The "Green Cities" Program: Strategies for enhancing space in the municipalities of Pará

Abstract

In recent decades, the environmental issue has led to greater flexibility of spatial scales, using an environmental discourse to intervene on the ground. The State has been organising this space, using the environmental issue as justification, with specific laws containing spatial planning objectives, as well as allowing municipalities to carry out direct action in their territories to deal with the most urgent issues relating to land management. At the same time, as has happened with policy changes since the 1990s, public power has established territorial strategic alliances with the private sector in a way which has mainly favoured the latter. This article aims to show how this issue is dealt with in the Green Municipalities Program, which began in Southeast Pará in 2008. The results show a process of re-harnessing the economic value of the space using the discourse of "sustainable development".

Multi-stakeholder partnerships in agricultural commodity supply chains and deforestation-free commitments in the Amazon: a delicate balance

“…To achieve equity, fairness, and compliance under challenging international climate and environmental settings (FERREIRA COSTA, 2016), Brazil still must integrate smaller and less powerful actors in the decision-making process (NEPSTAD et al, 2014;MICOLLIS et al, 2014). The country, also, needs to maintain open space to add more prominent players who have not joined environmental initiatives so far -and those who have more influence on the drivers of deforestation (BARRETO and ARAÚJO, 2012;BOUCHER et al, 2013;WHA-TELY and CAMPANILI, 2014;DA COSTA and FLEURY, 2015;DONOFRIO et al, 2017). In this regard, the value of the above-mentioned multi-stakeholder partnerships and agricultural commodity moratoria (MPF-PA, 2009;MPF-MT, 2010;RUDORFF et al, 2011;CHAKRAVARTY et al, 2012;ABRANCHES, 2015;BANDEIRA, 2015;GIBBS et al, 2015;PIKETTY et al, 2015;ABIOVE, 2016;PMV, 2017;2018;ABRAPALMA, 2018).…”

“…In the aspects of anti-corruption measures, they can help clarify laws and regulations governing the public sector, defining priorities and limiting abuse of power. Also, by strengthened institutions, separating public and private spheres, promoting rights-based relationships; implementing checks and balances, reduce opportunities to stakeholders engage in corruption; and finally, reinforcing transparency, accountability, and integrity mutually -by the application of generally accepted values and norms in daily practice -, providing timely and reliable information on decisions and performance to tackle corruption in its many forms, more effectively (MPF-PA, 2009;MPF-MT, 2010;RUDORFF et al, 2011;BARRETO and ARAÚJO, 2012;CHAKRAVARTY et al, 2012;BOUCHER et al, 2013;WHATELY and CAMPANILI, 2014;ABRANCHES, 2015;BANDEIRA, 2015;DA COSTA and FLEURY, 2015;PIKETTY et al, 2015;GIBBS et al, 2015;ABIOVE, 2016;FER-REIRA COSTA, 2016;2016a;PMV, 2017;2018;DONOFRIO et al, 2017;ABRA-PALMA, 2018;UNODC, 2018).…”