A Transport Fare Card Moves Rio Closer to Social Inclusion and Carbon Emission Reductions | safe, clean, affordable...

Brazil’s recent economic growth, the hosting of the football World Cup in 2014 and the 2016 Olympic Games are serving as a catalyst for the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area to reform public transport. Rio, like many other Brazilian cities – where close to 85 percent of the country’s population lives – is facing strong pressure to find new ways to adapt its transport system to increasing population and rapid motorization. The city has a population of about 6 million and motorized transport accounts for almost 70 percent of trips and about 45 percent of the city’s total emissions.

Both the State and the Municipality are seeking to decongest the metropolitan area cooperatively through better integration of the existing transport systems.  The aim is to offer an acceptable level of service to the user while reducing operating subsidies and informality in the bus system. The result will be a more integrated multimodal network, including bus/BRT (under the authority of the Municipality), suburban railways (State), and metro (State). There are also plans to upgrade waterway terminals and acquire new ferries. All public transport systems in the City of Rio will need to be fully accessible for people with disabilities by 2016, to be compliant with Federal Laws on accessibility.

In particular, the State’s emphasis on improving the rail-based networks, particularly the SuperVia commuter rail and MetrôRio systems, is a cost-efficient priority which will contribute to a cleaner environment and to the greening initiatives put forward by the State. It will also help facilitate access to employment centers, health, education, and leisure facilities by poorer segments of the population. On a daily basis, 46 percent of the poor residents of Rio’s peripheral areas travel to the capital. It is estimated that 74 percent of SuperVia users are poor and six of the nine municipalities served by the network have poverty rates above 50 percent.

One of Rio‘s major achievements is the recent introduction of the Integrated Transit Fare or Bilhete Único Integrado (BUI). Launched in 2010, the BUI is an electronic card system that allows residents of the 20 municipalities in Rio’s metropolitan region to transfer between various modes of public transport (ferries, commuter rail, metro, buses and informal transport - usually in the form of privately owned and operated vans) within a period of two and a half hours for the price of a single fare ticket. This integration of public transport fares at the state and municipal levels has improved the affordability of public transport for poor households and led to a more optimal use of the road network in the city 99 percent of riders in Rio’s metropolitan region are now able to reach their destinations using the single-fare pass; while bringing reductions in their travel time and when transferring between different modes of transport, making public transit more attractive compared to cars and motorcycles.

The BUI has contributed to a more balanced job distribution throughout the region: under the old system, employers - who are required by law to cover a fixed percentage of their employees' travel expenses, had a tendency to select applicants who lived close to their job and therefore enjoyed comparatively low commuting costs; with the new integrated fare system, workers who live farther away from major employment centers now benefit from lower transport costs and have consequently become more attractive to potential employers. As a result, employers no longer select their employees based on where they live.

 The BUI card, which costs up to R$4.40 (about US$2.00), led to a reduction in the number of bus fares from 74 to 12 in the Metropolitan Area. The Department of Transport estimated that between February 2010 and February 2012, the card helped generate more than 585.3 million trips, benefiting an average of 280,000 users per day. An independent study estimated that the card implementation would represent an average saving of R$2.62 per user; a reduction of over 50% in the number of public transit trips taken; and an increase in formal jobs from 71.0% to 72.15%.

A critical factor in ensuring the success of the card was tackling the issue of informal buses. Introducing the BUI required the passing of new legislation regulating the services of bus operators and their consolidation from 47 companies to four. These companies were required to compete for five areas of the city through open tenders. One of the requirements for the new operators was adherence to the new ticketing system. The introduction of the BUI and the lower public transport fares that ensued translated into a 20% decrease in fare revenues; since Rio does not award subsidies to public transport operators, the implementation of the new fare system forced bus companies to become more efficient and to consolidate some of their operations.

There are other reforms underway in Rio related to bicycles and expansion of BRT lines and funicular transport in the city’s favelas that are interesting to review as examples of transport policies that can impact social inclusion and the environment. And if I had nearly half as much enthusiasm as Mr. Lopes about discussing good practice about Rio, this blog entry could easily become the length of a paper. For now, the World Bank is continuing its strong partnership with Rio in the context of a project that aims to upgrade Rio’s urban rail system. The project will further improve transit quality, favor the poor in particular, promote non-motorized transport, and improve the policy framework for sustainable transport. The project will also improve the transit system’s resilience to natural disasters and it will have positive impacts on mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

A Transport Fare Card Moves Rio Closer to Social Inclusion and Carbon Emission Reductions | safe, clean, affordable...

In Fields and Markets, Guatemalans Feel Squeeze of Biofuel Demand

In the tiny tortillerias of this city, people complain ceaselessly about the high price of corn. Just three years ago, one quetzal — about 15 cents — bought eight tortillas; today it buys only four. And eggs have tripled in price because chickens eat corn feed.

Meanwhile, in rural areas, subsistence farmers struggle to find a place to sow their seeds. On a recent morning, José Antonio Alvarado was harvesting his corn crop on the narrow median of Highway 2 as trucks zoomed by. 

“We’re farming here because there is no other land, and I have to feed my family,” said Mr. Alvarado, pointing to his sons Alejandro and José, who are 4 and 6 but appear to be much younger, a sign of chronic malnutrition.

Recent laws in the United States and Europe that mandate the increasing use of biofuel in cars have had far-flung ripple effects, economists say, as land once devoted to growing food for humans is now sometimes more profitably used for churning out vehicle fuel. 

In a globalized world, the expansion of the biofuels industry has contributed to spikes in food prices and a shortage of land for food-based agriculture in poor corners of Asia, Africa and Latin America because the raw material is grown wherever it is cheapest. 

Nowhere, perhaps, is that squeeze more obvious than in Guatemala, which is “getting hit from both sides of the Atlantic,” in its fields and at its markets, said Timothy Wise, a Tufts University development expert who is studying the problem globally with Actionaid, a policy group based in Washington that focuses on poverty.

With its corn-based diet and proximity to the United States, Central America has long been vulnerable to economic riptides related to the United States’ corn policy. Now that the United States is using 40 percent of its crop to make biofuel, it is not surprising that tortilla prices have doubled in Guatemala, which imports nearly half of its corn. 

At the same time, Guatemala’s lush land, owned by a handful of families, has proved ideal for producing raw materials for biofuels. Suchitepéquez Province, a major corn-producing region five years ago, is now carpeted with sugar cane and African palm. The field Mr. Alvarado used to rent for his personal corn crop now grows sugar cane for a company that exports bioethanol to Europe.

In Fields and Markets, Guatemalans Feel Squeeze of Biofuel Demand

Marine agriculture offers a new solution to the problem of water scarcity

Costa Rican academics are pioneering the growth of crops on freshwater lakes as a way of addressing food shortages

Ricardo Radulovich, professor of water science at the University of Costa Rica, points out that in Africa irrigation is a very limited option, due to lack of water, and rain-fed agriculture is affected by prolonged dry seasons and rainfall variability during the rainy seasons. A case in point is the Sahel in west Africa, where drought has grown increasingly frequent and where emergency aid was needed last year to forestall famine.

Yet Radulovich believes that Africa's lakes can be part of the solution to the continent's agricultural limitations. Several African countries are endowed with lakes, some very large, that occupy a surface of more than 150,000 square kilometres. Why not use that water surface to grow food and aquatic plants, and for fisheries, asks Radulovich, who began his career as an agricultural water scientist 10 years ago.

"The key issue is water," Radulovich said in a telephone interview from Costa Rica. "We have land, but water is the limiting element. You can have agriculture if you have water. If we use that lake surface to produce crops, aquatic plants, we won't waste water."

Radulovich and his team, including Schery Umanzor, have already begun prototype projects on Lake Nicaragua, where they have grown lettuce, tomato, cucumber and cantaloupe melons on floating rafts, a continuation of trials that were undertaken at sea in 2001 at the Gulf of Nicoya, on the Pacific coast. The tomato roots can trail in the water or be potted with a cotton rope dangling in the water from the pot, which draws in water to the plant.

The size of the rafts can vary, going up to six square metres, and can be made simply and cheaply, from plastic bottles, for example. Where the water is polluted by horticulture, an option is to grow flowers. One advantage of growing crops on water is that they are not as vulnerable to insects as they would be on land.

Marine agriculture offers a new solution to the problem of water scarcity

Costa Rica, Leader in Green Economic Development

Costa Rica has tripled its GDP over the past 25 years while doubling the size of its forests, and its goal is to be the world's first carbon-neutral country by 2021.

The country is preparing for a cap-and-trade program and is one of eight countries to receive a $350,000 grant from the World Bank to assist in its design and implementation. 

Also considered as part of its green economic development, a marine protected area larger than Yellowstone National Park ensures that fisheries are managed sustainably.

Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, a vice president with Conservation International (CI) and former environment and energy minister of Costa Rica, tells us how they are doing it: 

 

As global economic and environmental struggles continue to make headlines, perhaps the world should look toward Costa Rica for answers. In the last 25 years, my home country has tripled its GDP while doubling the size of its forests; it has also pledged to become the world's first carbon-neutral nation by 2021.

These unique and wonderful achievements reveal that shifting our global patterns of consumption and production into a greener economy is not only possible, but necessary. 

In 1996 Costa Rica created its Payment for Environmental Services (PES) program partially in response to deforestation pressures. The program was established to compensate landowners for protecting the ecosystems that supply fresh water, absorb carbon and provide other services for people.

At the time, it took those of us working in the Ministry of Environment many years to truly understand the economics of conservation, but as Costa Rica's environment and energy minister, I led this innovative program with high expectations. 

More than 15 years later, this program benefits 8,000 landowners in a territory covering 10 percent of the country, all outside national parks. The payment averages $78 per hectare per year, with most compensation focusing on carbon and water services. 

Since 2005, CI's Global Conservation Fund (GCF) has supported Costa Rica in engaging key landowners in the Osa Peninsula to enter into long-term payment for ecosystem services (PES) agreements. The region contains one of the best examples of lowland tropical rainforest remaining in Central America, featuring a range of distinct tropical ecosystems that are home to 50 percent of all species found in Costa Rica, including jaguars, harpy eagles, peccaries and giant anteaters.

Support from CI and many others has helped achieve unprecedented conservation objectives here, including halting the loss of tropical forest, restoring degraded forest and establishing innovative economic instruments to value biodiversity. 

Building on the success of this program, GCF is a funding partner in an innovative new fund for Costa Rica that will support biodiversity services under a PES scheme targeting private landholders in valuable conservation areas. The Trust for the Sustainable Biodiversity Fund is also financed by the German Development Bank and the Global Environment Facility. Currently totaling $17 million, it is expected to reach $20 million by the end of 2012. 

This new fund will complement Costa Rica's existing PES program, compensating private landowners for conserving forests not currently included in protected areas. This is the first conservation fund in the world designed to provide PES specifically for biodiversity services such as pollination, tourism and resources for future medicines. 

As someone who has worked on these issues for many years, I'm proud of the long-term engagement between CI and the Costa Rican government, and hope this success will be replicated throughout the tropics.

Costa Rica, Leader in Green Economic Development

Dr. Vandana Shiva: The Connection Between Global Economic Policy and Violence Against Women

*Abridged version

 

The brave and courageous Delhi gang rape victim breathed her last on December 30, 2012. This article is a tribute to her and other victims of violence against women.

Violence against women is as old as patriarchy. But it has intensified and become more pervasive in the recent past. It has taken on more brutal forms, like the death of the Delhi gang rape victim and the suicide of the 17-year-old rape victim in Chandigarh.

Could there be a connection between the growth of violent, undemocratically imposed, unjust and unfair economic policies and the growth of crimes against women?

I believe there is.

Firstly, the economic model focusing myopically on "growth" begins with violence against women by discounting their contribution to the economy.

The more the government talks ad nauseam about "inclusive growth" and "financial inclusion", the more it excludes the contributions of women to the economy and society.  According to patriarchal economic models, production for sustenance is counted as "non-production". The transformation of value into disvalue, labour into non-labour, knowledge into non-knowledge, is achieved by the most powerful number that rules our lives, the patriarchal construct of GDP, Gross Domestic Product, which commentators have started to call the Gross Domestic Problem.

National accounting systems which are used for calculating growth as GDP are based on the assumption that if producers consume what they produce, they do not in fact produce at all, because they fall outside the production boundary.

The production boundary is a political creation that, in its workings, excludes regenerative and renewable production cycles from the area of production. Hence, all women who produce for their families, children, community and society are treated as "non-productive" and "economically" inactive. When economies are confined to the market place, economic self-sufficiency is perceived as economic deficiency. The devaluation of women's work, and of work done in subsistence economies of the South, is the natural outcome of a production boundary constructed by capitalist patriarchy.

By restricting itself to the values of the market economy, as defined by capitalist patriarchy, the production boundary ignores economic value in the two vital economies which are necessary to ecological and human survival. They are the areas of nature's economy and sustenance economy. In nature's economy and sustenance economy, economic value is a measure of how the earth's life and human life are protected. Its currency is life giving processes, not cash or the market price.

Secondly, a model of capitalist patriarchy which excludes women's work and wealth creation in the mind deepens the violence by displacing women from their livelihoods and alienating them from the natural resources on which their livelihoods depend - their land, their forests, their water, their seeds and biodiversity. Economic reforms based on the idea of limitless growth in a limited world can only be maintained by the powerful grabbing the resources of the vulnerable. The resource grab that is essential for "growth" creates a culture of rape - the rape of the earth, of local self-reliant economies, the rape of women. The only way in which this "growth" is "inclusive" is by its inclusion of ever larger numbers in its circle of violence.

Read the full article from: Dr. Vandana Shiva: The Connection Between Global Economic Policy and Violence Against Women

Mauritania bans plastic bag use

Mauritania has banned the use of plastic bags to protect the environment and the lives of animals and fish.

More than 70% of cattle and sheep who die in the capital, Nouakchott, are killed by eating plastic bags, environment ministry official Mohamed Yahya told BBC Afrique.

Plastic bag manufacturers could be jailed for up to a year.

Plastic makes up a quarter of 56,000 tonnes of waste produced annually in Nouakchott, official statistics show.

Mauritania's Organization of Consumer Protection head Moctar Ould Tauf said he welcomed the ban, Efe news agency reports.

It was of "particular importance" given the negative impact of plastic bags on the environment, animals and marine species, he said.

Environment Minister Amedi Camara said that nearly all of the plastic package waste is not "collected and is found in the natural environment - land and sea - where they are sometimes ingested by marine species and livestock, causing their death".

The government, local non-governmental organisations and the UN Programme for Development (UNDP) have been promoting the use of new biodegradable bags, the Mauritanian Information Agency reports.
Anyone using, manufacturing or importing plastic bags could be fined or sentenced to a year in prison, Mr Camara said.

Several African countries, including Rwanda, have already banned the use of plastic bags.

Mauritania bans plastic bag use

Green Economy and Sustainable Development