Brazil Economic Development and Conserve the Environment

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Component One
Component Two
Component Three
Component Four
Vicious Cycle
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Brazil is the second, fifth-largest country in the world geographically and in terms of population. In this view, Brazil epitomizes on the ongoing global tension pitying biodiversity preservation against sustainable agricultural practices and economic growth.

According to current statistics, Brazil is a critical emerging economic power, which has a GDP of US$6040 billion and a GDP per capita of US$326.21 billion in 2004 (European Commission, 2007). The countrys environment is one of the richest in the world because of not only flora and fauna, but also because of its ecosystems, which contain an excess of 15 % of the plant and animal species known to botanists (Saxena, 2005).

The country is the source of water, and also a water table of up to 12% of the available freshwater worldwide Brazil is also undoubtedly one of the leading producers of food and biofuels in Latin America and globally (Ferreira, Pardini, Metzger, Fonseca, Pompeu, Sparovek, & Louzada, 2012).

To maintain the trend of food production, the country should try to institute measures that aim at reducing the negative effects of poor farming methods, while improving farming practices. Therefore, this paper discusses how sustainable and productive agricultural practices can be used to promote economic development and conserve the environment, and thus prevent the occurrence of vicious cycle in Brazil.

Component One

Vicious cycle is an agricultural problem that is facing Brazil. Ascher and Healy (1990) used this concept to demonstrate the complex interrelationships among four critical facets of socio-physical production, which are economic production, distribution of income, natural resources, and the environment.

Concerning the explanation of the relationship between economic development and environmental conservation, it is clear that industrial production is the level, source, and composition of goods, and services generated by the economy at any point in time among the four facets of production.

The four facets of production include functional distribution, size distribution among recipients of different levels of income, distribution of in-kind income such as government services or gratifications from an environmental quality, as well as regional income distribution.

Available literature demonstrates that such facets of production have adverse impacts on biodiversity and the conservation of ecosystems in the country (Jain, 1998). Hence, the policymakers should incorporate environmental conservation measures into agricultural development to enhance optimization of agricultural production.

Component Two

In spite of the issue of vicious cycle, Brazil is on the verge of achieving long-term economic development because of effective exploitation of natural resources.

According to European Commission (2007), the dense tropical rainforest of the Amazon, the important biomes of the Savannah-like Cerrado, the arid scrublands of the Caatinga, the Pampas, and the wetlands of the Pantanal are some of the natural resources endowed to Brazil (p. 11).

Given that agricultural exports comprise about 28% of total exports, the government has prioritized agriculture as an important economic activity. However, massive deforestation, use of pesticides, application of fertilizers, and use of other agricultural chemicals threatens productivity (Ferreira, et al., 2012, p. 536). On this basis, poor agricultural practices have the capacity to ignite and perpetuate vicious cycle.

Component Three

Additionally, it emerges that the urge to achieve sustained economic development has catapulted policymakers into availing huge tracts of previously virgin land for cultivation aimed at increasing agricultural yield.

Although a sizeable proportion of farmers are employing modern practices to increase acreage and agricultural output, many are still using poisonous pesticides and farming practices that contribute substantially to soil erosion and degradation.

Vladas (2008) argues that policymakers in Brazil should realize that another vicious cycle between economic development and income distribution could occur in the near future as long as farmers in the North East regions of the country continue to use harmful farming practices. Consequently, one can suggest that a vicious cycle between economic development and environmental degradation has already started

Component Four

In the Brazilian context, it is evident that attempts by the government and other stakeholders to enhance the countrys economic development through agricultural expansion have continued to generate a multiple environmental externalities.

The government should encourage farmers to employ environmental conservation practices such as reduction of biological diversity, prevention of soil erosion in rural farming areas, conservation of watershed and natural resources, and prevention of soil and habitat degradation.

Farmers should also be included in the process of implementing the environment conservation policies and good farming methods since they are the prime stakeholders in the field of agriculture (Clement, 2005). Therefore, the country must introduce conservation measures and ensure their implementation by the farmers as well as other players in the agricultural industry.

Vicious Cycle

The way forward for environmental policymakers in Brazil, therefore, is to put in place strong institutional policies for managing resources and ensuring the long-term sustainability of the agricultural sector.

Water (2008) argues that the government, in conjunction with relevant stakeholders, must act promptly to break the vicious cycle between economic development and environmental degradation by coming up with educational and awareness programs targeting farmers who use inferior farming methods to enhance their agricultural output.

Additionally, it is imperative for the government to develop clear management objectives and implementation of existing policies effectively (Carneiro & Danton, 2011). Development and implementation of appropriate agricultural policies are central to sustainability of productive agriculture and in prevention of the vicious cycle in agricultural sector.

Conclusion

For Brazil to achieve economic development, it has to embrace the policies of environmental conservation and implement them effectively. Since agriculture is the backbone of the countrys economy, it essential to improve productivity in a sustainable manner to support the livelihoods of farmers in Brazil.

It is noteworthy that the success of these environmental conservation measures is highly dependent on the extent to which stakeholders encourage farmers to practice good farming practices. Owing to laxity in the implementation of conservation policies results in the continuation of harmful and destructive methods of farming that are detrimental to the sustainability of the environment, and thus resulting in vicious cycle.

References

Ascher. W., & Healy, R.G. (1990). Natural resource policymaking in developing countries: Environment, economic growth, and income distribution. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press.

Carneiro, J., & Danton, T. (2011). Agriculture and biodiversity in the Brazilian social Sciences: A possible state of the art scenario innovation. The European Journal of Social Science, 24(3), 225-246.

Clement, A. (2005). The economics of a safe minimum standard of conservation. The American Journal of Agriculture, 60(24), 10-18.

European Commission (2007). Country strategy paper 2007-2013. Web.

Ferreira, J., Pardini, R., Metzger, J.P., Fonseca, C.R., Pompeu, P.S., Sparovek, G., & Louzada, J. (2012). Towards environmentally sustainable agriculture in Brazil: Challenges and opportunities for applied ecological research. Journal of Applied Ecology, 2(1), 1-23.

Jain, C. (1998). Agricultural Intensification by Smallholders in the Western Brazilian Amazon. Journal of Regional Science, 15(2), 55-60.

Saxena, D. (2005). Agricultural development in Uttah, The Geographer, 32(1), 20-28.

Vladas, G. (2008). Conservation of Environment. Journal of Environmental Physiology 23(1), 21-32

Walter, C. (2008). Overview of Indias Agricultural Economy. Asia Pacific Development Journal, 10(2), 15-20.

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