this course. Although countries face many of the same environmental problems, such problems differ both qualitatively and as a matter of degree, and the resources each country possesses to deal with such problems varies enormously. This is a critical point. While some optimism must exist when looking at the ability of the U.S. to meet environmental challenges due to its wealth, technology, and good governance, that optimism is muted when one looks at either Brazil or Russia.
So how does one construct a basic environmental studies course that is interdisciplinary in approach, comparativist in methodology, and international in scope? This course utilizes a conceptual framework which students must master before they can begin to make valuative judgements about the global environmental problem. Mastery of this framework provides them with the basic knowledge in both the natural and social sciences that they can then apply to real world problems. This framework is provided in the course over the first eight weeks. Students are then ready to examine specific problems in specific countries. The goal is for the student to conceptually grasp the dynamic complexity that is the hallmark of environmental studies - to understand the many variables and interrelationships.
What does this framework look like? And how has the seminar on Brazil allowed this author to expand the content of this course? Let me first explain the framework and course structure and then I will explain how the Brazil experience relates to both the content and method of the course. Again, the twin goals of this course are for students to see both the forest and the trees - to master detail within a logical framework.
In the first week of class, students gain an understanding of the basic laws of ecology/biology and the different ecological interpretations that currently exist. They are taught that the global ecology can be compartmentalized according to various biological systems - biosphere, croplands, forests, oceans, natural resources, grazing lands, etc. Students are then introduced to the study of demographics which begins the examination of population growth and the corresponding physical/economic pressure being exerted on these biological systems. The undermining of the biological systems by human activity is presented, therefore, logically, with students being able to identify specific human activities and its relation to specific biological realities.
The next two week session of the course is then devoted to an understanding of those human pressures. Since these pressure are primarily economic in nature, this session introduces students to the study of environmental economics. Students learn the differences in economic approaches to development and environmental protection concluding with an attempt at defining sustainable development in all of its complexity. In the process, students gain a basic understanding of how economies work and whether it is possible to have both economic development and environmental protection.
The next two week session is devoted to the philosophy and ethics of nature. Students are introduced to the idea that environmental protection is not just a question of biological and economic processes but involves a basic moral/spiritual factor which has been a part of human civilization for a long time. This session also allows students to examine their own personal relationship with nature.
The next two-week session examines political ecology which examines how society utilizes its institutional resources for economic development and environmental protection. It is in this session that students come to understand their governments and political systems, across multiple levels of analysis (municipal, state, federal, NGOs, IGOs, etc.), are trying to meet these environmental challenges.
During these first eight weeks, students have not only mastered a conceptual framework which is interdisciplinary and involves multiple levels of analysis, they have been introduced to a schematic which clearly relates specific environmental problems to specific human-nature relationships and the various interrelationships between human activities and biological systems. For example, deforestation is directly related to certain human activities, some direct and some indirect, but it is also related to desertification and climate change. This schematic, therefore, identifies specific interrelationships between biological systems and between specific human activities. It also begins to force students to think about prioritizing environmental problems from those that are manageable to those that require great societal effort.
Now that students have mastered both the conceptual framework and schematic, they are ready to apply this knowledge to country case studies. The next two week session allows students to apply this knowledge to the environmental challenges confronting the United States, a highly developed and technologically advanced country. By contrast, the next session, three weeks in duration, allows students to apply their knowledge, in depth, to a large, developing country of the south. The environmental challenges facing developing countries are much more daunting than that of the EDCs and, given the little exposure most students have of countries other than the U.S., it is important that students at this juncture in the course, really begin to grapple with the "real world" problems of countries like Brazil. The abstract nature of their conceptual framework and schematic, and the mastery of detail gained in their study of the American experience, must now be applied to the environmental problems of Brazil.
Given the course structure, including the conceptual approach and detailed schematic, I participated in the Brazil project with the expressed purpose of integrating that experience into this particular course. The following topics will be discussed in depth through eight class sessions: population dynamics, urbanization, pollution control, housing policy, the role of NGOs, poverty/economic inequality, agricultural policy, transmigration policy, desertification/deforestation, human rights, water scarcity, energy policy, and environmental ethics. No topic will be discussed, therefore, which has not already been introduced to the students. These topics will be discussed through eight lectures. These lectures are as follows:
*The political economy of environmental protection
*Saving the Mata Atlantic rain forest
*Brazilian civil society: the role of environmental NGOs
*Sao Paulo state: meeting the challenges of Agenda 21
*Rio de Janeiro: meeting the challenges of Agenda 21
*Amazonas state: development, human rights and preservation?
*Curitiba: an urban model of sustainable development?
*Brazil and international environmental management
Each lecture will be accompanied by maps, handouts, articles, and case studies specifically relating to that lecture's topic. Students will also develop critical thinking skills by proposing solutions to the problems being discussed in class.
Lesson # 1: Brazil: the political economy of environmental protection
Overview: This lecture provides students with knowledge of the Brazilian political economy and environmental history as a framework for an understanding of the challenge Brazil faces in creating sustainable development.
I. Basic description of Brazilian economy
A country rich in natural resources and natural advantages but an economy that has lagged behind it potential. A country of contrasts ranging from sophisticated economic centers around Sao Paulo to relatively undeveloped trading outposts in the northern region. Industrial development has been concentrated in the southeastern states of Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Parana, and Rio Grande do Sul but is now expanding to the north and west. Estimated GDP of 500 bn $ with per capita GDP of $3000. Economic growth rates in the l990s of 3.0%. 1/2 covered by forests. The largest rainforest in the world is located in the Amazon Basin. Recent migrations to the Amazon (Amazonas state) and controversial large scale burning of forests placed an international spotlight on Brazil. Eastern Brazil has tropical and semideciduous forests and soil of limited agricultural value. The softwood forests of the southern highlands still provide a substantial portion of the construction timber in Brazil although this has moved north with Amazon tropical hardwoods being used for domestic and export markets. The thorn forests of the NE are dry and sparse due to overgrazing and overcultivation as the limited rainfall. In central Brazil, the states of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Goias, and parts of Minas Gerais and Sao Paulo contain substantial areas of grasslands. Unlike those of America, the grasslands are less fertile, and large areas are best suited for pasture. Agriculture employs 35% of the population and accounts for 11% of GDP and almost 40% of exports. Except for wheat Brazil is largely self-sufficient in food. It is the leading exporter of coffee, orange juice concentrate, and tobacco, and is the second largest exporter of sugar and soybeans. In an effort to expand its food exports Brazil is opening new regions to cultivation in Bahia, Minas Gerais, and Goias. Brazil has also expanded sugarcane cultivation, the raw material used to produce ethyl alcohol fuel that powers 40% of the nation's cars.
The country has a sophisticated industrial base producing steel, chemicals, consumer goods and aircraft. Today, it accounts for nearly 36% of GDP and 75% of exports. Brazil is a leader in hydroelectric power providing over 90% of the nation's electricity and leading to a low percapita carbon emission rate. Nuclear power is also being implemented. Proven mineral resources are extensive including tin, bauxite, zinc, gold, lead, tungsten, etc., although high quality coal is in short supply. Imported oil accounts for less than 50% of the country's needs.
II. Government Economic Strategy
Following the l964 coup, the Brazilian government focused on two major economic goals, high growth rates and control of inflation. Sustained economic growth continued into the l970s. By the late l970s, escalating oil prices, governmental indebtedness, and high interest rates brought the Brazilian economy to a virtual standstill. Throughout the l980s, these problems were attacked through a number of programs emphasizing reduced government expenditures and subsidies and income tax increases. Nevertheless, deficits have persisted accounting for around 2% of GDP. On July 1, l994, Brazil introduced its fifth currency in seven years, the "Real," as part of an economic stabilization plan designed to curb once-again rampant inflation, which reached an annual level of nearly 5,000 % at the end of l993. Other facets of neo-liberal policy included balancing the budget, privatization of state-run industries, and strict monetary controls. Foreign direct investment and reinvestment in Brazil is around $50 bn and there are trade surpluses.
III. Political Economy
In contrast to conditions in other major Latin American countries, in Brazil fundamental issues regarding the proper arrangement of the country's central institutions and political economy are still being debated. In part, consensus formation is made difficult both by the sheer size of the country, fifth largest in the world, and the size of the economy, tenth largest, and population, sixth largest. And by the complexity of political and economic interests embedded in the old political and economic order. The single greatest obstacle to the problems of liberty and equity is the country's convoluted constitution. Policy choice and flexibility are impeded by this overly detailed, chaotic constitution. Many badly needed economic reforms, such as privatization and overhaul of the tax system, require constitutional revisions. Cardoso' great challenge is reconciling the requirements of growth and the urgent need for redistribution and social justice through a gradualist strategy.
IV. Environmental history
In many ways, as seen from abroad, brazil's environmental reality could be construed as an obscure object of desire - so closely does it still seem to invoke, for good or for bad, the myths of Eldorado and the visions of Rousseau and American naturalist poets. Unlike thirty years ago, 75% of the population now lives in towns or cities (briefly discuss fertility rate). This urbanization has swept away the former rural culture and brought to life a myriad of ecological constraints. It is true that Brazil has frequently been singled out in the past, by international opinion, as one of the most "ecologically incorrect" countries, particularly in relation to development projects in the rainforests. It is true that Brazilian history through the l960s obeyed a logic which, in the medium term, proved to be environmentally inadequate or even uneconomic. It is also true that in consequence the Brazilian government reverted in time its policy of downright occupation of the Amazon through subsidies or cattle ranching. There has been a gradual demise since the late l980s of the philosophy of "desenvolvimentismo" - which gave priority to economic growth and infrastructure building over all other factors, including social and environmental factors. Social and economic progress is increasingly perceived to be inseparable from environmental sustainability and technological advance. The goals of the current government have given way to a series of important domestic government actions in relation to the environment. In the background, there is a clear high-level decision to give priority to decentralization n the management of environmental issues and to establish, partnerships with interested members of civil society. Initiatives include an Integrated National Policy for Legal Amazonia, the elaboration of Agenda 21 adapted to Brazil, the reactivating of the environmental and economic rezoning of territory, the strengthening of environmental monitoring (SIVAM), the Green Protocol, a "Green Credit Card", IBAMA, FNMA and the PP/G7.
V. Obstacles to environmental reform and protection
This component will consist of a lecture discussing the four historical-structural factors - federalism, corporatism, clientelism, and state interventionism - that interact with the formal institutions (Aames, l995) thus reducing governmental accountability. In addition, this component will look at other factors including the lack of technical and fiscal resources and the lack of clarity existing in the federal structure for environmental accountability.
Film: South America: Brazil, 29 minutes
An introductory film which discusses human rights, environmental issues, and Brazil's drug problem. The efforts of ethnologist Porfiro Carvailho to save the Waimiri-Atraori Indians from extinction are detailed. A second segment shows how Sweden and Brazil are cooperating in the development of biomass energy. A third segment focuses on the drug problem in Sao Paulo and a soccer program designed to save city youths from lives of drugs and crime.
Lesson # 2
Saving the Mata Atlantica Rain Forest
* This lesson intends to introduce students to the Mata Atlantica rain forest by 1) explaining its importance, 2) describing its current condition, and 3) exploring efforts to rejuvenate the forest.
Lecture
I. Although reduced to less than 10% of its original cover, the Atlantic Rain Forest remains of extreme importance. For the people who live within its domain - in cities, local communities, and in Indian tribes - it regulates the flow of water resources, safeguards the soil's fertility, regulates the climate and protects the ridges and slopes of the plateaus and mountain ranges as well as preserving an immense historical and cultural heritage.
From the Atlantic Forest came words in Tupi-Guarani, now assimilitated into everyday language; fruit such as the "jabuticaba"; and customs that originated with those who have lived in contact with the forest for centuries. The region also bears witness to peoples lost in remote time, in the archaeological monuments that maintain the history of the tribes that lived in the region thousands of years ago.
There are also associative ecosystems such as the mangrove swamps and restinga, savanna grasslands, etc.
For the world, the AF is an ecosystem that UNESCO is considering transforming into a Biological Reserve - an environmental heritage site for all humanity, due to the area's enormous biodiversity and vast amount of plant and animal species, many of which are endemic to the region. This means that in a given area, the AF contains more bacteria, microscopic fungi, protozoa and algae than in an equivalent area of European or N. American soil. This, in turn, signifies an immense contribution to medicine, agriculture, industry and to the ecological balance of the planet.
Preventing its devastation signifies putting a stop to the destruction of its remnant forest areas and, at the same time, recuperating that which is still recuperable. In Brazil, this great undertaking numbers the SOS Atlantic Rain Forest Foundation and various local and international institutions among its supporters and sponsors.
Exercise : present maps of forest fragments and have student groups formulate a comprehensive proposal for conservation and rejuvenation.
Over the past few years, the SOS ARFF has formulated proposals, strategies and action priorities for the forest. In l990 it held a workshop with over 40 participants and prepared a plan of action. The Foundation's task, as set forward in its Plan of Action, is not simple: the protected areas of the AF are small in general and separated one from the other, hindering the genetic diversity of animals and vegetation; the Conservation Units were not always implemented, and when they were, they faced problems that ranged from land questions to illegal forest clearing and arson; research on the area is lacking, as are centralized and reliable data; similarly lacking are appropriate attitudes toward conservation on the part of both the population and public authorities; there are few specialized professionals in the areas of taxonomy, ecology, wildlife management and population dynamics; enforcement is insufficient and ineffective; legislation must be improved.
These questions and problems led to the formulation of an overall environmental policy for the ARF which includes a variety of different aspects. Among the more important are:
Handout: SOS Action Plan
1) Preservation of geological, geomorphological, paleontological and archaeological sites.
2) Preservation of biological diversity regarding species, ecosystems and interspecial genetic variation.
3) The effective implementation of the Conservation Units already created and the efficient protection of all remaining examples of the forest and associated ecosystems.
4) The development of studies and research with respect to the flora nd fauna, endemic species, ecosystem dynamics, population genetics, the effects of habitat reduction and fragmentation and techniques for the regeneration of degraded areas.
5) The organization and diffusion of information, including the creation of a data bank on the Conservation Units.
6) Perfecting of legislation: the legal delimitation of the ARF region; the creation of a territorial zoning plan made up of occupation and utilization norms; the legal preservation of all remaining areas still not protected; revision of the penal code in order to make unauthorized land clearing not subject to bail.
7) Environmental education and training
8) The revision of agricultural mining, energy and agri-business programs, as well as the revision of granting of permits for research, agricultural use of the soil and mining, making them contingent on the preservation of the Atlantic Rain Forest and associative ecosystems.
9) Recuperation of degraded areas
10) Coordination of action between NGOs and between the latter and government organizations, thereby maximizing efficiency.
Lesson # 3
Brazilian Civil Society: the Role of NGOs
* This lesson seeks to familiarize students with historical development of NGOs operating in Brazil, the work that they perform, and their impact on government policy. Specific attention is paid to SOS Atlantica and IBAM as case studies.
Lecture:
I. No serious consideration of environmental issues today can fail to take note of the important role that NGOs play in this field. In Brazil, NGOs became well-known to the public at large primarily as a result of ECO-92 -- despite having been around in large numbers since the l970s (refer to SOS just discussed) -- through the Global Forum which was held at the same time as the UNCED, providing a platform for discussions among the institutions of civil society.
The term nongovernmental organizations a somewhat fluid concept defined by what it is not (NON-governmental), and thus includes a wide range of associations with very different goals, so long as they are not commercial enterprises or connected to the government. In Latin America generally, and in Brazil in particular, the term takes on very specific dimensions and, notwithstanding the diversity among existing NGOs, has come to mean a group "acting in a manner intended to transform aspects of social realty seen to be negative."
NGOs are recognized as having played an important part in the recent democratization of LA through their promotion of human rights and honesty in government, as well as for improving people's quality of life. The NGOs of LA have their roots in the popular movements, community groups and social activism of the l970s, generally serving as advisory bodies or support groups and dedicated to promoting, educating, and defending the interests of these movements, especially in the area of human rights and the environment.
In Brazil, during the period of military rule, community development offered a way of ensuring the survival of participatory movements and an opportunity for bringing the ideals of social change to bear at the local level. In one way another, the community spirit embodied in the relationships formed between groups of families living in the same area enabled people to come together and cooperate on small-scale local activities with their sights set on specific objectives.
The grassroots movement began to flourish with the transition to democracy, and its main strategy was to focus on local problems. Highly pluralistic in nature, it encompassed land issues, invasions of urban and rural properties by squatters; the need for law and order, piped water, sewer systems and access to electrical power; excessive levels of pollution, chaotic traffic, etc. In the early stages of its development, there was no formal structure for coordination between groups. The State was seen as a virtually inaccessible authority. The term "grassroots" was used to designate all manner of groups and social sectors.
A new phenomena emerges the so-called social movement consisting primarily of urban social groups organized on a neighborhood basis, run usually by women, and closely aligned with women's interests and responsibilities - water supply, collection of garbage, law enforcement, day-care centers, schools, nutrition. Community associations grew during the same period finding their greatest expression among the middle class.
At the end of the l970s, the expression "civil society" began to replace terms like "popular movements" and "social activism". The same thing happened with the word "citizenship" which likewise gained in currency, becoming the trademark of the l980s. The social movement was broadening in its perspective, adopting a focus and undertaking activities intended to influence legislation, demonstrating a desire for political participation.
As part of the democratization process sweeping Latin America, Brazil adopted a new constitution in l988, the principles of which profoundly affected the environmental movement by making the management and protection of the environment both a right and a responsibility of all citizens acting through all three levels of government. Thus, the ECOLOGY movement was to play a significant role in Brazil by introducing a new dimension in national discussions - one with values that transcend the ideological divisions between groups on the right and left of the political spectrum. From an initial emphasis on controlling urban and rural pollution and preserving the natural ecosystems, the environmentalists moved on to questioning patterns of development and alluding to lifestyles that had played no part in the issues raised by the popular movements, which were organized along the lines of class struggle.
It was above all the process of preparing for ECO-92 that ecologist began to incorporate social issues, expanding their thinking beyond environmentalism per se and taking account of the relationship between socioeconomic development and protection of the environment. In May of l990, the Forum of Brazilian NGOs was organized, at the initiative of a number of NGOs, in preparation for the Civl Society conference Environment and Development. This event brought together some 1,200 entities from many different sectors: environmentalists; development NGOs; social/cultural action groups, the women's movement, trade unions, urban associations, etc.
The pressure exerted by social activists' demands for greater transparency in decision making by government and business alike, as well as a greater say for society at large in the conception and development of public policies has clearly helped spur the creation of means for participating in the management projects that affect the environment, and in the discussion of environmental and development policies. Governments have recently demonstrated greater willingness to coordinate efforts more closely with the NGOs and volunteer groups, but much remains to be done.
The impact of UNCED in Brazil have been far reaching, greatly influencing public opinion and leading in some cases to the questioning of government policies. Without doubt, environmental issues have become an established part of the public dialog and are well-known to the general public which has declared itself in favor of a balance between development and the environment. While much remains to be done to move from discussion to practical reality, there is no denying that the concept of sustainable development "has acquired extraordinary weight a means of bestowing legitimacy in the contemporary world". No project or program today can fail to include a reference to this concept.
In addition to UNCED spurring environmental NGOs it has had a spillover effect on NGOs in other areas. Another positive aspect has been the gradual incorporation of NGOs into the process by which national environmental policy is determined. Little by little, NGOs are making their presence known on state, municipal and federal councils, at public hearings to review environmental impact studies, and on bodies responsible for the drafting of environmental legislation. While the current levels of participation and cooperation are less than ideal, there is now a clear recognition on the part of governments that NGOs have an important role to play.
II. Discussion of the federal constitution for laying the foundation for decentralization, participation and management of the urban environment...
III. Discussion of managing the urban environment and the participatory process....
a. Decentralization as one way to bring about democratization in management.
b. Successful decentralization depends upon human and financial resources.
c. Managing the urban environment: The municipality as the appropriate level for integration of policy on sanitation and land use and occupancy
Specific case study: IBAM - Brazilian Institute of Municipal Administration; Handout: "IBAM and the Environment".
Specific case study: SOS Mata Atlantica; Handout: "Atlantic Rain Forest" by SOS.
Lesson # 4
Sao Paulo State: Meeting the Challenges of Agenda 21
* This lecture is designed to inform students about the types of problems faced by Sao Paulo state and the various measures that have been adopted thus far to deal with those problems. The objective is to provide student with a substantial understanding of the nature of the problems facing urban areas in LDCs but, more importantly, to make them see the enormous size of these problems and the resources required to address them.
Lecture
Introduction: Sao Paulo is the most industrialized state in Brazil, with the highest population density in the country. Here, one can find the most sharply delineated contrasts, containing both undeveloped regions and industrial areas wit islands of state of the art technology perfectly adapted to the globalization process - impacted by its positive and negative aspects.
The industrial sector of the state is responsible for virtually half of the industrial GDP of the country. Nearly all the state's sectors represent a significant share of national production.
(Give figures for specific industries)
If Sao Paulo were a country it would be one of the 12 largest world manufacturers in the automotive industry. Also there is much agriculture - 60% of sugar, 82% of oranges, 17% of coffee. In l997, Sao Paulo's GDP totaled US$200 bn, equal to 34% of national GDP.
As a result, the state suffers from some very serious environmental problems. The pressure of population growth and the impact of the intense economic activity on natural resources are the most severe in Brazil. Native vegetation with the greatest biological diversity of the planet is being permanently threatened. There are precious pockets of the Atlantic Rain Forest still remaining in the state, as well as the "cerrado" (savanna) vegetation in the plateau region in the interior of the state, wetlands along the coast, important sources of pure water and beaches of uncommon natural beauty.
The increase in economic growth means expanded consumption of water and energy, more traffic, more air pollution, more sewage. But it also means more waste. Increased purchasing power at the base of the social pyramid also means that more people will be traveling, more tourists will be pressuring the insufficient infrastructure at resorts, etc.
The scale of demands, already large, increases even more in this context. In the field of basic sanitation, the ambitious goal for which the state can assume responsibly is to increase the domestic sewage system by 85% by 2000. Even so, the metro SP region alone, with almost 17 million inhabitants, the number of persons who would be excluded from the sewage system is much greater than the total population of the largest city in Europe, even though the state is allocating record funds for basic sanitation.
II. Begin discussion of population, poverty, infrastructure and water pollution - use map to provide students with a spatial understanding of the problem. Highlight reservoirs, rivers, urban concentrations, waste disposal sites, etc. The goal here is to stress the need for housing and infrastructure. Highlight problems such as sustaining economic efficiency, lack of resources both fiscal, technical and human, migration into the region, integration of solutions, court suits, lack of enforcement, waste disposal, etc.
III. The government has taken initiatives dedicated to the above with an increase in public participation. Discuss these initiatives such as car rotation program, the Clean Beach Operation, the preparation of the Bill of Law for the Protection of Water Resources and Watersheds, etc.
The budget of the Secretariat for the Environment of the state amounts to R$ 182. This represents one half of one percent of the budget of the state, but is greater than the budget of most of the municipalities of the state, including Bauru and Piracicaba. The application of funds must be done properly and with transparency.
One of the first measures taken by the Secretariat was setting up ten programs for the implementation of priority items of Agenda 21.
(Discuss programs)
Handout: "Rio 21 Agenda "
Handout: "Rio on the Road, Agenda 21 in Sao Paulo's Daily Life, l997 " by the Sao Paulo Environment Secretariat.
Handout: "Sao Paulo State Secretariat Organization Chart"; "Watersheds, Rivers and Reservoirs", by the State Secretariat
Lesson # 5
Rio de Janeiro: The Program for Depollution of the Guanabara Bay
* As with the previous lesson this one looks at the challenges faced by the other large urban area of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro and the peculiar challenges that it faces in meeting Agenda 21.
The purpose of this lecture is to have students examine and appreciate, in depth and with some specificity (technical), how a large urban area in an LDC actually goes about solving environmental problems and the holistic approach required to meet the needs of people.
Lecture:
The Program for the Depollution of the Guanabara Bay consists of a set of multidisciplinary actions comprising works, goods, and services, which include the following components and evolved organisms:
1. Sanitation
2. Macro Drainage
3. Solid Waste
4. Complementary Environmental Programs
5. Digital Mapping
Its effects shall lead to multiple benefits, particularly to an expressive part of the State's population, in addition to contributing significantly towards pollution reduction in the Bay.
With the implementation of the Program, a significant recuperation of commercial fishing, an improvement in the bath quality in beaches inside the Bay, an attenuation in the interruption of socioeconomic activities resulting from floods, a reduction in the occurrence of cases of water-transmitted diseases and a reduction in the process of silting of river beds and Bay bottom are expected.
The implementation of works and services foreseen shall promote, among other benefits, the collecting and treatment of 6.9m3/s or sanitary effluents, through the construction of five new stations for waste treatment and the laying of nearly 1,200 28 booster stations and 139,000 home connections. Water supply shall be improved at both the Baixada Fluminense and Sao Goncalo, through the construction of 10 reservoirs, 452 Km of distribution systems, 16 Km of water pipelines and 45,999 home connections, in addition of the acquisition of 525,000 hydrometers!!
As regards solid waste, seven municipalities shall be provided with improvements in the systems collecting and final destination for 700 tons/day of garbage, through the implementation of recycling and composting plants, the acquisition of vehicles and collecting equipment, in addition to the control of and treatment of leachate through the recuperation of existing sanitary dumps. Flood attenuation is foreseen as well, through works for drainage and rectification of waterways.
In relation to environmental programs stand out the recuperation and improvement of environmental quality in the Metro region of Rio, through several projects for industrial pollution control, environmental quality monitoring, environmental education program and improvement and improvement in the capability of the institutions involved, reducing the polluting load generated by industries by 90% (toxic load) and 70% (oils and greases from oil terminals and gas stations).
The execution of digital mapping is the purpose of allowing for the reformulation and execution of tax policies, resulting in an increased collection, without any increased tax load, assisting in the monitoring of the development of the municipalities involved and in the identification of the polluting sources and the effective characterization of soil utilization.
The impacts resulting from these interventions shall bring about obvious benefits, leading to an improvement of life quality for the total population of 5 million inhabitants located in the area of influence of the projects, consisting basically by low-income population segments.
Where do the resources come from?
The total individual cost foreseen for the Program amounts to US$ 793 million, of which US$ 350 are financed by the Interamerican Development Bank (discuss briefly), US$ 237 million by the Japanese development agency The Overseas Economic Cooperation fund - OECF - (discuss briefly) and US$ 206 million by the State Government, as a counterpart to the loans. It should be pointed out that the present total cost of the Program is US $ 915.4 million due to the increase in the counterpart, etc.
Briefly discuss each loan contract and the purpose of the loan.
Discuss whether this is a large amount of money given international economic resources.
Begin diagnosing the specific causes of pollution referring to chart in handout, p. 4, and then proceed with a step by step discussion of each component of the recovery plan. Refer to charts and maps in handout as you proceed.
Handout: "Progress Report on the Projects, Program for Depollution of the Guanabara Bay" by the Governo do estado do rio de janeiro, secretariat de stado de obras e servcos publicos - sosp.
Film: "The Children of Rio"
Lesson #s 6 and 7
Amazonas State: Economic Development and Preservation
* This lesson is designed to force students to think seriously about the tradeoffs inherent in the development of Amazonas state and the protection of its rain forests. This discussion will concentrate on sustainable development, forestry and agricultural management, government policy (infrastructure), economic incentives and land reform, and political coalitions. The idea is to have students realize that there are no easy solutions and that the dilemma is very complex. Students already have a knowledge of rain forests, biodiversity, etc. so this lecture will emphasize economics and government/politics as determinants of policy.
Lecture
Any discussion of Amazonas state, its economic development and the protection of its natural resources, in one or two lectures, can not do the subject any real justice. It is simply too large and complex. Thus, this discussion is only a first step.
Introduction to the state of Amazonas and the Amazon rain forest which is called the "green frontier". Despite more than a decade of alarm about burning and deforestation in the world's last mammoth rain forest, the Amazon is still about 88 percent intact. However, it is beginning to show real signs of degradation with deforestation rates picking up again (show chart on deforestation rates). The arrival of tropical wood cutters, who have bought up more than 11 million acres of virgin forest, constitutes the worst of the Amazons' biggest threats. Other threats are accelerating too. Every year, more farmers arrive from other parts of Brazil to try and scrape a living from the earth. The forest is thus cut and burned even though the rain forest soil is not conducive to agriculture. Under traditional slash and burn methods, about one-half million hectares would have to be converted from forest every year just to supply food for the Amazon population. But due to the poor soil more than one third of the land cleared has been abandoned. The Amazon's deforestation rate has increased also because the Brazilian economy has improved in recent years increasing the consumption of wood and meat. A stronger economy means more new roads which in turn opens up new areas to exploitation. Another problem is that wood cutters from other deforested regions are moving in. Wood harvesting my international corporations remains the largest threat with much alarm particularly expressed over the Asian companies. Illegal logging is also a big problem.
What is to be done?
Inexpensive, relatively uninhabited land still exists in many Latin American countries. This land continues to act as a magnet for both squatters and entrepreneurs in search of new economic opportunity.
The current pattern of development often results in violent conflict and wasteful environmental damage. For this reason, governments in Latin America re increasingly struggling to develop policies to rationalize the settlement and development of those areas. Should government develop large areas such as the Amazon. Should the rain forests simply be set aside as a protected reserve? Should governments enforce laws in remote, frontier areas? Should it create new states and provide representation? Should it build schools and clinics? Should it allow foreign firms in without strict controls? What to do with the Indians already living in the forests? Should it build roads connecting various regions knowing that this will promote trade, etc. but open up vast new areas for development? How do you create political coalitions which are critical for sustaining policies? Should the World Bank and other IGOs fund environmentally damaging projects? These are the types of questions that must be answered.
Much has changed in the past 25 years since Brazilian President General Medici launched the project that would "bring men without land to a land without people". Partially as a result of government's subsequent efforts, between l970 and l990 the population of Brazil's Amazonian states doubled to 9 million inhabitants more than half of whom live in cities. No one any longer considers Amazon colonization to be a panacea for problems of equity and development. In fact, the popular perception is that Amazon development in the Brazilian context has been an economic, distributional, and environmental disaster. This perception not withstanding, Amazon states have developed increased financial and political autonomy to pursue economic development as they conceive it. In addition, the experience and perception of leaders of Amazon states is often at variance with that of the wider public.
Frontier governments have particular characteristics determined by their economic context and physical remoteness. In large measure these features condition the outcome of government initiatives in frontier areas. A review of the literature leads to some general arguments and conclusions about such frontier areas. These are:
* Settlers in the Amazon DO appear to be improving their standard of living compared to people with the same education and skills outside the Amazon.
* Transience and farm turnover on the frontier is due to powerful and FUNDAMENTAL ECONOMIC FORCES. These forces can only be overcome by well organized government policy.
* Transience, farm turnover, and even apparent land abandonment are NOT NECESSARILY linked to degradation of the agricultural resource base.
* More attention needs to be paid to the importance of reconciling the needs of local politicians with externally designed projects. Particularly important is the need to find ways to develop sustained support for the rural development services that encourage small farmer stability.
* Creating a political coalition to support policies for orderly frontier development is difficult. Because the INTERESTS in more rapid development are largely local and regional, and the benefits from slower, more deliberate growth are national and global, greater political and economic autonomy at the local level may tend to undermine better settlement policies.
* Roads are the fundamental determinant of settlement. An extensive road network erodes incentives for sustainable agriculture and silviculture. An intensive network of farm-to-market roads is the most important determinant of economic viability of small farmer agriculture.
* Allocating land initially to small farmers is not only a good policy from an equity standpoint, but in most cases it is the most efficient and orderly way to settle new lands.
* National governments must define their objectives carefully with regard to establishing government beyond the economic frontier. Here also, local and national interest are unlikely to coincide
Handouts: Map, Charts on deforestation and logging, changing patterns of forest loss, interactions of climatic variability and land use
Lecture 7
* This lesson focuses on the plight of indigenous indian tribes living in the Amazon region that have not been completely or partially assimilated into the larger culture. The purpose is not only to link the issue of human rights with development/deforestation but to highlight that this is not a simple good vs. evil issue; that is a highly complex issue; that not all indians are suffering; and that the problem is global in nature.
I. On November 1, Brazilian Minister of Justice Nelson Jobim ended a generation of exile for the Panara Indians. He signed the demarcation decree protecting the 1.2 million-acre Panara Indigenous Area, an Amazon tropical forest twice the size of Rhode Island. The decree culminates a five-year process that began when the Panara asked the Environmental Defense Fund (this author is a member, are you?) and the Instituto Socioambiental (ISA( to help them regain the land from whichthey had been forcible relocated twenty years ago. With the decree, Brazil recognizes the Panara's rights to their traditional territory in perpetuity. The landmark legal victory returns to the Panara the remaining forested land in which they lived until l974. That year the few survivors of epidemic diseases that followed the cutting of a road through their territory were transferred to a reserve already inhabited by other indigenous groups. Soon afterwards, a gold rush and the opening of cattle ranches degraded much of the Panara territory.
In l991, the Panara were first able to visit and see what had happened to their traditional land. The tribe then resolved to return to and defend the remaining forest. EDF anthropologist Stephan Schwartzman, who had lived with the Panara in the early l980s and learned their language, accompanied them throughout the process of reoccupation and provided key information to ISA and the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) (briefly discuss FUNAI) to draft the demarcation proposal. The legal demarcation will make it easier to protect the homeland area. Last September, Panara halted an illegal logging operation on their land, immobilizing two tractors, seizing workers firearms, and evicting loggers from the area. They had previously demanded that FUNAI act on the invasion, without response. EDF and ISA have assembled a research team to conduct a resource inventory of the new area and prepare a management plan with the Panara.
II. In recent years, the Guarani-Kaiowa, a group of about 25,000 Indians living in Brazil's central western state of Matto Grosso do Sul, have been experiencing something tantamount to a suicide epidemic. After a hundred years of colonization they have apparently reached a desperation point. Ravaged by hunger, poverty and alcoholism, robbed of their sacred ancestral lands and forced to eke out their living labouring for the very people who stole it from them, many are simply giving up. Since l986, approximately 280 have committed suicide. The Guarani Indians of whom the Kaiowa are the largest subdivision, have lived in this area since before the conquest. Since that time, the indians have suffered greatly at the hands of incoming settlers aided by the Indian Protection Service (SPI), a government organization founded in l910 to integrate indians into Brazilian society. The SPI created eight reserves between l915 and l928 as part of a strategy known as "villagisation", and these giant communities located on the outskirts of urban areas became dumping grounds for Indians who had been coaxed or intimidated into abandoning their homes. Even after the SPI was closed down in the late l960s, its successor, the supposedly enlightened FUNAI, continued to pursue the project until as recently as the mid-l980s. At the start of the century, the Kaiowa are estimated to have occupied approximately 8,750,000 hectares of Matto Grosso do Sul, or roughly a 1/4 of the state. Today they are squeezed onto less than 1% of that. In some cases they have managed to stay put on reduced pockets of land, even as invading landowners encircled them. But the majority have ended up in the reserves, crammed together with other tribes, beset by poverty, alcoholism and the alienating effects of proximity to urban white culture. The result: the withering of their traditional religion and culture.
Despite the new constitution's emphasis on indigenous rights, progress in helping such tribes has faltered. In several respects, significant advances have been made. In the late l960s, the British charity Survival was set up, with the aim of supporting the rights of tribal peoples in Brazil and the world. Along with other NGOs, much has been done to promote awareness of the Indian situation and to raise their status in Brazilian law. Since l988, 210 indigenous land titles have been granted - 14 of them in Matto Grosso do Sul. Most encouraging, the Indians themselves fed up with waiting for bureaucrats, are demonstrating with increasing willingness to take matters into their own hands. In recent years, several communities have carried out "retomadas" - independent reoccupations of their land, which in nine cases have resulted in the successful recovery of part or whole of the ancestral territory. But Brazil remains the only LA country other than Surinam that insists on maintaining federal ownership of indigenous lands, so even when Indian land is demarcated the Indians are denied full property rights. There are currently over 30,000 applications pending for mineral exploration on indigenous lands in Brazil. A draft bill on mining that would allow incursions on this land without indian consultation is pending in congress.
If sustainable development is to become a reality in rural Brazil it must consider social justice and human rights of the people just as it must in the urban areas. One cannot separate a discussion of indian rights from the issue of economic development on the frontier.
Handout: Map of Indian demarcations, etc
Lesson # 8
Curitiba: A Model of Sustainable Development?
* This lesson seeks to demonstrate to students that their is a model to be emulated in Brazil and other LDCs - the city of Curitiba.
Lecture
Curitiba has been involved in town planning for almost half a century. It started with the Agache Plan in l943 which was followed, in l965, by the Preliminary Plan. This evolved into the Master Plan, which was officially approved in l966. In this respect, therefore, Curitiba has a certain tradition. Its originality, however, lies in the creation of an autonomous planning office, functioning as the principle policy maker for the development of the city.
The Institute for Research and Urban Planning of Curitiba was founded on December 1st, l965. Over the last three decades the IPPUC has been involved in planning the city and identified with the high standard of such planning (brief discussion of the institute).
In l943, The Agache Plan, created by the French Urban Planner Alfred Agache, set directives for the orderly physical growth of the city, which at this time had 120,000 people. A set of rules dealt with vehicular traffic, the organization of urban functions and the co-ordination of urban policy while also guiding its development. This plan was based on the division of the city into specific zones, with areas reserved for industry, commerce, housing, the civic centre and the university campus. The integration of these zones was provided by a grid of main roads radiating out from the central core. In l953, the first zoning plan was approved and included in the new building code.
In l960, as a follow to the Agache plan, the city was divided into neighborhood units which were meant to meet the basic socializing needs of the people. This process provided each neighborhood unit with basic facilities such as:
- a comprehensive system of circulation
- an elementary school
- a green area for public recreation; and
- a set of rules for land occupation and use
Therefore the city was divided into 47 urban units and 5 rural ones. Thus it was, in l965, when Curitiba had around 470,000 inhabitant and an annual population increase of 5.6% that Jorge Wilheim, the Brazilian urban planner was selected as director of the Preliminary Urban Plan. The purpose behind the Plan was to preserve the quality of urban life with the following objectives:
- to ease traffic in the central area and preserve its historic core
- to change the radial pattern of urban growth to a linear one, integrating transport and land use
- to contain the population of Curitiba within its territorial limits
- to provide global facilities for the city
A series of directives was set up for each of these objectives. For instance, in order to redirect urban growth a set of axes tangent to the central core were laid out.
In depth discussion of:
1. Zoning and land use
2. Transport and road system
3. Facilities
4. Housing
5. Environment
6. Incentive Policies
Conclusion: One can see how the consecutive changes in the administration of the city have not jeopardized the continuity of its urban policies. This, above all else, might be the single factor which distinguishes urban planning in Curitiba from other cities. From l993 onwards, the city administration has chosen as its priority to guarantee the fulfillment of the needs of the population, with programmes to further job opportunities, vocational and cultural qualifications and extending to the whole population the meaning of the practice of citizenship.
Handout: Map
Bibliography
Films:
Global Report: Can Tropical Forests Be Saved?
Educational Video Network, 117 minutes, l991
Jungle Pharmacy
Cinema Guild, l989
Children of Rio
by Thierry Michel, 48 minutes
Filmakers Library, l995
South America: Brazil
ll97, 29 minutes
Capital Sins
Annenber/CPB Collection, 56 minutes
Amazon
CPB Collection, 52 minutes
Amazon: Land of the Flooded Forest
CPB Collection 60 minutes
Brazil: The Gathering Millions
CPB Collection, 30 minutes
Emerging Powers: Brazil
CPB Collection, 57 minutes
Internet Resources:
Pew Case Studies, Harvard University, http://csf.colorado.edu/CaseNet/index.html
The Institute for Latin American Studies, http://info.lanic.utexas.edu/
The Worldwatch Institute, www.worldwatch.org
The World Resources Institute, www.worldresources.org
World Bank, www.worldbank.org
CaseNet, csf.colorado.edu/CaseNet?index.html
Resources for the Future, E-mail: info@rf.org
Ecological Economics, http://kabir.cbl.cees.edu/ISEE/ISEEhome
Environmental Defense Fund, member@edf.org
Books
State of the World, l998 , Worldwatch Institute, Washington, D.C.
Society and Nature , Clinton Maffett, Simon & Shuster, (forthcoming)
World Resources Institute, l998: An Assessment , World Resources Institute, New York, NY
After the Trees: Living on the TransAmazon Highway , Douglas Steward, l998
Amazon Journal: Dispatches from a Vanishing Frontier , Geoffrey O'Conner, l997
Before the Bulldozer: The Nambiquara Indians and the World Bank , David Price, l989
Brazil: The Once and Future Country , Marshall Eakin, St. Martins, l997
Brazil Under Cardoso , S. Purcell, R. Roett, Lynne Rienner, l997
The Burning Season: The Murder of Chico Mendes and the Fight for the Amazon Rain Forest , Andrew Revkin, Plume, l994
Maraca: The Biodiversity and Environment of an Amazonian Rainforest , William Milliken, John Wiley & Sons, l998
Sustainable Development in the Brazilian Amazon , A.Almeida, J. Campari, Oxford Univ. Press, World Bank, l996
Sustaining Amazonia: Grassroots Action for Productive Conservation , A. Hall, Manchester University Press, l998
Towards a Sustainable Urban Environment: The Rio De Janeiro Study (World Bank Discussion Papers, 195) , A. Kreimer, l993
Urbanization in Large Developing Countries, China, Brazil, and India , by Gavin Jones, Pravin Visoria,
Case Studies
Pew Case Study in International Affairs:
501-90-Q, Development Strategies in Conflict: Brazil and the Future of the Amazon, Rachel McCleary
454-93-N, Debt for Nature Swaps: Win-Win Solution or Environmental Imperialism?, Vicki Golich, Terry Young