Historia Ambiental Latinoamericana y Caribeña (HALAC - E-Journal)
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Broadening and Deepening: Soy Expansions in a World-Historical Perspective
Get PDFThis article assesses the ongoing South American soy expansion from a world-historical perspective, comparing the case of Brazil with the cases of China and the USA. For this purpose, it applies the concept of commodity frontier, involving both external and internal modes of capitalist incorporation. The Chinese soy expansion (1900s–1930s) shows a predominant shift of the external frontier, associated with the peasant mode of farming. The US soy expansion (1930s–1970s) represents a predominant shift of the internal frontier, connected to the entrepreneurial mode of farming. The Brazilian soy expansion (1970s–2010s) reveals a flexible combination of extensive and intensive frontier shifts, corresponding with the capitalist mode of farming. These commodity booms were driven not only by nation states, capitalist enterprises and social movements, but also by the potentials and limitations of the soybean plant itself. Shifts of commodity frontiers often disrupted society and nature and, hence, were contested among diverse actors, both human and non-human.This article assesses the ongoing South American soy expansion from a world-historical perspective, comparing the case of Brazil with the cases of China and the USA. For this purpose, it applies the concept of commodity frontier, involving both external and internal modes of capitalist incorporation. The Chinese soy expansion (1900s–1930s) shows a predominant shift of the external frontier, associated with the peasant mode of farming. The US soy expansion (1930s–1970s) represents a predominant shift of the internal frontier, connected to the entrepreneurial mode of farming. The Brazilian soy expansion (1970s–2010s) reveals a flexible combination of extensive and intensive frontier shifts, corresponding with the capitalist mode of farming. These commodity booms were driven not only by nation states, capitalist enterprises and social movements, but also by the potentials and limitations of the soybean plant itself. Shifts of commodity frontiers often disrupted society and nature and, hence, were contested among diverse actors, both human and non-human.This article assesses the ongoing South American soy expansion from a world-historical perspective, comparing the case of Brazil with the cases of China and the USA. For this purpose, it applies the concept of commodity frontier, involving both external and internal modes of capitalist incorporation. The Chinese soy expansion (1900s–1930s) shows a predominant shift of the external frontier, associated with the peasant mode of farming. The US soy expansion (1930s–1970s) represents a predominant shift of the internal frontier, connected to the entrepreneurial mode of farming. The Brazilian soy expansion (1970s–2010s) reveals a flexible combination of extensive and intensive frontier shifts, corresponding with the capitalist mode of farming. These commodity booms were driven not only by nation states, capitalist enterprises and social movements, but also by the potentials and limitations of the soybean plant itself. Shifts of commodity frontiers often disrupted society and nature and, hence, were contested among diverse actors, both human and non-human
A Carne e o Mar: O Matadouro da Praia de Santa Luzia (1777-1853)
Get PDFWith factories, farms, labs and zoos, the slaughterhouses were some of the most prominent environments regarding the mediations between humans and animals in the 19th century and that can be analyzed with the theoretical and epistemological apparatuses from the environmental history and the animal-human history. That said, we will seek to address in this article the story of the slaughterhouse on the beach of Santa Luzia, the first public slaughterhouse in the city of Rio de Janeiro, and compreheending that slaughterhouse as a place of constant interactions between the biophyscal world, the animal species meant to be edible and the city with it’s inhabitants. In 1853, during the epidemics of the 1850s, the slaughterhouse was deactivated and later transformed into a hostel, so that the butchering would be moved to another place, changing the beach and the sea for the city\u27s mangroves.Junto das fábricas, fazendas, laboratórios e zoológicos, os matadouros de animais para o consumo humano de carne foram alguns dos ambientes predominantes nas mediações das relações entre humanos e animais no século XIX e que podem ser analisados com o aparato teórico e epistemológico da história ambiental e da animal-human history. Isto posto, buscaremos tratar no presente artigo da história do matadouro da praia de Santa Luzia, o primeiro matadouro público do Rio de Janeiro, e compreendendo o mesmo enquanto espaço de constantes interações entre mundo biofísico, espécies animais destinadas ao consumo humano e da cidade com seus habitantes. Em 1853, durante as epidemias dos anos 1850, o matadouro foi desativado e depois transformado em Albergue, de modo que as práticas de matanças seriam deslocadas para outro lugar, trocando-se a praia e o mar pelos manguezais da cidade.Junto das fábricas, fazendas, laboratórios e zoológicos, os matadouros de animais para o consumo humano de carne foram alguns dos ambientes predominantes nas mediações das relações entre humanos e animais no século XIX e que podem ser analisados com o aparato teórico e epistemológico da história ambiental e da animal-human history. Isto posto, buscaremos tratar no presente artigo da história do matadouro da praia de Santa Luzia, o primeiro matadouro público do Rio de Janeiro, e compreendendo o mesmo enquanto espaço de constantes interações entre mundo biofísico, espécies animais destinadas ao consumo humano e da cidade com seus habitantes. Em 1853, durante as epidemias dos anos 1850, o matadouro foi desativado e depois transformado em Albergue, de modo que as práticas de matanças seriam deslocadas para outro lugar, trocando-se a praia e o mar pelos manguezais da cidade
Triple Frontier: Change and Continuity on the Riverfront
Get PDFBook Review
Jacob Blanc and Frederico Freitas, eds. Big Water: The Making of the Borderlands between Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2018).
Book Review
Jacob Blanc and Frederico Freitas, eds. Big Water: The Making of the Borderlands between Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2018).
Book Review
Jacob Blanc and Frederico Freitas, eds. Big Water: The Making of the Borderlands between Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2018).
 
Agrarian Nationalism or “Imperial” Science? “El Sabio” Moisés S. Bertoni and Paraguayan Agricultural Science
Get PDFAs a contribution to recent discourse over the practice of natural science in Latin America’s liberal years, this paper examines Swiss-born botanist Moisés S. Bertoni’s place in Paraguay’s agricultural development following the Paraguayan War (1864-70). The war forced leaders in a devastated Paraguay to promote the immigration of European scientific experts and farmers, with the expectation that their knowledge of modern agricultural science and practice would revitalize the nation’s agriculture and lift Paraguay out of its poverty. From the late nineteenth century Bertoni’s work and knowledge of Paraguay’s tropical and semi-tropical climate and botany shaped much of Paraguayan agricultural policy and practice. And while his contributions were influential in understanding the nation’s environment and agriculture, what is unclear is how much his approach was the product of deliberate introduction of European agricultural science or the result of autochthonous experience and his own trial and error.As a contribution to recent discourse over the practice of natural science in Latin America’s liberal years, this paper examines Swiss-born botanist Moisés S. Bertoni’s place in Paraguay’s agricultural development following the Paraguayan War (1864-70). The war forced leaders in a devastated Paraguay to promote the immigration of European scientific experts and farmers, with the expectation that their knowledge of modern agricultural science and practice would revitalize the nation’s agriculture and lift Paraguay out of its poverty. From the late nineteenth century Bertoni’s work and knowledge of Paraguay’s tropical and semi-tropical climate and botany shaped much of Paraguayan agricultural policy and practice. And while his contributions were influential in understanding the nation’s environment and agriculture, what is unclear is how much his approach was the product of deliberate introduction of European agricultural science or the result of autochthonous experience and his own trial and error.As a contribution to recent discourse over the practice of natural science in Latin America’s liberal years, this paper examines Swiss-born botanist Moisés S. Bertoni’s place in Paraguay’s agricultural development following the Paraguayan War (1864-70). The war forced leaders in a devastated Paraguay to promote the immigration of European scientific experts and farmers, with the expectation that their knowledge of modern agricultural science and practice would revitalize the nation’s agriculture and lift Paraguay out of its poverty. From the late nineteenth century Bertoni’s work and knowledge of Paraguay’s tropical and semi-tropical climate and botany shaped much of Paraguayan agricultural policy and practice. And while his contributions were influential in understanding the nation’s environment and agriculture, what is unclear is how much his approach was the product of deliberate introduction of European agricultural science or the result of autochthonous experience and his own trial and error
The Imperial Mind and Biodiversity Conservation: Historical perspective on current debates in biodiversity conservation
Get PDFBiodiversity conservation debates have recently been summarized in the phrase, “land-sparing versus land-sharing.” In the land sparing camp are those who seek policies to put as much of the earth’s surface as possible into “protected areas” in which agriculture would be virtually excluded. In order to assure adequate food production, land outside protected areas would be farmed with maximum intensity through techniques that would largely exclude or exterminate wild populations of flora and fauna. In contrast, those who advocate land sharing policies argue for a combination of protected areas alongside agricultural landscapes that would use techniques tending to favor the maintenance of wild populations within a complex matrix of land uses.
Here, I contend that the attempt to settle the debate through studies that seek quantification of agricultural production data and promotion of wild species populations in existing landscapes uses is of limited value because of the inability to control properly for both temporal and spatial variation. The more fundamental problem in quantitative evaluation, the one explored at length in this paper, is that the two policy positions in fact disguise profoundly different philosophical world views that can best be understood through historical analysis of the formation of colonial and post-colonial conservation ideas and practice. I argue that the essential problem with the land-sparing perspective can be summarized in two related points: first, land-sparing strategies assume that protected areas are more protective of a broad range of species than they are; and, second, they assume that the negative effect of industrial agriculture on biodiversity is minimal and can remain so even under strategies to increase production on a smaller land base. Both of these assumptions rest on a historically derived idea of control over landscape and habitat processes that is, from the land-sharing perspective, illusory. This false sense of control over human life and ecological processes arises at least partially from a way of thinking shaped by imperialism. I lay out here a historical perspective on contemporary conservation policy debates, with emphasis on the development of conservation policy in Brazil, Meso-America, and the United States.Biodiversity conservation debates have recently been summarized in the phrase, “land-sparing versus land-sharing.” In the land sparing camp are those who seek policies to put as much of the earth’s surface as possible into “protected areas” in which agriculture would be virtually excluded. In order to assure adequate food production, land outside protected areas would be farmed with maximum intensity through techniques that would largely exclude or exterminate wild populations of flora and fauna. In contrast, those who advocate land sharing policies argue for a combination of protected areas alongside agricultural landscapes that would use techniques tending to favor the maintenance of wild populations within a complex matrix of land uses.
Here, I contend that the attempt to settle the debate through studies that seek quantification of agricultural production data and promotion of wild species populations in existing landscapes uses is of limited value because of the inability to control properly for both temporal and spatial variation. The more fundamental problem in quantitative evaluation, the one explored at length in this paper, is that the two policy positions in fact disguise profoundly different philosophical world views that can best be understood through historical analysis of the formation of colonial and post-colonial conservation ideas and practice. I argue that the essential problem with the land-sparing perspective can be summarized in two related points: first, land-sparing strategies assume that protected areas are more protective of a broad range of species than they are; and, second, they assume that the negative effect of industrial agriculture on biodiversity is minimal and can remain so even under strategies to increase production on a smaller land base. Both of these assumptions rest on a historically derived idea of control over landscape and habitat processes that is, from the land-sharing perspective, illusory. This false sense of control over human life and ecological processes arises at least partially from a way of thinking shaped by imperialism. I lay out here a historical perspective on contemporary conservation policy debates, with emphasis on the development of conservation policy in Brazil, Meso-America, and the United States.Biodiversity conservation debates have recently been summarized in the phrase, “land-sparing versus land-sharing.” In the land sparing camp are those who seek policies to put as much of the earth’s surface as possible into “protected areas” in which agriculture would be virtually excluded. In order to assure adequate food production, land outside protected areas would be farmed with maximum intensity through techniques that would largely exclude or exterminate wild populations of flora and fauna. In contrast, those who advocate land sharing policies argue for a combination of protected areas alongside agricultural landscapes that would use techniques tending to favor the maintenance of wild populations within a complex matrix of land uses.
Here, I contend that the attempt to settle the debate through studies that seek quantification of agricultural production data and promotion of wild species populations in existing landscapes uses is of limited value because of the inability to control properly for both temporal and spatial variation. The more fundamental problem in quantitative evaluation, the one explored at length in this paper, is that the two policy positions in fact disguise profoundly different philosophical world views that can best be understood through historical analysis of the formation of colonial and post-colonial conservation ideas and practice. I argue that the essential problem with the land-sparing perspective can be summarized in two related points: first, land-sparing strategies assume that protected areas are more protective of a broad range of species than they are; and, second, they assume that the negative effect of industrial agriculture on biodiversity is minimal and can remain so even under strategies to increase production on a smaller land base. Both of these assumptions rest on a historically derived idea of control over landscape and habitat processes that is, from the land-sharing perspective, illusory. This false sense of control over human life and ecological processes arises at least partially from a way of thinking shaped by imperialism. I lay out here a historical perspective on contemporary conservation policy debates, with emphasis on the development of conservation policy in Brazil, Meso-America, and the United States
La Habitualidad y Cercanía de la Meteorología Extrema: Tratamiento Periodístico de Huracanes en el Mar Caribe y en el Golfo de México.
Get PDFThe accounts in the Spanish press about the most devastating hurricanes of the 2017 season in the Caribbean Sea and in the Gulf of Mexico serve to raise the prevalence and proximity of extreme weather events, despite the fact that these events have led to held several years ago and at a long distance from the country where this information is published. Both globalization and the growing interest of the public to learn about disasters favor that there is no clear perception of proximity and distance, temporal and / or spatial. This article argues that journalistic treatments of distant catastrophes construct stories with the aim of seeking the involvement of the reader rather than offering neutral data.Los relatos en la prensa española sobre los huracanes más devastadores de la temporada 2017 en el mar Caribe y en el Golfo de México sirven para plantear la habitualidad y cercanía de los fenómenos meteorológicos extremos, a pesar de que dichos acontecimientos se hayan llevado a cabo hace varios años y a mucha distancia del país donde se publican esas informaciones. Tanto la globalización como el creciente interés del público por informarse sobre las catástrofes favorecen que no se perciba con claridad entre la cercanía y la distancia, temporal y/o espacial. Este artículo sostiene que los tratamientos periodísticos de catástrofes lejanas construyen los relatos con el objeto de buscar la implicación del lector antes que ofrecer datos neutrales.Los relatos en la prensa española sobre los huracanes más devastadores de la temporada 2017 en el mar Caribe y en el Golfo de México sirven para plantear la habitualidad y cercanía de los fenómenos meteorológicos extremos, a pesar de que dichos acontecimientos se hayan llevado a cabo hace varios años y a mucha distancia del país donde se publican esas informaciones. Tanto la globalización como el creciente interés del público por informarse sobre las catástrofes favorecen que no se perciba con claridad entre la cercanía y la distancia, temporal y/o espacial. Este artículo sostiene que los tratamientos periodísticos de catástrofes lejanas construyen los relatos con el objeto de buscar la implicación del lector antes que ofrecer datos neutrales
Palmeiras Africanas em Solos Brasileiros: Transformação Socioecológica e a Construção de uma Paisagem Afro-Brasileira
Get PDFAs histórias ambientais da diáspora africana desafiam as interpretações eurocêntricas dos intercâmbios atlânticos após a colonização, identificando antecedentes africanos nas paisagens e culturas do Novo Mundo. Desse modo, este artigo une esse esforço, traçando a formação de paisagens africanas através do dendê (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) na Bahia, Brasil. A palmeira africana de dendê e seus produtos foram difundidos na Bahia no início do período colonial. O azeite extraído dos seus frutos tornou-se um componente integral da cultura e da culinária afro-brasileira, e os bosques das palmeiras que produzem esse azeite vieram para representar uma paisagem afro-brasileira. Apesar do centro de origem do dendezeiro ser na África Ocidental, a espécie é mais difundida e importante para as culturas locais e economias globais, porém, os estudos sobre o azeite-de-dendê na Bahia são raros e geralmente realizados sem atenção das mudanças históricas e ecológicas de longo prazo. O presente estudo reúne evidências de arquivos coloniais, relatos de viajantes, etnografias, trabalhos de campo e dados geográficos para analisar a formação da Costa do Dendê no litoral sul da Bahia. Africanos e afro-brasileiros emergiram como atores principais e esta análise os coloca dentro de uma estrutura socioecológica mais ampla, para demonstrar como a agência humana se uniu com flora e fauna, bem com os processos históricos, geográficos e agroecológicos para estabelecer e sustentar uma paisagem afro-brasileira.As histórias ambientais da diáspora africana desafiam as interpretações eurocêntricas dos intercâmbios atlânticos após a colonização, identificando antecedentes africanos nas paisagens e culturas do Novo Mundo. Desse modo, este artigo une esse esforço, traçando a formação de paisagens africanas através do dendê (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) na Bahia, Brasil. A palmeira africana de dendê e seus produtos foram difundidos na Bahia no início do período colonial. O azeite extraído dos seus frutos tornou-se um componente integral da cultura e da culinária afro-brasileira, e os bosques das palmeiras que produzem esse azeite vieram para representar uma paisagem afro-brasileira. Apesar do centro de origem do dendezeiro ser na África Ocidental, a espécie é mais difundida e importante para as culturas locais e economias globais, porém, os estudos sobre o azeite-de-dendê na Bahia são raros e geralmente realizados sem atenção das mudanças históricas e ecológicas de longo prazo. O presente estudo reúne evidências de arquivos coloniais, relatos de viajantes, etnografias, trabalhos de campo e dados geográficos para analisar a formação da Costa do Dendê no litoral sul da Bahia. Africanos e afro-brasileiros emergiram como atores principais e esta análise os coloca dentro de uma estrutura socioecológica mais ampla, para demonstrar como a agência humana se uniu com flora e fauna, bem com os processos históricos, geográficos e agroecológicos para estabelecer e sustentar uma paisagem afro-brasileira.As histórias ambientais da diáspora africana desafiam as interpretações eurocêntricas dos intercâmbios atlânticos após a colonização, identificando antecedentes africanos nas paisagens e culturas do Novo Mundo. Desse modo, este artigo une esse esforço, traçando a formação de paisagens africanas através do dendê (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) na Bahia, Brasil. A palmeira africana de dendê e seus produtos foram difundidos na Bahia no início do período colonial. O azeite extraído dos seus frutos tornou-se um componente integral da cultura e da culinária afro-brasileira, e os bosques das palmeiras que produzem esse azeite vieram para representar uma paisagem afro-brasileira. Apesar do centro de origem do dendezeiro ser na África Ocidental, a espécie é mais difundida e importante para as culturas locais e economias globais, porém, os estudos sobre o azeite-de-dendê na Bahia são raros e geralmente realizados sem atenção das mudanças históricas e ecológicas de longo prazo. O presente estudo reúne evidências de arquivos coloniais, relatos de viajantes, etnografias, trabalhos de campo e dados geográficos para analisar a formação da Costa do Dendê no litoral sul da Bahia. Africanos e afro-brasileiros emergiram como atores principais e esta análise os coloca dentro de uma estrutura socioecológica mais ampla, para demonstrar como a agência humana se uniu com flora e fauna, bem com os processos históricos, geográficos e agroecológicos para estabelecer e sustentar uma paisagem afro-brasileira
Infraestructura en Peligro. El Cabildo de Lima y “El Niño” Oscilación del Sur 1700–1720.
Get PDFEl Perú es un país que constantemente debe hacer frente al paso de diversos y recurrentes fenómenos naturales. Uno de aquellos fenómenos es El Niño Oscilación del Sur (ENOS), de alcance global y que tiene un fuerte impacto sobre el espacio andino. En ese sentido, esta investigación busca entender ¿cómo es que la ciudad de Lima, a través del cabildo, mantuvo en pie su infraestructura durante la ocurrencia de fenómenos de El Niño entre los años de 1700 a 1720? Con este propósito, se utiliza el concepto de resiliencia urbana para analizar las acciones que los habitantes de la ciudad de Lima realizaron ante el peligro de la destrucción de importante infraestructura hidráulica como los tajamares, acequias, piletas y el puente de piedra durante la ocurrencia de El Niño Oscilación del Sur entre los años de 1700 a 1720.El Perú es un país que constantemente debe hacer frente al paso de diversos y recurrentes fenómenos naturales. Uno de aquellos fenómenos es El Niño Oscilación del Sur (ENOS), de alcance global y que tiene un fuerte impacto sobre el espacio andino. En ese sentido, esta investigación busca entender ¿cómo es que la ciudad de Lima, a través del cabildo, mantuvo en pie su infraestructura durante la ocurrencia de fenómenos de El Niño entre los años de 1700 a 1720? Con este propósito, se utiliza el concepto de resiliencia urbana para analizar las acciones que los habitantes de la ciudad de Lima realizaron ante el peligro de la destrucción de importante infraestructura hidráulica como los tajamares, acequias, piletas y el puente de piedra durante la ocurrencia de El Niño Oscilación del Sur entre los años de 1700 a 1720