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Tema Vulnerabilidade das Áreas Urbanas
Painel:
Leila da Costa Ferreira,
UNICAMP
RISK AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN
BRAZILIAN COASTAL CITIES
Leila da Costa Ferreira
Rafael D’Almeida Martins
Fabiana Barbi
Leonardo Ribeiro Teixeira
Marília Giesbrecht
Alberto Matenhauer Urbinatti
INTRODUCTION
In a short period of time, climate change has become one of the most pressing issues in the 21st century (Giddens 2009; Hogan 2009a). Since 1988, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), established by the United Nations (UN) and by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), has been engaged in understanding the functioning of the global climate system. The greatest scientific advances of this movement came with the most recent reports (Third and Forth Assessment Reports), when expressed relative consensus on global warming by concluding with higher confidence that climate change is unequivocal and the increase in average temperature of the Earth’s surface results from human activities combined with natural variation of the global climate system (IPCC 2007). This fact represents an advance in the debate since previous positions and arguments persisted defending, with some power of public persuasion, that the contemporary global warming had only natural causes mainly resulting from biogeologicalcycles of the planet. According to such positions, for being a natural problem, there would be nothing to do about it apart from accepting it and coping with it (Giddens 2009).
IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON
COASTAL ZONES
In Brazil, where major cities are located on coastal zones,
the impacts of climate change are an extremely relevant
issue. Coastal areas are considered particularly vulnerable
to climate change (Adger 1999; Nicholls et al. 2007); at the
same time they concentrate an expressive contingent of
world’s population (McGranahan et al. 2007), and are
development centres of the worldwide economy due to their
infrastructure and natural resources (Satterthwaite et al.
2007). In this direction, this article reflects on the
challenges of climate change for these areas, how the issue
could be framed and how local governments in Brazilian
coastal cities in the State of São Paulo (SP) are prepared
(or not) to this risk in terms of policy strategies and
instruments (figure 1).
Coastal cities in the State of São Paulo
Fig.1 – Coastal cities in the State of São Paulo (SP), Brazil
Source: Elaborated by Allan Iwama 2010.
RISK AND CLIMATE CHANGE
It is hard to know the magnitude of these risks and, in many
cases, it is impossible to predict before it is too late, since the
society does not know what other changes will come, or what
dangers they will bring with them. Thus, the challenge posed is
how to establish effective policies to address different problems,
since the future is uncertain and it is not possible to evaluate the
risks with complete accuracy until the anticipated hazards
eventually materialise (Giddens 2009). The required political
action and intervention at the international, national and local
levels will have a decisive effect in setting the boundaries to avoid dangerous global warming and support adaptation efforts
that are increasingly underway (Parry et al. 2008; Parry 2009),
particularly in the developed countries (i.e. Moser 2009 for USA;
Hulme and Neufeldt 2010 for Europe).
CLIMATE CHANGE AND LOCAL
GOVERNMENTS
A summary of some local and state governments’ responsibilities in areas related to
climate change and risk management that need to be components of a comprehensive
adaptation strategy to climate change is presented in Table 1. Usually local
governments are responsible for (Satterthwaite et al. 2007; Satterthwaite 2008):
Finance: financial and accounting management of municipal budget; taxes collection
and management, licenses and fees.
Engineering and public construction: construction and maintenance of the public
space.
Urban/local development: land use regulation, urban zoning, real state registration
and urban planning.
Health and public hygiene: collection, distribution and treatment of drinking water,
pollution control, collection and treatment of solid waste, sanitary hygiene, public
areas cleaning, medical and ambulatory services.
Social urban policies: housing, schools, day-care centres, youth, elderly, etc.
Civil defence and emergency response: disasters relief, fire brigade, ambulance
services and rescue.
Public administration and human resources: various administrative tasks and
responsibilities including human resources management.
CLIMATE CHANGE IN BRAZILIAN COASTAL CITIES
THE COAST OF THE STATE OF SÃO PAULO
(SP)
In Brazil, many important cities and infrastructure are
located along more than 8,600 Km of coastline making the
impacts of climate change an extremely relevant issue for
the present and future of these areas (Nicolodi and
Petermann 2010). It is also estimated that more than 20%
of the Brazilian population live on coastal cities (Zamboni
and Nicolodi 2008). In this context, São Paulo - the largest
Brazilian state in terms of population concentration and
economic development – has many of its infrastructures
located on its coastal region. The ports of Santos and São
Sebastião, respectively the biggest port in South America
and the main distribution centre for Brazilian inland oil,
along with the industrial district of Cubatão and the
tourism industry are just some examples of the importance
of this region for the social and economic development of
the country.
THE COAST OF SÃO PAULO STATE
The coast of São Paulo has an extension of about 700 km
comprising 16 cities with over two million inhabitants (see
Table 2) and diversified ecosystems that have the presence
of estuaries, mangroves, sandbanks, caves, rivers, rocky
shores and about 150 islands (SMA 2005). Moreover, it has
several protected areas within its territory as it contains a
great proportion of the Atlantic Forest remnants in the
country, one the three most threatened ecosystems on the
planet and a hotspot for biodiversity. Although there are a
number of measures in place to protect these important
ecosystems, they have been endangered by increasing
tourism activities, modern transportation infrastructures,
oil and gas industry, and illegal exploitation of natural
resources.
DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS AND
EXPRESSIVE INVESTMENTS IN
INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE REGION
In terms of regional and socio-economic aspects, the Northern part of the
coast of the State of São Paulo is currently being targeted by a series of
development interventions and expressive investments in infrastructure,
especially in the area that corresponds to the cities of Caraguatatuba and
São Sebastião. In this sense, it is expected the construction of a number of
new facilities in the coming years including:
a road bypass connecting the cities of São Sebastião and Caraguatatuba;
a regional landfill to minimise the chaotic situation of solid waste in the
region;
a prison facility in Caraguatatuba; and
a natural gas treatment plant (already under advanced stage of
construction).
Expansion of the Port São Sebastião;
Oil and Gas in marine deposits of the Pre-salt (with consequent
adaptation of terrestrial infrastructure).
ROLE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN AREAS
WITH EFFECTS ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Source: Adapted from Satterthwaite (2008, p. 26).
Local government roleLong term
planning
Prevention of
disasters
Response to
extreme eventsReconstruction
Built environment
Construction Code High n.d. High High
Land use regulation and real estate
registration High Low n.d. High
Maintenance and construction of
building and public space High Low n.d. High
Urban Planning and Zoning High n.d High High
Infrastructure
Water treatment High Low High High
Wastewater treatment High Low High High
Drainage system High Low High High
Streets, avenues, bridges High n.d. High High
Electricity High Low High High
Landfill High Low n.d. High
Services
Protection against fire High Low High Low
Public order, police Average High High Low
Solid waste collection High High High High
Education Average Average n.d. n.d.
Health and public hygiene Average Average High High
Public Transportation Average High High High
Social welfare Average High High High
Responses to disasters and civil
defense n.d. n.d. High High
CLIMATE CHANGE IN BRAZILIAN
COASTAL CITIES
Table 2 – Population of the Coastal Cities of São Paulo
Source: IBGE 2009.
City Population
Cananéia 13 562
Iguape 29 321
Ilha Comprida 9 536
Cubatão 124 284
Guarujá 312 504
Itanhaém 91 788
Mongaguá 45 376
Peruíbe 55 743
Praia Grande 249 266
Santos 432 213
São Vicente 331 581
Bertioga 44 341
Caraguatatuba 91 397
Ilhabela 27 690
São Sebastião 71 290
Ubatuba 84 137
Total 2 014 029
POLITICAL-INSTITUTIONAL STRATEGIES
Strategies at the Federal Level
One of the first movements at the federal level related to climate
change was the creation of the Brazilian Forum on Climate Change -
FBMC in June 2000. Its objective is to introduce, educate and
mobilize society for the discussion and position on issues relating to
global warming. Seven years later, in November 2007, the federal
government created the Interministerial Committee on Climate
Change (MIC) with the main tasks of designing and implementing a
National Policy on Climate Change - National Climate Change Plan
and National Plan on Climate Change. The Plan was launched in late
2008 indicating the objectives, principles, guidelines and instruments
for the enactment of Law 12.187 in 2009, which provides for a
National Policy on Climate Change. In general, the national planning
emphasizes the small contribution of Brazil to the generation of
global environmental problem compared to other emerging and
developed economies, and indicates that the country has done its
part in mitigation, but is willing to do more (CIM 2008) .
STRATEGIES AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL
To achieve the objectives of this policy and taking advantage of the
international spotlight, Brazil presented at the 15th UN Conference on
Climate Change (COP15) in Copenhagen, national voluntary commitment
to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases between 38 and 36.1%, 9% of
their total projected emissions by 2020 (BRAZIL 2009).
Between the creation and promulgation of the FBMC PNMC other public
events, research institutions and civil society organizations were
established at the federal level. Among them, the introduction of Network-
CLIMATE, the creation of the National Institute of Science and
Technology (INCT) Climate Change, developing the network of civil
society organizations called "Climate Observatory”; the launch of the
FAPESP Research on Global Climate Change and the creation of the
Brazilian Panel on Climate Change - PBMC.
STRATEGIES AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL
According to the Second Brazilian Inventory of
Anthropogenic (MCT 2010) Brazil has been
increasing its emissions of GHGs at rates very
significant in the last fifteen years. Between the
years 1990 and 2005 the CO ² emissions
increased by approximately 65% of the sum of all
the sectors surveyed, only emissions related to
coal mining declined by 29%.
The sector of Change of Land Use and Forests
was responsible for the largest share of CO2
emissions in 2005 with participation of 77% of
total emissions. During the period analyzed
(1990-2005) emissions from this sector grew
64.3%.
POLITICAL-INSTITUTIONAL STRATEGIES
Regional level strategies
In Brazil, the city of São Paulo was a pioneer in approving a
specific law to deal with climate change. The municipal law (n.
14933) was approved in 2009 and establishes the reduction of 30%
in total GHG emissions of the city. It enforces public
transportation priority, gradual reduction in fossil fuel
consumption and dependence, compulsory recycling program and
reduction of solid waste altogether with energy efficiency criteria
combined with eco-building.
Some months after this approval, the São Paulo State also
approved its own law becoming the second Brazilian state to
approve such type of regulation (the first one was the State of
Amazonas in 2007), which also presents tangible mitigation
targets. The so-called State Climate Change Policy expects a
reduction of at least 20% in total CO2 emissions by 2020 in
relation to the 2005 level. Every five years, until 2020, the
government will be able to set intermediate targets to reach the
20% goal.
Regional level strategies
To achieve the objectives of this policy and taking advantage of
the international spotlight, Brazil presented at the 15th UN
Conference on Climate Change (COP15) in Copenhagen, national
voluntary commitment to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases
between 38 and 36.1%, 9% of their total projected emissions by
2020 (BRAZIL 2009).
Between the creation and promulgation of the FBMC PNMC
other public events, research institutions and civil society
organizations were established at the federal level. Among them,
the introduction of Network-CLIMATE, the creation of the
National Institute of Science and Technology (INCT) Climate
Change, developing the network of civil society organizations
called "Climate Observatory”; the launch of the FAPESP
Research on Global Climate Change and the creation of the
Brazilian Panel on Climate Change - PBMC.
POLITICAL-INSTITUTIONAL STRATEGIES
In spite of being considered substantial advances to
address the climate change problem, these laws rely on a
network of political-institutional structures and governance
arrangements in order to be effectively applied (see Table
1). Thus, it is fundamental to investigate the presence of
some of these structures in the 16 coastal cities of the São
Paulo State as inherent part of our research agenda as
these cities do not present any clear climate change
response in terms of specific laws or policies as in the case
of the city and the state of São Paulo. Hence, in order to
assess the institutional and administrative capacity of
these coastal cities to internalise the climate change issue,
a mapping exercise was carried out aiming at finding the
presence of governmental bodies and institutions
interlinked with sectors and policies with some level of
effect and jurisdiction to address climate change.
LOCAL POLITICAL-INSTITUTIONAL
STRUCTURE
Our mapping exercise focused on the executive
and the legislative municipal bodies as well as on
the presence of secretariats, departments, other
public agencies, and City Council commissions
that have some history and capability in dealing
with areas that can affect or be affected by
climate change. As these coastal cities do not
have particular institutions to respond to climate
change so far, the idea of looking at the
municipal realities was used as a strategy to
frame the climate change issue within the
current administrative structures.
LOCAL POLITICAL-INSTITUTIONAL
STRUCTURE
Table 3 shows that a great part of the
investigated cities presents political-institutional
structures that could be mobilised to address the
climate change issue, especially in terms of
specific secretariats, governmental agencies and
departments. Our survey highlights the presence
of structures dedicated to social, economic and
urban development policies, besides environment
and health.
TABLE 3 – POLITICAL-INSTITUTIONAL
STRUCTURE IN COASTAL CITIES OF THE
STATE OF SÃO PAULOArea of action* List of Cities Number of Cities
Economic Development:
Secretariats; Authorities
(Agriculture; Fishery; Industry; Commerce;
Science; Technology)
Cananéia, Caraguatatuba, Cubatão, Guarujá, Ilha
Comprida, Itanhaém, Mongaguá, Peruíbe,
Santos, São Sebastião, São Vicente, Ubatuba.
12
Social Development:
Secretariats; Authorities (Social Action; Social
Promotion; Social Assistance; Citizenship)
Bertioga, Cananéia, Caraguatatuba, Cubatão,
Guarujá, Ilhabela, Ilha Comprida, Itanhaém,
Mongaguá, Peruíbe, Praia Grande, Santos, São
Vicente, Ubatuba.
14
Urban Development:
Secretariats; Authorities (Housing; Public
Construction; Public Services; Infrastructure)
Bertioga, Cananéia, Caraguatatuba, Cubatão,
Guarujá, Iguape, Ilhabela, Ilha Comprida,
Itanhaém, Mongaguá, Peruíbe, Praia Grande,
Santos, São Vicente, São Sebastião, Ubatuba.
16
Environment:
Secretariats; Authorities
Bertioga, Cananéia, Caraguatatuba, Cubatão,
Guarujá, Iguape, Ilha Bela, Itanhaém, Mongaguá,
Peruíbe, Praia Grande, Santos, São Sebastião,
São Vicente, Ubatuba.
15
Planning (Management):
Secretariats; Authorities
Caraguatatuba, Cubatão, Guarujá, Ilha
Comprida, Itanhaém, Mongaguá, Peruíbe,
Santos, São Vicente, Ubatuba.
10
Health:
Secretariats; Authorities
Bertioga, Cananéia, Caraguatatuba, Cubatão,
Guarujá, Iguape, Ilha Bela, Ilha Comprida,
Itanhaém, Mongaguá, Peruíbe, Praia Grande,
Santos, São Sebastião, São Vicente, Ubatuba.
16
Security:
Secretariats; Authorities; Directories
(Public Security; Urban Security; Social Defense;
Civil Defense)
Caraguatatuba, Guarujá, Itanhaém, Mongaguá,
Peruíbe, Santos, São Sebastião, São Vicente,
Ubatuba.
9
Transport:
Secretariats; AuthoritiesCaraguatatuba, Iguape, Itanhaém, Mongaguá,
São Vicente.5
LOCAL STRATEGIES ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Even though science is advancing to provide increasingly
reliable data, methodologies, tools and frameworks to help
society to cope and adapt to the impacts of climate change
and variability, these local governments located on the
coast of the São Paulo State are still struggling to provide
the most basic urban services for a proportion of their
dwellers in terms of adequate housing, sanitation and
health care. The lack of financial and human resources
combined with the high level of uncertainty in regards to
climate change impacts (Beck 1992, 2009; Giddens 2009)
and the need for climate change scientific data at local level
also contribute to the lack of consistent action towards
climate change risks in this region.
ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION IN THE COASTAL
CITIES OF THE STATE OF SÃO PAULO
Cities Municipal
Organic
Law
Land Use
Planning
Environm
ent Code
Urban
Developm
ent
Planning
Regional
Ecological
-Economic
Zoning
Conservatio
n Units Acts
Others
Bertioga X X
Cananéia X
Cubatão X
Guarujá X X
Ilha Comprida X
Itanhaém X X X
Peruíbe X
Praia Grande X X X
Santos X X X X
São Vicente X X
São Sebastião X
Ubatuba X
Source: The authors.
FINAL COMMENTS
According to the discussion of risk theory in Beck (1992, 2009),
the risks brought by climate change are characterized by escaping
the perception, situated in the sphere of physical and chemical
formulas, remaining invisible. They can be changed, magnified,
dramatized or minimized within knowledge and accordingly, are
open to social definition and construction. Also, these risks are
closely related to the future and to the misfortunes actively
assessed in relation to future possibilities.
In this scenario, political action and intervention at international,
national and local levels will have a decisive effect on establishing
limits to global warming and on adapting to what is already in
progress (Giddens 2009). International agreements are essential,
and other agencies, including NGOs and the private sector also
have a key role; however, the state has many powers that have to
be raised, if more serious impacts involving global warming occur,
as discussed in section 3.
FINAL COMMENTS
In terms of climate change policies, the debate in Brazil is
still in its early stages and there are a number of issues to
be worked in the coming years. Despite being a new subject
in the political arena, there are legislations that have been
approved since 2007 at the national, state and municipal
level that aim at mitigating GHG emissions and
coordinating adaptation efforts combined with risk
management and disaster risk reduction, as presented in
section 4.
It was also discussed the fact that local governments are
considered critical actors to address many of the causes and
consequences arising from climate change as they are close
to wherein these activities and events take place,
considering areas such as built environment, infrastructure
and services, as shown in Table 1, which have direct and
indirect effects on climate change.
FINAL COMMENTS
This papers reflects the attempt to investigate some of the political-
institutional structures that have some effect on relevant areas for intervention
in terms of climate change at the local level in the 16 coastal cities of the São
Paulo State. Such analysis (Tables 3 and 4) shows that these cities present
secretariats, departments, directories and other types of governmental bodies
as well as environmental legislation that will have to be mobilised in climate
change actions.
We have argued that the existing structures and the alternatives that have
being proposed up until now by these institutions are far from sufficient to
respond effectively to the magnitude and complexity of the problem. If we
consider that we are debating and deciding on the future - even though the
future has been made present - and the quality of the life in the planet, not
only for humans but also for diverse ecosystems depend on actions and
measures taken now then the socio-environmental (in)justice that devastates
millions raises ethical dilemmas. Emerging from this debate there are
reasonable arguments to defend the engagement in collective and political
dialogues, negotiation and proposals that could enhance the response capacity
to the challenges are posed so that these responses would not be palliative
responses that go towards the social and economic maintenance of the status
quo, the political interests and unsustainable patterns of human development.
THE ISSUE OF INTEGRATION BETWEEN
THE PLANNING FEDERAL, STATE AND
LOCAL
The issue of integration between the planning Federal,
State and Local also deserves attention. Few instruments
such as the Economic-Ecological Zoning possess the ability
to interfere in municipal planning. The other tools are
rarely incorporated into local plans.
It was also discussed the fact that local governments not
only in Brazil but also elsewhere are considered critical
actors to address many of the causes and consequences
arising from climate change as they are close to wherein
these activities and events take place, considering areas
such as the built environment, infrastructure and public
services, which have direct and indirect effects on climate
change (as shown in Table 1).
OBRIGADA!
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