Payment for environmental services: water production as a new function of family farming in the Atlantic Forest of Southeastern Brazil

Author(s)

Rafael Eduardo Chiodi

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: Piracicaba.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALA/BC)
• Defense date: 2015-08-05

Examining board members

Paulo Eduardo Moruzzi Marques; Julien Blanc; Rodrigo Constante Martins; Silvia Maria Guerra Molina

• Advisor: Paulo Eduardo Moruzzi Marques

Abstract

The country is ceasing to be perceived only as a space for agricultural production to be seen as multiple functions in the general interest of society holder. The recognition of social, environmental and cultural functions of agriculture makes the rural population is the focus of new public development policies. The focus of the multifunctionality of agriculture seeks to build a theoretical - methodological apparatus to understand these functions and give allowance to the formulation and evaluation of policies. Among these policies, Payment by (PSA - Water) Environmental Conservation Services Water Resources stands for recognizing the protection of water resources as a function of the countryside. In this sense, the work analyzed as payment for environmental services projects for the conservation of water resources are influencing dimensions of reproduction, maintenance and enhancement of social, economic and environmental conditions of family farming in the different contexts in which they are implemented in the Atlantic Forest portion of states of southeastern Brazil. Thus, in addition to understanding specific cases, we sought to establish a broader understanding of the PSA mechanism as public policy for family farming in Brazil. We used the method of study of case, surveying projects: Conservative Waters in Extrema, Minas Gerais water producers in Alfredo Chaves - ES and the Pilot Project the PCJ in Joanópolis and Nazaré Paulista - SP. Developed four levels of analysis: 1) theory, through a literature search; 2) institutional-legal, through a content analysis of legal documents that create the projects; 3) the institutional actors, through recorded interviews with the makers, managers and implementers of projects; and, 4) the landowners, through semi-structured interviews with participants and non-participants of the projects. It was found that, in theory, the notions of multifunctionality of agriculture and environmental services are interrelated, but emerge under different references, which makes it exciting mobilization from the first to the examination of PSA - Water projects as refers to its ability to recognize and value the multiple functions of family farming. The privileged dimensions of these PSA-Water are: the right to property, economic rationality, technical and scientific knowledge and environmental conservation. These dimensions are axes around which the institutional actors worked for the existence of the projects, which relegated to the background the prospect of building a agrienvironmental policy based on family farming. These actors acted less to increase or improve the conditions of environmental services and more to strengthen the institutions in which they are engaged. The implementation of the projects took place in contexts where there are heterogeneous socioeconomic profiles of landowners. Decision making occurred however little taking into account the social, economic and cultural dynamics around the family farmers. Thus, few significantly positive impacts on these dimensions can be observed. In any case, it was the farmers who most contributed to the achievement of the targets of the projects. It was concluded that PSA - Water projects analyzed as little public policies device value the wide range of functions of family farming in Brazil. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 12/13387-8 - Payment for environmental services: production of water as a novel function of family farming in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil.
• Grantee: Rafael Eduardo Chiodi
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate