@Article{CunhaZeriOmet:2021:CoFrDr,
author = "Cunha Zeri, Gisleine and Ometto, Jean Pierre Henry Balbaud",
affiliation = "{Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE)} and {Instituto
Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE)}",
title = "Nitrogen emissions in Latin America: A conceptual framework of
drivers, impacts, and policy responses",
journal = "Environmental Development",
year = "2021",
volume = "38",
pages = "e100605",
month = "June",
keywords = "Nitrogen pollution, Reactive nitrogen, Nitrogen management,
Conceptual framework, Agricultural systems, Demand drivers,
Structural drivers, Policy responses.",
abstract = "Reactive nitrogen has both positive and negative effects on
environment and human health. The use of nitrogen fertilization
enabled raising crops and livestock to feed an increasing world
population, but at the same time resulted in a succession of
unwanted impacts occurring through air, soil, and water, with
detrimental consequences for all mankind. Nitrogen pollution is
one of Latin America's most widespread and challenging
environmental problems and is caused due to excess of nitrogen
emissions from productive activities, especially agriculture, to
attend a growing demand for food and energy. Here, we develop a
conceptual framework of nitrogen emissions in Latin America to
better understand the complexity of nitrogen dynamics in the
region, the diverse drivers, and potential harms to environment
and human health, as well as to support the formulation of
adequate mechanisms to deal with the adverse impacts while
increasing the benefits. Thus, our objective was to generate a
functional tool not just for nitrogen scientists, but also for
decision and policy makers. Using Brazil as an example, our main
finding was that the increase in N emissions is due to demand
drivers (demand for food, energy, and housing, connected with
socioeconomic factors), while preparing and implementing a
successful response to solve the N pollution problem depends
entirely on the structural drivers (political and institutional
factors, as governance issues). We highlighted the crucial role of
political decision and institutional forcefulness in designing and
implementing suitable policy instruments to handle the duality of
nitrogen use. This finding prompts us to rethink about the (often
non-existent) policy responses and the challenge for Latin
American countries to deal with the nitrogen dilemma, too much or
too little of a very important nutrient.",
doi = "10.1016/j.envdev.2020.100605",
url = "http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2020.100605",
issn = "2211-4645",
language = "en",
targetfile = "zeri_nitrogen.pdf",
urlaccessdate = "03 jun. 2024"
}