Search

Using Actor-Network Theory, this article analyzes the process by which a solar-powered food storage technology was implemented in an isolated floodplain community in the Brazilian Amazon (Amazonas state, Brazil), as part of the Solar Ice Project headed by the Mamiraua Institute for Sustainable Development. Our study describes the sociotechnical network that entangles the human and nonhuman actors involved in this initiative and reflects on the complexity of the implementation process. Our discussion seeks to identify elements not generally considered in analyses of Social Technologies used in local development initiatives based on technological innovations. Data on the engineering, use, operation, and adaptation of Solar Ice Machines highlight the need to promote fluid technologies capable of adapting to the different contexts within which they are inserted.

Resumo: Este estudo apresenta uma avaliação dos impactos de saúde e social com base na implantação de sistemas de abastecimento de água em comunidades ribeirinhas na Região do Médio Solimões, Estado do Amazonas, Brasil. Os dados foram levantados em 21 comunidades rurais, dentre elas 19 que receberam a tecnologia de acesso à água de forma experimental nos últimos 14 anos. Para a comparação, participaram da pesquisa três comunidades rurais que não receberam a tecnologia. A metodologia utilizada foi quanti/quali, com aplicação das técnicas: grupos focais, entrevistas semiestruturadas, questionários, exames parasitólogicos e análise da qualidade da água. Avaliou-se que mesmo não ocorrendo a redução da prevalência de parasitoses, os sistemas apresentaram impactos quanto ao conforto, a privacidade e na redução do tempo gasto em atividades domésticas, como buscar água no rio ou lavar roupas e vasilhas fora do domicílio. Os impactos apontam para a melhoria das condições de vida com base na perspectiva do bem-estar. Abstract: The study presents an assessment of the health and social impacts from the implementation of water supply systems in riverine communities in the Middle Solimões region, Amazonas State, Brazil. Data were collected in 21 rural communities, 19 of which received the water access technology experimentally in the last 14 years. For comparison, three rural communities that had not received the technology participated in the study. A quantitative/qualitative methodology was used with the following techniques: focus groups, semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, parasitological tests, and water quality analysis. Even without a reduction in the prevalence of parasite infections, the systems showed impacts on comfort, privacy, and reduction in the time spent on household chores such as fetching water or having to wash clothes and pots and pans outdoors and far from home. The impacts point to an improvement in living conditions from the perspective of wellbeing. Resumen: Este estudio presenta una evaluación de los impactos de salud y social, a partir de la implementación de sistemas de abastecimiento de agua en comunidades ribereñas en la región del Médio Solimões, estado de Amazonas, Brasil. Los datos se recabaron en 21 comunidades rurales, entre las cuales 19 contaron con tecnología de acceso al agua de forma experimental durante los últimos 14 años. Para la comparación, participaron en la investigación tres comunidades rurales que no recibieron esta tecnología. La metodología utilizada fue cuanti/cualitativa, con aplicación de las siguientes técnicas: grupos focales, entrevistas semiestructuradas, cuestionarios, exámenes parasitológicos, así como análisis de la calidad del agua. Se evaluó que, incluso no produciéndose la reducción de la prevalencia de parasitosis, los sistemas presentaron impactos en cuanto al confort, la privacidad y en la reducción del tiempo empleado en actividades domésticas, como buscar agua en el río o lavar la ropa y la vajilla fuera del domicilio. Los impactos apuntan hacia una mejoría de las condiciones de vida, desde el punto de vista del bienestar.

This article presents an analysis of the historic, technical and environmental factors that influenced the development of a water supply system for small rural communities in seasonally flooded areas of Amazonia. Data was gathered from internal reports, interviews and water quality analysis. Principal factors identified included: the use of photovoltaic energy, well and rain water quality, the use of mobile equipment and floating structures, and community participation in equipment construction and management. We believe that the developed model is a possible solution to problems related to water access in remote flooded areas of Amazonia.

Amazonian floodplains can be defined as areas bathed by white or muddy rivers; Its main feature is the amount of suspended materials that are transported during the flood and drought dynamics of the rivers and lakes in the region. The objective of this work was to analyze the historical water level series of Mamirauá Lake. We used 25 years of data from the lake performed by the Mamirauá Institute Fluviometric Monitoring since 1990. The descriptive statistics technique was used for the maximum, minimum and average quotas of the monitoring years, as it sought to verify the level relationship. of the lake with the occurrence of extreme events that have happened over the years. The results obtained were: the lowest level of the data series, with a value of 21.7 m.a.n.m was recorded in 1995 and the highest in 1999 was 38.6 m.a.n.m., that year the Amazon basin suffered one of the largest floods related to the La Niña phenomenon. Given the results analyzed, the research concluded that the water level of Mamirauá Lake did not change in years of occurrence of extreme events, as was verified in the years of extreme drought (2005 and 2010).

Riverine populations that dwell in flooded forests (várzea) require suitable solutions for sanitation. An experimental project was started in 1998, using double-vault toilets in seasonally flooded houses in the Brazilian Amazon. The objective was to improve the health of inhabitants using adequate sanitation technology and health education. The focus of the present study was the assessment of that intervention. We compiled information from reports, local assessments, and interviews with users. In 2012, 14 years after the beginning of the project, 44% of the double-vault toilets were still in use. The main benefits noticed were awareness of the importance of toilets for reducing outdoor human waste and providing comfort, privacy, and safety for families. The sanitation project succeeded in reducing open defecation and raised the interest and demand for toilets. However, there is still a need for improving the construction of toilets and to better adapt them to flooded environments. We also include suggestions for improving the toilets and their use in flooded areas.

Riverine populations in the Amazon lack appropriate sanitation technologies due to the challenges imposed by the várzea (floodplain) environment. This compromises their health and the quality of the environment in which they live. This study aims to verify the technical and economic viability of a black water treatment using a septic tank + anaerobic filter (bamboo rings, crushed stone, brick fragments) with locally available components, of small volume and which is partially submersed. The system's pollutant removal efficiency was considered using analyses of pH, temperature, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), nitrogen, ammonium and phosphorus. Economic viability was calculated using the costs of the systems, compared with the value of a standard residence and family income of residents of the Mamirauá and Amanã Reserves. BOD removal efficiency was similar for the media filter tested (average 77%). COD load removal was between 67 and 83%. Nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations remained high in relation to legal standards, with 59 and 96 mg L−1 of phosphorus for the brick fragment filters, and 230 and 379 mg L−1 of nitrogen for the crushed stone and bamboo ring filters, respectively. The cost for the system was US$ 1,000, about 5% of the cost of a standard residence. The three filter configurations were similar in terms of organic material removal. The technology proved viable in terms of efficiency and cost as it is an accessible option for the várzea environment.

The variation in water level in the Amazon varzea promotes cyclical isolation or union of various bodies of water. Among these, lakes and channels are the most relevant. Due to their cyclical geographic isolation, and even due to the often distinct origin of their waters, these environments showed limnological features which also vary from those bodies of water located outside the varzea setting. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the differentiation of the types of water bodies present in the Middle Solimoes area, inside and outside of the floodplain areas, by segregating their main physical and chemical parameters. It also aims to evaluate the influence of the flood pulse on these parameters in these types of bodies of water. In order to do this, expeditions were conducted monthly from 2004 to 2011, at twelve sampling stations located in different types of water bodies, including canals and lakes within the Mamiraua Sustainable Development Reserve, the Solimoes River and the mouth of the Tefe River. The parameters monitored were electrical conductivity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, oxygen saturation, pH and transparency. To analyze the data obtained from this monitoring, descriptive statistics and clustering were used. The temperature of the bodies of water in the Mamiraua RDS showed mean values ranging between 27.1 and 30.8 ° C. Dissolved oxygen concentrations resulted in average concentrations of from 0.3 to 0.6 mg.L-1, with a high standard deviation. Transparency was between 0.4 and 1.6 m. Electrical conductivity ranged between 87 and 204 μS.cm-1 in white waters and 10 - 21 μS.cm-1 in black/mixed waters of the mouth of the Tefe River. From the groupings obtained, it was possible to state that the lakes behave like independent bodies of water in the daught season, and during the season of high water they form a large grouping, suggesting a greater homogenization. An analysis of principal components with the parameters confirmed their relevance in the structuring of groups or types of bodies of water identified in the region. The pH distinguished itself as the main differentiating factor between white and black waters, followed by water transparency. Electrical conductivity was the main parameter responsible for the differentiation of water in different periods of the hydrological cycle, followed by water transparency. The variation in water level during the hydrological cycles evaluated over seven years of monitoring influenced the water quality in the lakes and canals of Mamiraua Sustainable Development Reserve and the Solimoes and Tefe Rivers. The parameters transparency, dissolved oxygen, and conductivity varied more markedly between the periods of draught and high water.

The riverine communities of the Amazon varzea are almost devoid of environmental sanitation. This situation exposes the population to risks of diseases. One of the most serious problems is related to the lack of treatment of human waste and sewage, which causes environmental, aesthetic and health problems. Given these findings, this study is a literature review that aims to evaluate domestic effluents treatment systems that are compatible with the reality of the Amazonian varzea and thus establish a social technology that enables the promotion of basic sanitation for the riverine populations. We surveyed information on the treatment technologies most commonly used in the country, discussing the particularities of each and the limitations of the varzea ecosystems, such as the presence of wetlands and the lack of electricity. From the discussion we concluded that the set septic tank + anaerobic filter and constructed wetlands were more suitable for wastewater treatment in the varzea, because theirs building materials can be adapted to the humidity, do not require electricity and can be installed individually by residents. We recommend further studies on the adaptations of these technologies to meet the regional needs.

Periodic slab calculations based on density functional theory were performed at the B3LYP level to gain insight into the surfaces of wurtzite GaN nanostructures. The (10 1 ¯ 0) and (11 2 ¯ 0) GaN surfaces are the most thermodynamically stable surfaces, the energy of the former being slightly smaller than that of the latter. The thermodynamic stability associated with the equilibrium shape of nanowires was determined using the calculated values. Doping with Mn further decreases the surface energy of (10 1 ¯ 0) and (11 2 ¯ 0). The minimum surface energy of Ga1 − xMnxN (0.04 ≤ x ≤ 0.17) is found at x ~ 0.08, for (10 1 ¯ 0) and (11 2 ¯ 0) slab models. Substitution of Ga with Mn in different positions relative to the surface shows that the total energy increases as the Mn atoms move from the surface layer to the interior sites of the slabs. Mn doping is also responsible for decreases in the band gap energy: the minimum calculated band gap in the Ga1 − xMnxN (10 1 ¯ 0) slab was found at x ~ 0.17, whereas the (11 2 ¯ 0) surface presented the corresponding minimum at x ~ 0.04. The magnetic moments associated with Mn were observed to increase as the ion positions moved closer to the surfaces.