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Abstract"An environmental impact assessment system for agricultural R&D" has been implemented by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Agency (Embrapa) aiming at fulfilling the institutional mission statement of 'introducing sustainable development objectives in all steps of agricultural research'. The impact assessment platform emphasizes close interaction between R&D teams and technology-adopting producers, under actual field contexts, in order to improve both the technology development and the demand probing processes. The proposed integrated environmental indicators system (AmbitecAgro) has been routinely applied in technology appraisals by all of Embrapa's Research Units, as one of the criteria of its institutional evaluation system, and toward the formulation of the Social Balance Reports, annually published since 1997. The present paper describes the social and environmental dimensions of this integrated impact assessment platform, its roles in the institutional learning process for technology research management, and an impact analysis of proposed agricultural innovations.

O uso de lenha e carvão vegetal produzido a partir de plantios florestais tem apresentado tendências de crescimento na matriz energética brasileira. Essas fontes de energia renováveis têm sido foco de estudos e políticas públicas, visando à reestruturação das cadeias produtivas para o suprimento da demanda. O objetivo desse trabalho foi analisar a dinâmica mercadológica da lenha e carvão vegetal da silvicultura no Brasil, considerando a evolução da produção e dos preços, a concentração da produção e sua localização geográfica nos municípios e estados brasileiros. Utilizou-se como base de dados, a produção e o valor da produção municipal, obtidos junto ao Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE) e da Pesquisa da Extração Vegetal e Silvicultura (PEVS), considerando o período entre os anos 2001 e 2011. A taxa de crescimento da produção, a curva de Lorenz, o índice de Gini e a distribuição espacial em mapas da produção de lenha e carvão vegetal no Brasil foram as ferramentas de análise utilizadas. Os principais resultados evidenciam uma concentração da produção de lenha nos três estados do Sul do Brasil e do carvão vegetal em Minas Gerais. O aumento dos preços indica que a demanda não está sendo suficientemente suprida, sobretudo nos estados em que a produção ainda é insipiente.

RESUMOA biomassa de origem florestal é uma importante fonte de energia na matriz energética brasileira em que o eucalipto representa a principal espécie para o suprimento da demanda de lenha. Por essa razão, diagnosticar os fatores críticos que limitam o desempenho competitivo da cadeia produtiva da lenha de eucalipto foi o objetivo do trabalho. A área de estudo escolhida (selecionada) foi o polo produtivo de Itapeva -SP e a pesquisa de campo foi realizada no segundo semestre de 2013, utilizando a análise de cadeias produtivas como marco teórico conceitual. Como instrumento para a coleta dos dados, utilizou-se o questionário semiestruturado, um roteiro de entrevistas e painéis envolvendo questões relacionadas à cadeia produtiva da lenha de eucalipto, contemplando 23 diferentes agentes da cadeia. A cadeia analisada demonstrou estruturação, porém, tem enfrentado um revés produtivo decorrente de uma conjuntura macroeconômica que resultou em queda da demanda de produtos de origem florestal, e entraves locais de significativa importância, que precisam ser contornados para aumentar o desempenho da cadeia. Palavras-chave: biomassa; bioenergia; mercado florestal. ABSTRACTThe biomass from forests is an important source of energy, in the Brazilian energy matrix, being the eucalyptus the main species to the supplying of firewood demand. Therefore, diagnosing the critical factors that limited the competitive performance of the production of the eucalyptus wood chain was the goal of this work. The study area was the productive pole of Itapeva/SP state and the field survey was conducted in the second half of 2013, using the analysis of supply chains as a conceptual theoretical framework. As a tool for data collection, we used a semi-structured questionnaire, a script for interviews and conducting panels, involving issues related to the production chain of the eucalyptus wood, covering 23 different agents involved in it. The analyzed chain showed to be structured, even facing a production setback, due to a macroeconomic environment that resulted in a drop in the demand for forest products. These products face significant important local barriers, which need to be defeated to increase the chain performance.

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The Caratinga Biological Station (CBS) is an important preserve of the Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest, defined as a national priority for the conservation of this highly fragmented biome and shelter to the largest existing population of the northern muriqui, the critically threatened largest monkey species of the Americas. Extensive research on the demography of this population has indicated favorable conditions for growth, pointing out the importance of promoting expansion of the locally available habitat. In the present study, rural establishments neighboring the CBS were involved in a participatory program for wildlife corridor restoration, by means of the application of a 'System for Weighted Environmental Impact Assessment of Rural Activities' (APOIA-NovoRural), which consists of 62 indicators integrated in five sustainability dimensions: i) Landscape ecology; ii) Environmental quality; iii) Socio-cultural values; iv) Economic values; and v) Management and administration. Results regarding the Landscape ecology indicators (those most related with fauna protection) attested to the adequate performance of productive activities in the studied establishments, while pointed out the need for improvements in natural habitats conservation. The Environmental Management Reports issued to the farmers included mapped recommendations for forest restoration and wildlife corridors implementation, favoring the connection of the main preserved area of CBS with the second largest forest fragment in the region.

There is an increasing demand in the ostrich farming sector for management tools that are capable of motivating, preparing and guiding producers to meet the requirements of ‘environmentally conscious’ consumers. Many methodological options are currently available to conduct sustainability assessments and to ensure the best environmental management of rural activities. One option, the ‘System for weighed environmental impact assessment of rural activities’ (APOIA-NovoRural), has recently been validated for ostrich farming, as a tool for checking the contributions of the activity to local sustainable development. Case studies have favoured the understanding of the main environmental impacts and provided valuable recommendations regarding natural resources management and landscape ecology improvements in ostrich farming systems. Most importantly, the criteria and indicators constructed in this environmental management tool may be used for defining general ‘Terms of Reference’ for sustainable ostrich farming.

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