Xingu: integrating land use planning and water governance in Amazonia: towards improved freshwater security

• Grant number: 13/50180-5
• Support Opportunities: Research Program on Global Climate Change - Thematic Grants
• Start date: September 01, 2013
• End date: August 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Ecosystems Ecology
• Agreement: Belmont Forum
• Principal Investigator: Alex Vladimir Krusche
• Grantee: Alex Vladimir Krusche
• Principal researcher abroad: Christopher Neill
• Institution abroad: Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), United States
• Host Institution: Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Pesquisadores principais: Maria Elisa de Paula Eduardo Garavello ; Maria Victoria Ramos Ballester
• Associated research grant(s): 14/01449-4 - Neglected tropical diseases' regulation as an ecosystem service, under land-use change and human adaptability scenarios, in alto Xingu-MT-Brazil communities, AV.BR
• Associated scholarship(s): 15/05103-8 - Dynamics of land use and land cover in the agricultural frontier of Brazilian Amazon: driving forces of changes and future scenarios, BP.DR; 16/11141-2 - Hydrologic variability and sediment supply of the Xingu and Tapajós rivers: climate change and anthropogenic impacts in eastern Amazon rivers during Holocene, BP.DR; 15/14457-8 - Environmental legislation and social representation of human populations at the Upper Xingu, BP.PD; 13/20377-1 - Development of soybean virtual water map for the Upper Xingu basin, Mato Grosso - Brazil, BP.DR

Abstract

The expansion of intensive crop agriculture in tropical forests is a global phenomenon driven by land availability, shifts in diet to more meat consumption and growth of human populations and incomes. These land-use changes have not been accompanied by significant improvements in water governance. This will become increasingly important as changes to climate impact the amount, timing and variability of precipitation upon which this agricultural system depends. Moreover, we will examine the critical issue of Freshwater Security associated with expanding soybean agriculture in the agricultural frontier of Amazonia (upper Xingu River Basin, Brazil). We will identify: 1) how impacts from land conversion, cropland expansion and agricultural intensification interact to affect regional evapotranspiration, rainfall generation, river flooding, water quality and stream habitats and the thresholds of change that will endanger agricultural production, traditional regional livelihoods and downstream water-related infrastructure, and 2) what mechanisms of water governance and distribution of environmental information services are best suited to facilitate integrated water management by decision makers resource uses and other stakeholders. We will engage soybean farmers and cattle ranchers through existing collaborations. We will also involve municipal officials, small producers, fishers and river-based businesses to determine to what extent a virtual water and hydrological modeling tools can influence stakeholder understanding of water security and will seek to identify potential institutional mechanisms to manage inevitable water management tradeoffs. To provide support for an informed decision making process, we will analyze regional population movements, social and cultural integration of migrants, relations between indigenous and non-indigenous local population regarding livelihood, water resources and the role of media in relation to environmental policy and decision making regarding freshwater security. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

EMPINOTTI, VANESSA. Beyond the dualities: a nuanced understanding of Brazilian soybean producers. FOOD SECURITY, v. 7, n. 6, p. 1165-1174, DEC 2015. (13/50180-5)

RIZZO, RODNEI; GARCIA, ANDREA S.; VILELA, VIVIAN M. DE F. N.; BALLESTER, MARIA VICTORIA R.; NEILL, CHRISTOPHER; VICTORIA, DANIEL C.; DA ROCHA, HUMBERTO R.; COE, MICHAEL T.. Land use changes in Southeastern Amazon and trends in rainfall and water yield of the Xingu River during 1976-2015. Climatic Change, v. 162, n. 3, JUN 2020. (13/50180-5, 13/20377-1)

GARCIA, ANDREA S.; VILELA, VIVIAN M. DE F. N.; RIZZO, RODNEI; WEST, PAUL; GERBER, JAMES S.; ENGSTROM, PEDER M.; BALLESTER, MARIA VICTORIA R.. Assessing land use/cover dynamics and exploring drivers in the Amazon's arc of deforestation through a hierarchical, multi-scale and multi-temporal classification approach. REMOTE SENSING APPLICATIONS-SOCIETY AND ENVIRONMENT, v. 15, p. 14-pg., 2019-08-01. (13/20377-1, 15/05103-8, 17/12787-6, 17/12567-6, 13/50180-5)