No abstract

Infrastructure projects and agriculture expansion are increasingly threatening forest conservation in Pará state (Brazil). It becomes necessary to address the implications of these activities on the Amazon complex socio-ecological system, considering both material and non-material aspects of Nature´s Contributions to People (NCP). Multiple studies developed future scenarios for the Amazon, but only a few have focused on discussing positive futures derived from policies and interventions based on conservation and human well-being. Here, we aim at understanding the drivers of forest cover change to produce positive scenarios for the future of the Amazon forest in Pará state. By using the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) conceptual framework, we identified as direct drivers of forest cover change: (i) roads construction; (ii) forest degradation; (iii) hydropower projects; (iv) urban expansion; (v) agriculture and pasture expansion; (vi) rural land occupation; (vii) mining; (viii) climate change. As indirect drivers we identified: (i) energy demand; (ii) population growth; (iii) land prices; (iv) commodity demand; (v) consumption behavior. The development of conservation strategies in the borders of deforested areas is needed given the high demand for Nature´s Contributions to People supply. We also propose policies to address the main drivers of forest cover change, influencing land management and consumption behavior in the state. At last, we envision future positive scenarios that would emerge from policy applications and sustainable actions. Based on our study, we discuss the importance of social learning for developing pathways leading to positive futures that consider the integrity and development of both ecological and social systems.

From the perspective of climate ethics, this article proposes to analyse the Payments for Environmental Services (PES) at the local (case study in São Paulo) and national (National Plan for Payments for Environmental Services) dimensions. The practices observed in these Brazilian political arenas were assessed via content analysis; From the guiding principles of political action, we analyse the dynamics of public policymaking actors in the light of categories such as planned naturalness, decision-making plurality, generational benefit, energy location and access to knowledge and material (PLANB Index). The final considerations refer to the urgency of public climate policies aligned with a normative ethical horizon, which must consider local perspectives as the starting point that helps the fulfilment of multilateral global agreements.

Resumo Este artigo analisa, sob a ótica da ética climática, as políticas de Pagamento por Serviços Ambientais nas dimensões local (PSA em São Paulo) e nacional (Plano Nacional de PSA) e o nexo indissociável entre a ética e a dimensão política brasileira. Essa conexão remete a uma reflexão teórica entre as políticas de PSA e o confronto de princípios éticos, por vezes antagônicos. As práticas observadas nas arenas políticas brasileiras foram avaliadas via análise de conteúdo à luz das seguintes categorias: Pluralidade decisória, Localidade energética, Acesso ao conhecimento e ao recurso material, Naturalização planejada e Benefício geracional (PLANB Index). As análises dos resultados transferem à urgência de políticas climáticas alinhadas a um horizonte ético normativo que reduza as iniquidades sociais e climáticas simultaneamente, as quais devem considerar, em termos de escala, as perspectivas locais e o tempo de implementação em sintonia com os acordos globais multilaterais.