Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Volume 44, Issue 22, Pages 8377-8384Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/es101729z
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute at the University of Michigan
- Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada
Ask authors/readers for more resources
In the Amazonian agricultural frontier, pasture for cattle ranching is an important and potentially hazardous form of land use because of sediment erosion as pastures degrade. This relationship between ranching, sediment load, and water quality is likely to further exacerbate environmental impacts, particularly in the context of climate change. We examine the role that river basin councils (RBCs) - a water governance option of Brazil's 1997 National Water Act - might play in managing this nonpoint-source pollution in the Amazonian state of Rondonia. We implement a simple coupled rancher-water system model to compare two potential governance options: a bulk water cleanup charge (BWC) implemented by RBCs and a land-use fine (LUF) for failing to maintain riparian buffers. We find no significant advantage of BWC over LUF in reducing sediment loading while keeping ranching profitable, under a changing climate. We also fail to find in Rondonia the important stake in water issues that has driven water reform elsewhere in Brazil. Moreover, the comparative success of reforestation programs suggests these programs may, in fact have the potential to manage nonpoint-source agricultural pollution in the region.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available