The swaying of flames in sugarcane fields: entrepreneurs and public authorities on the São Paulo agroenvironmental protocol agenda

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5380/dma.v62i0.82048

Keywords:

agroenvironmental protocol, public authorities, sugar and ethanol sector, pre-harvesting burning of sugarcane straw

Abstract

This article intends to elaborate an interpretation of the positions of the São Paulo State Secretariat for the Environment and of the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) concerning the classification of burnings in sugarcane fields, elaborated during the construction of the Protocolo Agroambiental Paulista (Agroenvironmental Protocol of the state of São Paulo sugar and ethanol sector). This protocol, signed in 2007, aims to adjust the sugar and ethanol sector environmental conduct, focusing, to a large extent, on gradually eliminating the practice of burning sugarcane straw. Starting from documentary research and interviews conducted with representatives of the state authorities and the representative body of the sector, we argue that the strategies taken by such agents allowed the protocol to function as a means able to guide the debate on burnings. This function hinders the creation of new legal prohibitions on this practice and empties the critiques aimed at sugarcane production.

Author Biographies

Ana Carina Sabadin, Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), São Carlos, SP

Bacharela em Ciências Sociais na Universidade Federal de São Carlos. Mestra em Sociologia pelo Programa de Pós-Graduação em Sociologia da UFSCar.

Rodrigo Constante Martins, Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), São Carlos, SP

Bacharel e mestre em Ciências Sociais pela Universidade Federal de São Carlos. Doutor pelo Centro de Recursos Hídricos e Estudos Ambientais da Universidade de São Paulo.

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Published

2023-09-06

How to Cite

Sabadin, A. C., & Martins, R. C. (2023). The swaying of flames in sugarcane fields: entrepreneurs and public authorities on the São Paulo agroenvironmental protocol agenda. Desenvolvimento E Meio Ambiente, 62. https://doi.org/10.5380/dma.v62i0.82048

Issue

Vol. 62 (2023): Psychoanalysis, philosophy and political ecology - Water, Sanitation and SDGs in Brazil: challenges, contradictions and governance

Section

Articles

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