Better City, Better Life E-Book

Lin Chau Ming

• Herausgeber: Editora Unesp
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 434

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

The book Better City, Better Life brings together papers from different disciplines of researchers who have in common the theme Sustainability. This book is intended to reflect on current planning strategies and growth of cities, from the perspective of sustainable development. These reflections approach the spatial, economic, political, social, cultural and environmental model. This book is divided into the following themes: "sustainable cities", "environmental sustainability" and "social and economic aspects of sustainability". Better City, Better Life is directed to researchers, graduate students and professionals in the fields related to Architecture and Urban Planning, Urban and Regional Planning, Engineering, Biology, Ecology, and related fields. It is expected that the presented research can contribute to the training of these professionals.

Leseprobe

In order to facilitate the academic reference to books in ePub platform, the page numbers of the printed edition are marked in the digital file between brackets and in bold style [00].

The Editors

Better City, Better Life

Better City, Better Life

Lin Chau Ming Wenhua Wang Renata Cardoso Magagnin (Orgs.)

© 2016 Editora Unesp

Cultura AcadêmicaPraça da Sé, 108 01001-900 – São Paulo – SP Tel.: (0xx11) 3242-7171 Fax: (0xx11) 3242-7172 www.culturaacademica.com.br www.livrariaunesp.com.br [email protected]

CIP – BRASIL. Catalogação na publicação Sindicato Nacional dos Editores de Livros, RJ

B466

Better city, better life / Organização Renata Cardoso Magagnin, Lin Chau Ming, Wenhua Wang. – 1.ed. – São Paulo: Cultura Acadêmica, 2016.

Formato: Digital

ISBN: 978-85-7983-828-6

Texto em inglês

1. Meio ambiente. 2. Preservação ambiental. 3. Qualidade de vida. I. Magagnin, Renata Cardoso. II. Ming, Lin Chau. III. Wang, Wenhua.

16-38593

CDD: 577

CDU: 502.1

Editora afiliada:

[5]Summary

Summary

Introduction and Overview

 1. Urban Housing and Environment:Challenges for Sustainability

Laura Machado de Mello Bueno

 2. Ecolinguistics and Environmental Education in Brazil

José Marcelo Freitas de Lima

 3. Water Resources in China: situation, measures and actions

Jiahui Shao

 4. Urban planning in Brazil

Ítalo Stephan

 5. Sustainability, Development and Well-being at Work

Inês Monteiro

 6. Strengthening Regional Capacities for Providing Remote Sensing Decision Support in Brazil in the Framework of Top China

Humberto Alves Barbosa

[6]7. One mode of Urban Agriculture: Organic Vegetable Production and Marketing

Huang Dafeng e Wang Xiaoli

 8. Plant Biotechnology: An Approach for Pesticide Reduction in Agriculture

Eliane Romanato Santarém

 9. Environmental Preservation and Protection of the Built Environment in Megacities

Clovis Chiezzi Seriacopi Ferreira

10. How Information Technology Can Improve Quality of Life for Elderly People

Anita Maria da Rocha Fernandes

11. Poverty in metropolitan areas and conditional cash transfer programs in Brazil:the Campinas (SP) experience

André Pires

12. An Indispensable Architectural Experience: João Filgueiras Lima – Lelé

Anália Maria Marinho de Carvalho Amorim

13. Sustainable Energy Sources in the Global Warming Scenario

Adir Janete Godoy dos Santos

14. Better use of scientific knowledge for green, clean and sustainable cities

Luciana Pinto Sartori

15. Bacterial regrowth and its control in drinking water distribution system

Yiming Liao e Xiaohui Bai

[7]16. Measurement of Mercury in Flue Gas Based on an Aluminum Matrix Sorbent and Mercury Removal by Existing Pollutant Control Devices of Six Coal-fired Power Plants in China

Wang Wenhua

17. Integrated watershed management for sustainable land use in Brazil: Soil and Water Resources

Teresa Cristina Tarlé Pissarra

18. Better City, Better Life – Minimum Sustainable Architecture Minimum Sustainable Architecture

Silvio Stefanini Sant‘Anna

19. The Sewage Treatment Plant with a Case Study in Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, ES, Brazil

Sandra Novaes Coelho

20. Using Role Play to Build a Common Sustainable Development Agenda for Brazil-China: the Case of Top China Program

Rogério César Pereira de Araújo e Leda Nakashiro Makiya

21. Three-Dimensional Air Quality Models

Ping Liu

22. Urban and Regional “Green” Mobility:Focus on Transportation

Nadja Lisboa da Silveira Guedes

23. Conservation of Mangroves in Urban Areas

Manuel Antonio de Andrade Furtado Neto

24. Risk, Modernity and Networks: The Risk of Modernity and the Emergence of Networks in Industry

Luciano Modes

[8]25. Urban conservation in Brazil:an overview

Leonardo Barci Castriota

 26. Risk and Climate Change in Brazilian Coastal Cities (The case of São Paulo State)

Leila da Costa Ferreira

Colophon

Cover text

Fourth cover

[9]Introduction and Overview

The book Better City, Better Life brings together papers from different disciplines of researchers who have the theme Sustainability in common. Another common characteristic refers to this theme’s participation in the Top China International Mobility Program.

This book is intended to reflect on current planning strategies and growth of cities from the perspective of sustainable development. These reflections approach the spatial, economic, political, social, cultural and environmental model. This book is divided into twenty-seven chapters and subdivided into the following themes: Sustainable Cities, Environmental Sustainability and Social and economic aspects of sustainability.

The theme Sustainable Cities includes papers related to sustainability in architecture and cities based on the following approaches: sustainability of buildings, housing, urban planning, transportation planning, legislation for city planning, management of cities, among other related topics.

The chapter, “Better City, Better Life: Minimum sustainable architecture”, aims to understand the concept of sustainability and its application in architecture. “Urban housing and environment: challenges for sustainability” discusses the process of urbanization and housing conditions in Brazil through the global dimension and the social and environmental crisis. The chapter, “An indispensable architectural experience: João Filgueiras Lima – Lelé”, aims to present an architectural design experience that unites the design of architectural and urban space with the constructive logic of cities. “Urban conservation in Brazil: an overview” shows the history of urban conservation in [10]Brazil, focusing on its early days, while trying to understand what in particular led intellectuals and politicians of the time to propose the preservation of complete sets in the 1930s. The chapter, “Urban planning in Brazil”, aims to reflect on the process of urbanization in Brazil. “Better use of scientific knowledge for green, clean and sustainable cities” intends to reflect on the importance of cities have in planned public spaces that are sustainable and generate quality of life for the population. The chapter, “Environmental preservation and protection of the built environment in megacities”, reflects on the challenges that cities face between urban development and the preservation of the environment. The chapter, “Green spaces in metropolitan area: spatial distribution and ecosystem service quantification”, analyzes urban vegetation in the metropolitan area. The case study in Pudong District, Shanghai, aims to show the nature of spatial distribution and ecosystems in urban green spaces. Finally, the chapter “Urban and regional” green “mobility: focus on transportation” aims to reflect on the theme sustainable transport for cities in terms of the existence of good Urban Mobility.

The second theme, “Environmental sustainability”, refers to sustainability issues related to the environment. The papers discuss the following topics: energy, climate, natural resources, infrastructure networks and smarter farming practices that are not harmful to health or the environment, among other related topics.

The chapter, “Energetic sources sustainability in the global warming scenario”, analyzes the perspectives of the energy matrix in Brazil through the following topics: demand, environment, regulation, technology and strategy. “Risk and climate change in Brazilian coastal cities (The case of São Paulo State)” investigates some of the political and institutional structures that have an effect on climate change in the coastal cities of São Paulo. The chapter, “Three-Dimensional Air Quality Models”, refers to the study of a three-dimensional model to analyze the transformation and transport of air pollutants in the atmosphere. “Conservation of Mangroves in urban areas” shows a discussion on the conservation of mangroves. The paper, “Water resources in China – situation, measures and actions”, analyzes the problems related to water resources in China. “Bacterial regrowth and its control in drinking water distribution system” analyzes bacterial growth and control in the drinking water distribution system in [11]China. The chapter, “The sewage treatment plant with a case study in Itapemirim, ES, Brazil”, shows a Brazilian example regarding the treatment of municipal sewage. “Integrated watershed management for sustainable land use in Brazil: soil and water resources” shows a discussion on the management of land use to improve urban, industrial and rural activities. The Chapter, “Strengthening Regional Capacities for providing remote sensing decision support in Brazil in the framework of Top China”, aims to present basic information about remote sensing tools. “Measurement of mercury in flue gas based on an aluminum matrix sorbent and mercury removals by existing pollutants control devices of six coal-fired power plants in China” shows the mercury pollution-related problems at coal plants in China. The chapter, “One mode of urban agriculture: organic vegetable production and marketing”, aims to analyze the characteristics of organic plant development and the challenges and opportunities for organic agriculture. And the chapter, “Plant Biotechnology: an approach is reduction pesticides in agriculture”, shows a study on reducing pesticides in agriculture.

The third part denominated “Social and economic aspects of sustainability” brings more specific issues related to sustainability. These papers are concerned with education, work, income, technology and industry. The chapter, “Ecolinguistics and environmental education in Brazil”, shows a didactic experience regarding the approach towards the sustainability issue by a group undergoing heterogeneous training, which involved Brazilian and Chinese students. The chapter, “Using role plays to build a common sustainable development schedule for Brazil-China: the case of Top China Program”, aims to identify and discuss the issues surrounding sustainable development in Brazil and China. The chapter, “Sustainability, development and well-being at work”, analyzes the question of sustainability in the process of changing modes of production enterprises and their impact on people’s lives and the planet. The chapter, “Poverty in metropolitan areas and conditional cash transfer programs in Brazil: the Campinas (SP) experience”, aims to analyze the income transfer program instituted by the Brazilian federal government. The chapter, “How information technology can Improve elderly people quality of life”, shows some examples about how information technology can improve the quality of life of older people in major cities such as Shanghai and Sao Paulo. And the last chapter, “Risk, modernity and networks: the risk [12]in modernity and the emergence of networks in industry”, reflects on the risk that exists in modern times with the emergence of networks in industry.

The themes presented in this book are diverse, however, based on the diversity issue, the reader can develop a more integrated point of view regarding research in the area of sustainability.

The book Better City, Better Life is designed for researchers, graduate students and professionals in fields related to Architecture and Urban Planning, Urban and Regional Planning, Engineering, Biology, Ecology, and other related fields. It is expected that the presented research can contribute towards the training of these professionals.

[13]1

Urban Housing and Environment:Challenges for Sustainability

Laura Machado de Mello Bueno1

Introduction

This paper is based on a lecture given during the Top China program in 2010, 20th July, at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Firstly, some highlights about Brazil in the world; its population, urbanization process and housing conditions as well as its global dimension and social and environmental crisis are introduced. Secondly, the water and the housing system, as a key factor to welfare and the real possibilities of a sustainable city, are discussed. And finally, some guidelines and challenges related to knowledge and the production of urban space are presented.

[14]Some highlights about Brazil in the world

Brazil is located in South America. The country’s population is about 190 million people (2010 census) and its territory covers about 8,500,000 km2. The country has a vast shoreline along the Atlantic Ocean. The country borders Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay (Figure 1). We are the only country in Latin America that speaks Portuguese and that uses this one language all over the entire country.

Figure 1. Brazil and the Distribution of Urban Population

Source: IBGE 2010.

The Brazilian population has grown and changed a lot over the last 60 years, specifically, it has multiplied four times. Nowadays, 160 million inhabitants (85% of the total population) live in cities (IBGE, 2010).

[15]Due to this rapid urban growth, the lack of planning and the fragile administrative structures in the municipalities, cities in Brazil do not have proper infrastructure, sanitation or other social facilities.

Besides this problem, the distribution of the population in Brazil’s territory is very unequal. Most of the population and the largest cities and metropolises exist on the coast. This situation was a result of Brazil’s history of colonization by the Portuguese Kingdom, which used our territory to develop an exportation system of several raw materials.

The territorial organization of Brazil is based on more than 5000 municipalities, organized accross 27 states. All are federative units that make up the Federative Republic of Brazil. In 1988, a new National Constitution was approved, following 24 years of a military dictatorial regime. The municipalities are responsible for the land use and control, urban policies, as well as the local services, such as sanitation and traffic.

Most part of the 5565 municipalities have small populations. There are 2515 municipalities with less than ten thousand inhabitants. On the other hand, there are 280 municipalities that are currently home to 80 million inhabitants.

The metropolitan areas were formed throughout the country by means of the migration process. Today there are 27 metropolitan areas, which are mainly close to the Atlantic Ocean and important ports – São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Recife. Only three metropolises are in the countryside – Brasília, Manaus and Belém (Figure 1).

China and Brazil have a similarity – the size of the country (China – 9,536,499 km2; Brazil – 8,515,492 km2). However, the size of the two countries’ populations is very different (China –1.35 billion people, Brazil – 190 million). Brazil has 84% of its population residing in cities and villages, while China has 45%. The number of cities with more than 750,000 inhabitants in China is much more significant – 143 cities, while in Brazil there are only 24 large cities with more than this number.2

Other important differences are the social and economic structures, which are related to the historical insertion on the world political map. This point can be seen by analyzing the Figure 2 above, which shows [16]the share of income or expenditure of selected countries. Brazil has a huge income concentration that makes it one of the most unequal countries in the world.

Figure 2. Share of income or expenditure %

Source: Human Development Report UNPD-2009.

Urban Housing: Contradictions and Challenges

Brazil’s cities are a result of a social structure, characterized by different life conditions and access to housing, services and urban equipment. The Brazilian housing crisis is characterized by the existence of irregular settlements with large populations, which usually have poor or no environmental sanitation. The most vulnerable populatons live in the most precarious areas, which are sometimes located in the marginal zones of streams and slopes, which puts families in life-threatening situations. In Brasil, despite the recent improvement in social housing production and programs designed to upgrade and give entitlement to the slums, there is already a huge deficit.

Housing is a basic human necessity. All of us depend on a shelter to survive the elements of the natural environment. As far as urban social life is concerned, our homes are linked to transportation, water, electricity and the communications network, which represent accesses to city life.

Our nation recognized the United Nations (UN) Resolution that affirms that housing is a human right, which include their affordability, tenure, salubrity, safety and security. However, since we live in a [17]capitalist and profoundly unequal society, a house is also a commodity, that you should pay for rent or buy. Thus, part of the poorer population lives in illegal, and generally precarious, settlements. In Brazil they are classified and named as: slums (favela, invasão), informal settlements or informal parceling (loteamento irregular) and social housing units (conjunto habitacional popular).

Generally, these housing units are self-made, or is extended without adequate materials or technical assistance.

In developing countries, on the periphery of the capitalist system, the informal market is very large (work and employment, food commerce, industrial electronic devices, goods transportation and housing). But the market rules are not different for the rich or poor, neither for legal or illegal housing. The social stratification is reproduced on different housing markets’ stratification. The informal market is also guided by the aim of getting some differential values that can bring rewards to the out by law owner (mainly that of the houses or huts built by their owners), who is, at the same time, a trespasser. There are also part of dwellings and rooms for rent as a consequence of the illegality, these houses are devaluated, when compared with a similar building and location in a legal situation.

Most of the population that lives in the slums does not have social and economic conditions (income, employment, living prospects). So, these dwellers cannot afford to pay for a house, either in terms of private real estate or public house-buying programmes that offer low instalments. It follows that slum dwellers are those social groups that should be the focus of state policies in order to create conditions for social and economic development.

It is the duty of the State to provide, by means of management of urban space and facilities, conditions for the social and economic integration of these excluded groups.

Water in the Urban Space

The presence of the water in the urban space is very important and it has different functions and perceptions. Without water the urban system (with its social and economic dimensions) could not exist. What happens upstream influences downstream – the quality and quantity [18]of the flows. The rivers, creeks, springs and wetlands are the networks of the urban watershed. They are important for environmental comfort in terms of humidity and temperature. They have unique landscape qualities – ports, waterfronts, green and leisure areas. Generally, a city’s sources of drinking water are found on the outskirts of the urban body. The hydrographic system defines – due to the topography – the drainage and sewage systems, which make healthy and sanitary conditions possible, despite the concentration of the population.

Managing the runoff is a challenge for a contemporary city due to the remarkable quantity of impervious areas, which enlarge the amount of rainwater that drains to pipes and reaches the creeks and rivers. The traditional urban infrastructure – pipes, gutters, ditches – have been constructed in order to replace small creeks and streams. The evaluation of some blocks in the Brazilian city of Campinas (undertaken by PUC Campinas students – Architecture and Planning) shows that the mean amount of pervious area in lots from medium class boroughs is 8 to 5% of the total area of the lot. The quality of runoff water varies depending on precipitation duration and also on the quality of the public services.

In Brazil, as is true in other developing countries, large parts of its cities do not have a sewage system. The collection system is incomplete and inefficient –only existing in some sections of the streets and only serving some dwellings. And even the sewage that is collected is not treated before being dropped into the creeks and rivers. Thus, citizens perceive the cities’ hydrographic urban systems as dirty, ugly and evil. Mainly in the summer – the wet season in Brazil – flooding may occur. In the cities, the rainwater mixes with the contaminated water, enlarging the sanitary risks in the urban areas.

On July 28th, 2010, the General assembly adopted a resolution to recognize access to clean water and sanitation as a human right, by a recorded vote of 122 countries in favor, none against and 41 abstentions. Sanitary, security and affordability are principles of water access. However, there are several conflicts of interest due to the capitalist vision of tring to turn water into a commodity that is “produced” and sold by private companies to consumers. Considering water as a commodity means that everybody should have to pay to have access to it. Large numbers of countries that vote in the UN see the modernization of public sanitation, for the welfare of residents, as an opportunity to [19]implement the “idea” that the water provided should be priced and bought. As a commodity, provided by the Market – private enterprises with financial resources by the State – water could be delivered to the consumer (no longer a citizen) “with adequate technical controls”.

Water is basic a necessity for every human being. There is no life without water, and the scarcity of water is related to poor health conditions. Public health and welfare depend on safe and clean water. In Brazil, water is considered a public recourse. The sanitation systems should be provided and controlled by the municipalities.

Therefore, in Brazil’s society, there are inequalities in living conditions and inequalities in the distribution of investment across the geographic space, both on regional and local scales – facilities, treatment and disinfection of the drinking water, treatment of sewage, garbage collection etc. In this context, in Brazil and similar countries there are large social groups that cannot afford to pay for water or other basic and social necessities. These people may live in poor areas, where such facilities are provided, or even the implementations of those facilities are not planned at all.

Water is also a strategic resource for several industrial sectors, mainly the food industry, agribusiness, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The consumption, pollution and contamination, generated by those economic activities, create the scarcity of clean water for human use.

The richest and more educated citizens feel uncertain about the purity of the water, and are also pushed by industries advertising soft drinks and beverages. This sector has been buying water springs and developed a very extensive business – the bottled drinking water industry. The use of Poli (Tereftalate Ethilen) – PET – for packaging water and other liquids has a huge environmental impact, which is due it is an endocrine disrupter. The presence of PET bottles in our creeks and rivers, due to the poor garbage collection, also obstructs drainage pipes and increases the risk of flooding.

Housing and Water in the Urban Environment: Integrating Problems and Solutions

The main causes of the deterioration of water sources are: water pollution by domestic and industrial sewage, at higher levels that the [20]self purifying capacity of rivers and excessive water removal, irrigation and industry production, compromising the human provision. Organic pollution added to the other contaminants present in pharmaceutical and personal care products is putting Brazil’s society at risk.

Since 2003, the Federal Government has been raising financial resources to support projects designed to provide to better housing and living conditions, but mainly to build the sanitary systems’ compounds. Brazil’s society has been in a good position in terms of economic activities: growing consumption, high employment. But there is a historical lack of affordable and adequate housing for the general public, which is related to urban and architectural aspects.

In Brazil, growing investment for housing projects aimed at the “medium classes” accelerates the housing and urban development market sector. The best private land available in the inner-city was sold to those developments, and thus, urban land prices have increased. Thus, there is an “alternative” to the slums and irregular settlements for the poorer citizens. Because of the densification of those areas, it is currently necessary to remove 20% to 30% of dwellings to properly develop projects to upgrade the slums.

Climate change and urban environment

The main forecasts as a result of climate changes are: increase in extreme weather events such as tornadoes, thunderstorms, windstorms, heat waves, blizzards; increase in sea levels, a problematic issue due to the location of the populated areas; droughts, that may cause loss of agricultural areas, forest depletion, desertification, migration; greater incidence of vector-borne diseases (typhoid fever, dengue fever, cholera, schistosomiasis etc); higher incidence of circulatory diseases; lower incidence of respiratory diseases; increase in industrial risks: explosions at atomic power plants, petrochemical plants, pipelines. The population living in larger coastal cities are already very vulnerable to these risks (Nobre, 2010; Bueno, 2008).

As can be noted, these problems are related to water (scarcity or flooding) and at risk or inadequate human settlements. Thus, it is necessary to face these future indicators with social and political necessities.

[21]A precautionary principle confronts the market-orientated society. Capitalist activity depends on risks and few regulations. On the other hand, in order to promote mitigation and adaptation, the State sector should be large and strong. It is necessary to develop others research projects, regulations and improve control. Mankind is not informed or conscious: scientific organizations, civil organizations and public structures must inform and promote participatory processes.

And About the future?

Nowadays it is difficult to think about this and act towards reaching a desirable future (as individuals, social groups or participants in state management). Generally, we (and our proposals) are limited by the Brazil’s present problems – poverty and vulnerable people, unemployment, traffic congestion, contamination, risk areas.

Trying only to solve the past will not make more sustainable cities in the future. Creating a better future necessitates constructing a vision for the future, with clear goals. It is necessary to acquire some prediction capacity. Coping with the present problems and achieving desirable goals requires developing management – a necessary action to improve the capacity to provide.

Sustainable city – is it possible?

As this article has attempted to demonstrate, the city can be interpreted as an open ecosystem, whose metabolism we can understand and improve, since we recognize the political, economic and social powers that participate in it.

Henri Acselrad (2004) names sustainability as a “notion,” not a concept. He points out that since the actual situation is unsustainable, one should consider actions towards a more sustainable situation, as compared with the given situation. The notion of sustainability should be a wonderful tool for designing a vision of the future, to measure or perceive indicators for promoting change in the urban space. But the marketing of the capitalist system has been trying to become the word, a miscellaneous set of concepts, manipulated as per the speaker’s [22]desires. Implemented by private sector, urban sustainability generally means more expensive land, housing, infrastructure and exclusive technologies, instead of more affordable, comprehensive and universal solutions. Economic development promotes more injustice. The poorer sections of society are living in contaminated and risky areas, which are the negative impacts of processing tons of raw material, garbage and sewage.

Ignacy Sachs created the noun ecodevelopment in 1970’s. In earlier studies, Sachs proposed the dimensions of sustainability – social, economic, ecological, cultural, spatial, ethical and global and local politics.

Fritjop Capra, a researcher in Physics, was also an ecologist and an environmental scientist. He developed the proposal of the “ecological project,” based on natural processes. Thus, energy cycles, nets and flows should be analyzed to develop a “Zero waste economy”.

Rogers (1997) proposes that the city metabolism is managed in a circular direction rather than the linear metabolism that rules today, in which the city’s population (during their economic and social activities) consumes energy and materials and exports a lot of its emissions to the outskirts (in solid, liquid or gaseous form).

Water and its hydrologic cycle are influenced by carbon and waste processing. Contamination is possible in each part and their connections. Thus, cleaning the environment is necessary to diminish the quantity of waste. Emissions must diminish in different points of the system: cargo transportation, use of packaging, maintaining the cleanness of public spaces etc. This process should be applied along the entire river watersheds, on both local and regional scales.

Guidelines

Urban sustainability can only work with more affordable, diverse and comprehensive solutions proposed to the human society as a whole.

Some principles or guidelines can be disseminated all over the world, such as: planning and management for the public and social values; dismantling over-consumption and waste economics and organize a production system for a Zero-emission economy; development of frugal innovation with the simplification of goods; social, communitarian and individual autonomy.

[23]Some proposals have been undertaken in several cities in several countries, which are related to urban economy and urban design and management: development of Action plans for watersheds (regional and local scales), complementation of facilities, infrastructure and services) to improve urban areas and housing conditions; disseminating the culture of a more compact and sustainable city – control of urban sprawl, increase of popular and social housing in the inner city; rehabilitation of the central areas and vacant sites; recycling of waste to construct a new industrial chain; urban forestry – streets, roads, landscaping, public facilities, yards and gardens; dissemination of solar energy; radical reduction of solid waste; clean and extensive public transportation, and the increase of employment in activities related to sanitation, maintenance, health and social and elderly care.

References

ACSELRAD, H. Discursos da sustentabilidade urbana. Revista Brasileira de Estudos Urbanos e Regionais, ANPUR, n.1, p.79-90. May 1999. Available in: http://www.anpur.org.br/revista/rbeur/index.php/rbeur/article/view/27.

BUENO, L. M. M. Reflexões sobre o futuro da sustentabilidade urbana a partir de um enfoque socioambiental. Cadernos Metrópole, PUC-SP, São Paulo, n.19, 2008. Available in: http://revistas.pucsp.br/index.php/metropole/article/view/8712.

CAPRA, F. Hidden Connections: Integrating the Biological, Cognitive, and Social Dimensions of Life Into a Science of Sustainability. Nova York: Doubleday, 2002. See more in: http://www.fritjofcapra.net.

NOBRE C. et. al. Vulnerabilidade das megacidades brasileiras às mudanças climáticas: a Região Metropolitana de São Paulo. June 2010. Available in: http://www.inpe.br/noticias/arquivos/pdf/megacidades.pdf.

ROGERS, R. Cities for a small planet. London: Faber and Faber Limited, 1997.

[24]SACHS, I. Estratégias de transição para o século XXI para pensar o desenvolvimento sustentável. São Paulo: Studio Nobel, 1993.

Sites

Fórum Brasileiro de Mudanças Climáticas.www.forumclima.org.br.

Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística IBGE. www.ibge.gov.br.

Ministério das Cidades. www.cidades.gov.br.

Ministério de Ciência e Tecnologia. www.mct.gov.br.

Ministério do Meio Ambiente. www.mma.gov.br.

United States Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/population/international/.

 1 Professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas; Centre for Environmental Studies and Technology. Architect and planner, professor at the Faculty of Architecture and Planning and at the Graduate Program in Urban Planning at PUC Campinas. Leader of the Research Group of Water in the urban environment. Currently coordinates a collaborative research project on Climate Change and Urban Form in the metropolitan regions of Rio de Janeiro and Campinas.

 2 Fonte: UN–HABITAT State of The World’s Cities-2010/2011, 2010 e http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/ consulta em 18 de maio e 6 de junho de 2011.

[25]2

Ecolinguistics and Environmental Education in Brazil

José Marcelo Freitas de Luna1

Introduction

My training as an applied linguist appears to be a determining factor in many experiences that I have had as a foreign language teacher in Brazil and an as a researcher of teaching and learning situations in various other countries. Studying and working in countries like the United States and England, at universities with students and teachers from all corners of the globe, were, in fact, unforgettable and inspiring practices in my motivation to apply linguistics in multicultural environments.

Thus motivated, I set myself the goal, for the 2011 to 2012 period, of taking part in Top China Santander. The period leading up to the 2012 event is justified by the preparation I underwent, i.e. becoming familiar with the subject of the Program. I shall explain: although I considered urban “sustainability and planning” to be areas that are not only important but also interesting, my knowledge of them for teaching practice, in 2011, did not seem to be sufficient.

[26]In fact, I was not yet ready to take part in the Program. I needed to take advantage of my training as a linguist, applying it to the important, interesting and mutidisciplinary area of sustainability. Thus, over a period of one year, I dedicated myself to reading essays on ecolinguistics and environmental education.

I consider this preparation to have been very important for all stages in the process. I refer, here, to the selection process at my university of origin, and the work that I would carry out at Peking University. In order to be selected, I had an interview, and gave a simulated lesson, both in English, with specialists in the area of sustainability and management of the Top China Program. Of course, while in Beijing, I was in direct contact with both Brazilian and Chinese teachers and students in this area.

It goes without saying that the first, and most insistent question I was asked during the interview was whether I, as a linguist, would be suitable for the Program. What does or can a language teacher do on the subject of sustainability?

To this question, and its various paraphrases, I replied environmental education has its theoretical premises, and maintains various relationships with general education. It is important to know that designing and developing sustainability activities are processes that are more successful when the communities involved are properly informed.

Objectively, I sought to justify my participation by appealing to the relationship between ecolinguistics and sustainability, which became not only an object of interaction during the interview and the simulated lesson, but a real display to students and teachers in China.

In this chapter, I present a report on a lesson I gave on the subject of Ecolinguistics and Environmental Education in Brazil during the Top China Santander 2012 Program at Peking University. In order to give readers of this book a knowledge of the abovementioned experience, the text is divided into four sections. The first describes how a rapport was initially established with the group of students, through warming up activities. In the two sections that follow, the basic concepts of the subject are outlined, showing their application to the teaching context of an Indigenous community school in Brazil. The chapter concludes with a section that brings together information on the expected and necessary interaction between the Chinese and [27]Brazilian participants on the theme of sustainability, from a perspective of ecolinguistics and environmental education.

Warming up

As appropriate for a group of young students, the subject was introduced using motivational activities in order to check their prior knowledge on the subject. A timed quiz was given, with carefully chosen prizes. Some typical quiz questions were:

• What’s the word for “fish” in Chinese? And in Portuguese? In Danish, Romanian, Armenian?

• How many languages are spoken in the world today?

• Do languages die out?

• Do all languages have a written form?

• How many languages can be said to be safe from extinction?

• What’s the word for “fish” in Tuvan, spoken by 200,000 inhabitants in Siberia and in Mongolia?

(Adapted from the text Dicionários Falantes, Revista Língua Portuguesa, year 7, n.80, June 2012.)

As I had predicted, the answers to these and other questions were not clear-cut. However, all the students gave their impressions and opinions, and as I had hoped, they were interested in learning more about the linguistic phenomenon, and in particular, the relationship between the language and culture of a people.

Once the group had demonstrated its motivation, I was able to present, in a more specific way, the aim of the lesson, which was: to provide the students with knowledge related to ecolinguistics and environmental education in Brazil, with a particular emphasis on indigenous language and education.

• I also presented the program to be developed:

• The concepts of Ecolinguistics and Environmental Education;

• The role of Higher Education Institutions;

[28]• Environmental curriculum;

• The Infusion approach;

• Environmental teaching and learning activities;

• Some remarks;

• Assessment.

Presenting the cornerstones

The theme of linguistic education of the Indigenous people in Brazil was revealed to the students as one of the applications of the science of language. With this additional motivation, I was able to present the concepts that would be dealt with more specifically.

Language was presented as an activity; an ongoing work of subjects, with their specific historical, social and cultural contexts, and who, through this work or activity, organize, interpret and give shape to their experiences, and to the reality in which they live. Mother tongue, in turn, was understood as being situated in the scope of language, in the form of a system of intra/interpersonal and intra/intercultural communication, shared and used by members of one or more communities, through individual, geographical and social variations. Thus, linguistics was revealed to the students as the science that combines the different activities of systematic study of verbal language and developed natural languages.

Building on this theoretical framework, I was able to present and situate two further concepts. Ecolinguistics has been classed as a new branch of linguistics that investigates the role of language in the development and possible solution of ecological and environmental problems. As such, it aims to preserve the relationship between linguistic and biological diversity.

To check the level of learning of the concepts presented thus far, and maintain the students’ motivation, I presented some case studies to illustrate the relationship between mother tongue and the environment, a fact that led to the consideration that much of what humans know about nature is encoded only in oral languages. Indigenous groups that have interacted closely with the natural world for thousands of years often have profound insights into local lands, plants, animals, and ecosystems.

Observing the students’ learning, I returned to the framework of conceptual definition, formally presenting environmental education [29]as a process of recognizing values and clarifying concepts, in order to develop the skills and attitudes necessary to understand and appreciate the interrelatedness among man, his culture, and his biophysical surroundings.

Bridging in

The practical part of the lesson was returned to, and continued until the end, with the showing of an edited film, lasting thirteen minutes, with subtitles in English. The film in question was the documentary of the series Caminhos da Escola – Educação Indígena, a TV Escola production from the Ministry of Education.

The film showed the theoretical and methodological approach of Brazilian educators in Indigenous communities of the Amazon. It was set in the town of São Gabriel da Cachoeira, located more than 800 kilometers from the capital Manaus. It is a region that has more than 400 communities and 35 thousand Indians belonging to 23 different groups. The school described in the film, and in the lesson, as an example of the use of the linguistic education methodology, was the Tukano Ye Pa Mahsa. The school divides students according to the different years of basic education, and also has a technical teaching group in sustainable indigenous development.

In the reports of the Indigenous students interviewed in the film, there was a marked difference between what they called conventional school, and the school of “our” community. For them, conventional education does not explore, or give value to the local culture, i.e. the habits, values, rituals and languages of the indigenous community. This fact, according to the community leaders, is causing students to drop out of school and migrate from the rural areas towards the cities.

With the development of the school system in indigenous communities, characterized by a curriculum that focuses on disciplines that relate to the students’ actual needs and expectations, it is reported that pupils are staying in school more, and that community schools are being maintained. Another curricular component that was deemed positive by the Indigenous students was the use of their native languages as the primary language of teaching, alongside Portuguese. The [30]various languages are, therefore, given importance, serving, naturally and consequently, as a means of expression and preservation of the local culture, including the environment.

In order to illustrate a common pedagogical practice at the Tukano Ye Pa Mahsa school, the documentary shows the production of aturá, a basket made from cipó vine, using weaving techniques that are disappearing. Through this teaching strategy, the functionality of the school curriculum, and the infusion of linguistic and cultural knowledge with the objectives of sustainability, become evident.

Encouraging the Students to Interact

The reactions of the students – both Chinese and Brazilian – to the content of the documentary, was surprising, in a positive way, in terms of what happens in Brazil with regard to linguistic and environmental education.

Presenting an example of a positive and successful pedalinguistic and environmental practice was, I confess, a special teaching and learning strategy that was specifically planned for the group. This is because the image and the representation that foreigners have of Brazil is not usually based on scientific fact. This misconception leads to stereotypes, with their consequent effects on negative attitudes in relation to what the country is or appears to be.

Aware of my commitment to ensuring scientific rigor, and at the same time, promoting the science and educational practices of Brazil, I emphasize that I opted strategically to show a present-day experience, in order to then refer to the Brazilian past.

In regard to linguistic rights, the period referred to as colonial in Brazil is marked by the application of elements of segregation with those of assimilation. The overall result was the fragmentation of the indigenous people and the death of indigenous languages. It is possible to date the beginning of the field of EE in Brazil back to the 1970s, as a response to the international debate generated by the Stockholm Conference (UN 1972). It is only since the 1980s that Environmental Education has clearly found its own place.

Under this climate of opinion, the Brazilian Constitution was passed in 1988. It guarantees the study of indigenous languages and [31]the provision of indigenous communities through education. This achievement is seen by Brazilian society as a real benefit for environmental understanding and conservation efforts.

One of the direct consequences for schools in general is the inclusion of Environmental Education as a necessary item in important documents such as Agenda 21 and the Curriculum Parameters defined by Ministry of Education in 1998.

After summarizing some facts, past and present, related to linguistic and ecolinguistic education in Brazil, I then created the most objective and consistent condition possible for this vitally important interaction between Brazilian and Chinese students. I refer, here, to the intercultural discussion on how, in the universities of the respective countries, professionals can be trained to carry out their work in a way that is focused on sustainability.

Objectively, the “university” institution was, in ideal terms, defined by universality – its commitment to open-mindedness and openness to the world. When students graduate with the ability to think critically and act responsibly, then higher education will come closer to meeting its historic missions, not only in regards to advancing knowledge, but also to contributing to stable, more equitable democratic societies.

To support the discussion, I referred to the process of curricular infusion; a process through which environmental elements are incorporated into the program of a discipline; a bibliographic review of environmental issues is used in the readings and assignments, research projects on the field are carried out, and events promoting discussions about environmental themes are supported by the institutions.

I added that all too often, the common assumption is that only certain classes lend themselves well to environmental education. But I emphasized that all courses can be infused, through activities that can be characterized as stand-alone environmental courses; dedicated class sessions; or finding natural points of entry.

Although I had planned an essay-writing activity, when I met the group and saw the need for more cultural interaction between the students, I decided to develop a discussion forum instead. In pairs, they discussed and reported on Environmental Education activities applied to their courses in China and in Brazil.

The focus was on what components of sustainability were infused into the curricular disciplines of each course, if it was done at all. In [32]general, the students were of the opinion that their courses directly or indirectly addressed the environmental theme, and that they were therefore aware of the importance of studying and acting in a professional manner, from the point of view of sustainability.

In relation to the expected and desirable comparison between Brazil and China, the reports of the groups indicate stages in the formulating and carrying out of educational objectives that are very similar in both countries. Or to put it another way, both the Brazilian and Chinese IHE have benefited from a climate of favorable opinion towards education and sustainability, infusing into their curricula concepts and practices that can be referred to as environmental education and ecolinguistics, particularly those that promote the preservation of languages and cultures of the peoples of Brazil and China.

References

ARBAT, E.; GELI, A. M. (Eds.). Ambientalización curricular de los estudios superiores. 1 – Aspectos Ambientales de les universidades. Girona: Universitat de Girona – Red ACES, 2002.

BRITISH Petroleum. Ten Years of Environmental Education in China. Press release, June 30th, 2009.

CARVALHO, L. M.; CAVALARI; R. M. F.; SANTANA; L. C. O processo de ambientalização curricular da UNESP – Câmpus de Rio Claro. Diagnóstico e perspectivas. In: GELI, A. M.; JUNYENT, M.; SÁNCHEZ, S. Ambientalización curricular de los estudios superiores. 3 – Diagnóstico de la Ambientalización Curricular de los Estudios Superiores. Girona: Universitat de Girona – Red ACES, 2003. p.131-65.

DÉCADA das Nações Unidas da Educação para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável – 2005-2014. Documento final. Plano Internacional de implementação. Brasília: Unesco, 2005.

FÓRUM Internacional de Ongs e Movimentos Sociais. Tratado das ONGs: aprovados no Fórum Internacional de Organizações Não Governamentais e Movimentos Sociais, no Âmbito do Fórum Global – ECO 92. Rio de Janeiro: Fórum, 1992.

[33]INTERNATIONAL Working Meeting on Environmental Education in the School Curriculum. Final Report, September 1970. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN, 1970.

YEN, N. E. Education is the basis of environmental protection. Environmental Science, n.4, p.5-7, 1993.

WORLD Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF). WWF in China. Beijing, 2008.

ZHOU, Z.Y. Deepening educational changes, strengthening environmental education. Speech delivered at the National Environmental Education Working Congress, November, 1992.

 1  University of Vale do Itajaí, Santa Catarina, Brazil. E-mail: [email protected].

[35]3

Water Resources in China: situation, measures and actions

Jiahui Shao1

Introduction

Water is one of our most critical resources. Up to 80 nations experience chronic fresh water shortages, which affect over 2 billion people, including an estimated 400 million children. The World Bank predicts that two-thirds of the world’s population will suffer from lack of clean and safe drinking water by 2025. An article that appeared in Fortune magazine in 2000 predicted that “Water promises to be to the 21st century what oil was to the 20th century: the precious commodity that determines the wealth of nations”.

In China, water is a highly precious resource and even becomes a limiting factor that plays a critical role in terms of economical and socio-economic development in many parts of the country. As its economy and population continue to grow, China will have to face greater and greater pressures on water resources. This paper aims to summarize the characteristics of water resources in China, and [36]the measures and actions taken in China. A special project on water pollution (SPWP) and the South-to-north water diversion (SNWD) were highlighted.

Water Resources in China

According to recent national a water resources evaluation conducted by the Ministry of Water Resources of China, China’s annual precipitation is 648 mm, which represents a total amount of annual precipitation of 6,080 billion m3. Taking into account the duplication between surface water and ground water, the total amount of available water resources on an average year in China is around 2,770 billion m3, which includes 2,670 billion m3 of mean annual surface run-off and 810 billion m3 of groundwater per annum (Zhang; Xia; Hu, 2009). Despite China’s total amount of available water resource being ranked sixth largest in the world, its available water resources per capita is only 2200 m3, which is about one quarter of the world average. The amount of water resources per capita is expected to decrease by 1,750 m3 in 2030 when China’s projected population peaks at 1.6 billion (Zhang; Xia; Hu, 2009). Table 1 summarizes the China’s change in water resources from 1999 to 2011 (The Ministry of Water Resources of the People’s Republic of China, MWR, 1999-2011).

Based on water resources data in China Water Resources Bulletin provided by the MWR, annual precipitation and available water resources have shown a decrease trend in recent years, especially in the north of China, the most prominent year being 2011. In 2011, the mean annual precipitation was 582.3 mm, 16.3% less than that of the previous year and 9.4% less than the average year. The total amount of water resources was 2,325.67 billion m3, 16.1% less than the average year and the lowest since 1956. Growing population, rapid economical development, urbanization, wasteful water usage as well as lax environmental oversight have all affected water resources in China. The basic characteristics of China’s water resources are summarized as follows.

[37]Table 1. Water resources change in China from 1999 to 2011

Year

Annual precipitation (mm)

Total water resources

Amount (mm)

Variation (%)

Amount (billion m3)

Variation (%)

1999

629.0

-1.6

2,819,60

2.7

2000

633.0

-0.9

2,770.10

0.0

2001

612.0

-4.3

2,686,80

-2.2

2002

660.0

3.2

2,825.50

2.9

2003

638.0

-0.7

2,746.00

-1.0

2004

601.0

-6.5

2,413.00

-12,9

2005

644.3

0.3

2,805.30

1.2

2006

610.8

-4.9

2,533.00

-8.6

2007

610.0

-5.1

2,525.50

-8.9

2008

654.8

1.9

2,743.40

-1.0

2009

591.1

-8.0

2,418.02

-12.7

2010

695.4

8.2

3,090.64

11.5

2011

582.3

-9.4

2,325.67

-16.1

1999-2011 average

627.8

2,669.43

mean average year

648.0

2,770.00

[38]Very low water resources per capita and per ha

With a vast area of 9.6 million km2, China has relatively abundant water resources, being ranked sixth largest in the world regarding this aspect. However, per capita availability of water resources is only 2200 m3, one quarter of the world average. China is listed as one of the countries in the world with the most severe shortage of water. In addition, water resource availability per ha of cultivated land in China is 1391 m3, which is only equivalent to 69% of the world average.

China’s major water resources include 9 main river basins, which are as follows: (1) Songhua-Liao River Basin, (2) Hai-Luan River Basin, (3) Yellow River Basin, (4) Huai River Basin, (5) Inland River Basin, (6) Yangtze River Basin, (7) Pearl River Basin, (8) Southeast River Basin and (9) Southwest River Basin. Zones (1) to (5) are in northern China, and zones (6) to (9) are in southern China. Table 2 provides statistics regarding water resource availability per capita and per ha for the nine zones in China (Shen, 2004).

Highly uneven distribution across the country

Table 2 clearly shows that water resources are comparatively abundant in the south, but much less so in the north of China. China’s highly uneven spatial distribution of water resources does not match with the distribution of population or agricultural land. As shown in Table 2, 80.9% of China’s water resources are in southern China, which is only home to 53.6% of its population and 34.7% of its arable land. Per capita water resource availability for southern China is more than four times greater than that of northern China, and the per ha water availability for arable land in southern China is more than ten times greater than that of northern China. This geographic mismatch is particularly severe in Hai, Huai, and the Yellow river basins, which only have 7.6% of the nation’s water resources yet cover 34.7% of the population and 39.4% of the arable land.

Rivers represent the major source of water for all the nine zones. There are numerous rivers with a total length of 0.42 million km, of which about 1500 rivers drain into a basin area of over 1000 km2 each. The groundwater resource is only important on the plains, especially in northern China. It is negligible elsewhere in the country.

[39]Table 2. Statistics of water resources availability per capita and per ha for nine river basins in China

River Basin

Water available

National percentage

Water Avaliability per capita (to m2)

Water avaliability per ha (m3)

percent (%)

1000 m3

Population

Arable Land

1997

2010

Northern rivers

Inland

4.6

130.4

2.1

5.7

4,876

4,140

23,835

Songhua-liao

6.9

192.2

9.6

20.2

1,646

1,501

9,900

Hai-Luan

1.5

42.2

10.0

11.3

343

311

3,885

Huai

3.4

96.1

16.2

15.2

487

440

6,555

Yellow

2.7

74.4

8.5

12.9

707

621

6,000

Nort Total

19.1

535.3

46.4

65.3

8,059

7,013

50,175

Southern rivers

Yangtzé

34.2

961.3

34.3

23.7

2,289

2,042

41,745

Pearl

16.7

470.8

12.1

6.7

3,228

2,813

67,515

Southeast

9.2

259.2

5.6

2.5

2,285

2,613

80,160

Southwest

20.8

585.3

1.6

1.8

29,427

25,056

346,350

South Total

80.9

2277

53.6

34.7

34,001

32,524

535,770

Total

100

2812.3

100

100

42,060

39,537

585,945

[40]Highly uneven distribution throughout the year and between years