Infrastructure Development in the Brazilian Amazon: Understanding Social, Economic, Political, and Gender Dynamics, and Assessing Environmental Risk.

Tuesday, September 4th
Room 303, International Center

10:00 to 12:00

    Introduction and Overview: Large Scale Infrastructure Development in the Brazilian Amazon

Introduction and Overview of Proposed Research Program.
Cynthia S. Simmons
Associate Professor, Department of Geography, MSU

Large-scale Infrastructure Development - Plans and Current Status.
Ritaumaria Pereira
Doctoral Student, Dept of Geography, MSU


Session I. Dynamic Interaction of Gender, Politics, and Local Livelihoods

Damming the Amazon: Comparative Case Study of Rio Madeira and Belo Monte Dams
Sabrina McCormick
Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, MSU
RWJ Health & Society Scholar, University of Pennsylvania

Gender Politics: Social Reproduction and Conservation of Biodiversity in Riverine Environments
Edila Arnaud  Ferreira Moura
Professor, Núcleo de Altos Estudos Amazônicos Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA)

The Changing Livelihoods of Varzeiros along the Amazon River, Brazil
Antoinette WinklerPrins
Associate Professor, Department of Geography, MSU

Gender Politics among the Riverine Peoples of the Rio Madeira Watershed
Maria das Graças Nascimento Silva
Professor of Geography, Universidade Federal de Rondonia (UNIR)


12:00 to 1:30 Lunch Break

 
1:30 to 3:00

Session II. Socio-economic Implications of Mega Project Development

Road and Dam Building: Potential Impacts on Agrarian Reform and Spontaneous Settlement
Marcellus Caldas
PhD candidate, Dept of Geography, MSU

Development Politics and the Socio-territorial Impact on Amazonia in the 21rst Century

Edna Maria Ramos de Castro
Director of the Núcleo de Altos Estudos Amazônicos (NAEA), Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA)

Economic Aspects of Fire Use in the Brazilian Amazon
Larissa Steiner Chermont
Professor, Department of Economics, Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA)

Economic Dynamics of Public Investment Projects in the Amazon Region: Case Studies
Ricardo Shirota
Professor, Departamento de Economia, Administração e Sociologia / ESALQ / USP

3:00 to 3:30 Coffee Break

3:30 to 5:00

Session III. Potential Impact of Road Building and Dam Construction on the Environment

Ecological consequences of altered river and floodplain hydrology
Stephen Hamilton
Associate Professor, Department of Zoology, MSU

Road Building in the Amazon Basin
Robert Walker
Professor of Geography, Michigan State University

Current major environmental issues in the State of Rondônia:  A remote sensing and GIS perspective
Eraldo Matricardi
Laboratorio de Sensoriamento Remoto, Secretaria de Estado do Desenvolvimento Ambiental (SEDAM)

Quantifying the effects of land use changes on soil conditions using geophysics

Remke Van Dam
Assistant Professor, Dept of Geological Science, MSU