Environmental law and the economic politic in the advancement of sugarcane activity to ethanol production in the State of São Paulo

• Grant number: 10/07526-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2011
• End date: August 31, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Law - Public Law
• Principal Investigator: Ana Maria de Oliveira Nusdeo
• Grantee: Adriana Fernandes Dainezi
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Direito (FD). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The concern about the environment increases sharply. The production and use of biofuels grows - especially ethanol, in Brazil. From that, comes up a question: how will society, legal mechanisms of environmental protection and the government in Brazil deal with a growing ethanol production that comes from sugar cane - a product ecologically promising that causes, at the same time, many environmental problems? Therefore, we are going to wage an analysis that covers, first, the history of agriculture in Brazil, taking into account the political and economic conjuncture. We will also study the relation between the environment and the production of sugar cane in Brazil, as a whole, and especially in the state of São Paulo: its advantages - when transformed in a biofuel - and disadvantages, like deforestation. Besides, we will study public policies related to environment and ethanol production in São Paulo, gathering data and analyzing, also, the government's inspection practices regarding the subject. The goal, then, is to do a broad and multidisciplinary analysis of the environmental and economic issues related to the ethanol production in São Paulo. (AU)