Socioenvironmental Aspects of the Palm Oil for Biodiesel Production in the Center of Endemism Belém - Brazil

Socioenvironmental aspects of the palm oil for biodiesel production in the center of endemism Belém - Brazil

Gustavo Simas Pereira (gustavosimas@gmail.com)

Tatiana Martins (tatiana.marttinss@gmail.com)

Bruno Henriques Coutinho (brunohenriquescoutinho@gmail.com)

Rodrigo Medeiros (rmedeirosnadc@yahoo.com.br)

In Brazil the use of biofuels to replace the fossil fuels is not new. According Gazzoni (2013), the country search for oil sources for power generation (biodiesel) since 1920. Recently, the National Program for Production and Use of Biodiesel (NPPB), created in 2004 by the Brazilian government, has the objective to increase the production of biodiesel from oilseed crops, including palm oil (Elaeis guineensis), in the North and Northeast regions, against the Brazilian biodiesel production focused on soybean in the central west region (ANP, 2012). The program is an attempt to associate the production of renewable sources with socioeconomic development and environmental protection.

In order to include the small farmer (out of soy) (NPPB) set different taxes depending on the origin of the raw material, with the biggest discount to that produced by small farmers in the North and Northeast regions of Brazil. The biodiesel producer to receive the tax benefits in the selling price in the auction, must possess the Social Fuel Seal (established by Decree No. 5,297 of December 6, 2004). The seal is a guarantee that the producer buys its raw materials from family farmers - framed in the National Program for Strengthening Family Agriculture (PRONAF) - with the purchase and sale contracts, with fair price, in percentage established by the Brazilian government and offering technical assistance and training to this population.

The NPPB, has the legal apparatus the Law No 11.097 of 2005 (BRAZIL, 2005), which introduced the biodiesel into the Brazilian energy matrix and established the mandatory use of 2% biodiesel blended with petroleum diesel, with increases gradual coming to current levels (2014) of 7% of the total volume. Thus, the Brazilian government created a demand for this biofuel, causing between 2005 and 2011 biodiesel production jumped from 736 m3 to 2.6 million m3. During this period the acreage of soybeans increased by 29.4% bringing the total to 24 million hectares, producing over 75 million tons of grain.

However, soy failure to meet inclusion of family agriculture, one of the goals of PNPB, due your characteristic of a culture whose production is highly mechanized. In this sense, a culture that has great potential to include smallholders in the supply chain is the palm oil.

One of the possibilities to increase biodiesel production is the use of already degraded areas in the Amazon, where they could be used for growing perennial oilseed species such as palm oil. This possibility is indicated in the study conducted by Embrapa, the Agro-Ecological Zoning Palm oil / AZP (EMBRAPA, 2010), which identified more than 700.000 km² with a good possibility for biodiesel generation in order to ensure its sustainable expansion. This area is equivalent to about 14% of the Legal Amazon. It is noteworthy that these areas indicated by AZP are within the same regions identified in the National Agro-Energy Plan (PNA, 2011), who identified the regions in Brazil that have characteristics suitable agricultural production focused on power generation.

In the Brazil we can identify that the production of biodiesel (with the palm oil) is concentrated in the states of Pará and Bahia, that the area under cultivation increased by 39% and 18% respectively since 2011. During 2001, the crop intended the palm oil occupied a total of 85,240 hectares, mainly in the North and Northeast regions. In 2011, the area under cultivation reached 109,080 hectares, equivalent to about 30% increase when compared to 2001. Pará state has the largest city in Brazil with dedicated to the cultivation of Elaeis guineensis, Tailândia area with 20,893 hectares, that between the years 2001 and 2011 increased your area of palm oil by 34% (following the state average). Another highlight (among the 21 municipalities) is the city of Moju who increased by 270% to your area, reaching a total of 7,093 hectares.

The Amazon Rainforest is a mega-diverse environment that has a large territory with about 6,5 million km², housing almost 20% of existing species on the planet. Many of the species found in the Amazon do not exist elsewhere on the planet. These are called endemic species and are located in certain geographical regions with their own characteristics. Given these unique characteristics and using the great water courses, different authors (CRACRAFT, 1994; HAFFER & PRANCE 2001; SILVA et al, 2005) classified the Amazon biome in eight centers of endemism: Napo; Imeri; Guiana; Inanbari; Rondônia; Tapajós; Xingu and Belém. Among the centers of endemism, the Belém (CEB) has the highest deforestation rate, with almost 70% of its impacted area, a situation which is explained by higher occupancy and urban density in this region (ALMEIDA & VIEIRA, 2010).

The present work aims to identify areas for expansion of palm oil (Elaeis guineensis), in the Amazon, in particular Center of Endemism Belem and present an socioenvironmental characterization of the micro-region Tomé-Açú, focused on the expansion of palm oil region. The growth areas were identified based on the results published by other authors through literature to scientific articles, theses, legal documents and other publications relevant to the topic search. The socioenvironmental characterization was carried out from the base of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) where forest cover data were analyzed; degraded areas; farms; protected areas; agricultural settlements; deforestation; among others. ArcGis10.1 using the program, data were compared with the Agro-Ecological Zoning of Palm oil in order to verify the impact generated by palm oil cultivation in the region.

According to Sakamoto (2013), within the CEB, in the state of Pará, are found some of the main units of production of biodiesel from vegetable oil using the Palm oil as feedstock. This production is being held in an area of approximately 140,000 hectares, reaching almost 470,000 hectares in the coming years, after the consolidation of expansion projects by 2020. Besides the large and medium-sized companies, palm oil production has the participation of local community in nuclei of family farmers in area a nearby 20 thousand hectares (to year 2010). Between 2010 and 2012 over 581 families (in 5,810 ha) were added to the partnership programs of Amazônia Bank (BASA) for the production of palm oil.

It is estimated that for the 2012/2013 crop the Amazônia Bank have the partnership with over 1,610 contracts in an area of 15,300 ha to the palm oil. This expansion of palm oil enabled the inclusion of 2,191 new families (in 21,110 hectares) in the last three years. On average each family occupies 10 hectares and can get an average of R $ 2,000 monthly between the fifth and eighteenth year of life of the palm oil when it reaches the height of its productivity, totaling R$ 24,000 per year (SAKAMOTO, 2013).

With indications that the state of Pará has a prominent role in the production of palm oil and also has a set of degraded with potential for cultivation of palm oil (identified by AZP), was determined the regions with the greatest potential for socioenvironmental development of palm oil plantations. Thus, was highlighted the micro-region of Tomé-Açú (five municipalities: Acará; Concórdia do Pará; Moju; Tailândia and Tomé-Açú) with great aptitude expansion of palm oil plantations.

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