Rafael Morais Chiaravalloti

Overfishing or Over Reacting? Management of Fisheries in the Pantanal Wetland, Brazil

Historically, small-scale inland fisheries have been overlooked. Management practices based on industrial fishing, rarely take into account vital factors such as complex socio-environmental relations. This paper aims to help address this gap, contributing to a better understanding of small-scale inland fisheries. It uses the Pantanal wetland of Brazil as a case study, in which policymakers established restrictive fishing rules based on claims that local overfishing had caused numbers of recreational fishing tourists to decline. Through multiple regressions, participatory observation and mapping, this paper deconstructs the environmental narrative and uncovers the areas complex traditional system of use. The case study, firstly illustrates the adverse consequences of misconceived top-down fishing management practices and, how such environmental narratives may be deconstructed. Then it presents important aspects of customary management in inland floodplains fisheries, including high levels of mobility within a common property regime and unexploitable reserves. It concludes by analysing recently proposed categories of property regimes, identifying fundamental elements that must be taken into account in designing appropriate management policies in inland floodplain fisheries.

Impacto do estresse na saúde de cortadores de cana

OBJECTIVE Evaluate the impact of stress on sugar cane cutters and the prevalence of physical and psychological symptoms before and after harvest. METHODS We studied 114 sugarcane cutters and 109 urban workers in the pre-harvest and 102 sugar cane cutters and 81 urban workers in the post-harvest period in the city of Mendonca, SP, Southeastern Brazil, in 2009. Data analysis was based on the frequency and percentage of the assessed symptoms of stress, using the Lipp-ISSL test (Symptoms of Stress for Adults). The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The Fisher Test was used to compare the variable of stress between pre- and post-harvest within the sugar cane cutter and urban worker groups. P values below 0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS Stress in sugar cane cutters increased after harvesting (34.2% pre-harvest and 46.1% post-harvest); in urban workers, stress decreased from 44.0% pre-harvest to 42.0% post-harvest. There was prevalence of the phase of resistance to stress for both groups with signs more apparent from the near-exhaustion and exhaustion phases for sugar cane cutters. After harvest, there was a tendency for the number of sugar cane cutters with symptoms of near-exhaustion (6.4%) and exhaustion (10.6%) to increase. After harvest there was a trend for the number of sugar cane cutters with physical symptoms (pre-harvest = 20.5%, post-harvest = 25.5%) and psychological symptoms (pre-harvest = 64.1%; post-harvest = 70.2%) to increase. For both groups, predominantly psychological symptoms occurred in both phases (70.2% versus 64.7%). CONCLUSIONS The work process of cutting cane can cause stress. Individual factors such as cognitive perception of the experience, self-efficacy beliefs and expectations of the employee regarding their performance can influence the understanding of the reactions in their body in face of the work.OBJECTIVE Evaluate the impact of stress on sugar cane cutters and the prevalence of physical and psychological symptoms before and after harvest. METHODS We studied 114 sugarcane cutters and 109 urban workers in the pre-harvest and 102 sugar cane cutters and 81 urban workers in the post-harvest period in the city of Mendonça, SP, Southeastern Brazil, in 2009. Data analysis was based on the frequency and percentage of the assessed symptoms of stress, using the Lipp-ISSL test (Symptoms of Stress for Adults). The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The Fisher Test was used to compare the variable of stress between pre- and post-harvest within the sugar cane cutter and urban worker groups. P values below 0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS Stress in sugar cane cutters increased after harvesting (34.2% pre-harvest and 46.1% post-harvest); in urban workers, stress decreased from 44.0% pre-harvest to 42.0% post-harvest. There was prevalence of the phase of resistance to stress for both groups with signs more apparent from the near-exhaustion and exhaustion phases for sugar cane cutters. After harvest, there was a tendency for the number of sugar cane cutters with symptoms of near-exhaustion (6.4%) and exhaustion (10.6%) to increase. After harvest there was a trend for the number of sugar cane cutters with physical symptoms (pre-harvest = 20.5%, post-harvest = 25.5%) and psychological symptoms (pre-harvest = 64.1%; post-harvest = 70.2%) to increase. For both groups, predominantly psychological symptoms occurred in both phases (70.2% versus 64.7%). CONCLUSIONS The work process of cutting cane can cause stress. Individual factors such as cognitive perception of the experience, self-efficacy beliefs and expectations of the employee regarding their performance can influence the understanding of the reactions in their body in face of the work.