The expansion of urban development over the past
decades is driving socio-economical, cultural and behavioural transitions in
populations living in remote areas. This is true for many regions in North
America, Africa and Asia1, 2. For obvious reasons I will focus on
the Amazon region in Brazil, which has been changing rapidly, and is likely to
see increasing development in the future3.
Similar to most people living in big cities of the
North of Brazil, I have relatives living in remote villages in the Amazon. We
used to travel about 90 km either by boat or by dirt roads to spend time with a
multitude of family members during school holidays. Everything was a strange
mixture of adventure and peace. We fished piranhas
for dinner, swam in the river and even had our canoe over-turned by a
“friendly” pink dolphin that thought it would be fun! We would wake up and go
to bed at the same time as the chickens, because there was no electricity. The
entertainment after dinner was to listen to my uncles tell stories, mostly
scary ones about ghosts, or big animals visiting, and funny jokes about other
relatives or neighbours. Evenings didn't last long, though, because the day had
started early and we knew the following one would too.
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| Rio Negro river near Manaus meeting the Solimões river |
I was yet to form strong opinions about
sustainability, but I was already amazed by how in tune with the forests my
relatives were. They would eat mostly fish, chicken (and eggs) from their own
farm, and, sometimes hunt some wild animal, such as pacas (Agouti paca or Cuniculus paca). Vegetables and herbs would always
come from what they cultivated. From the manioc they would prepared the flour
which was our staple, much like bread or rice in other cultures. Fruit would
come from their orchard or simply from the forest, such as mangoes, avocado,
and açaí berry. Bringing fruit to the kitchen table was a fun
activity for the kids, but we would start eating while we were still hanging in
the trees.
These populations grew without having to worry too
much with their trash, because it was mostly biodegradable or reusable. The few
industrialized products they consumed were cooking oil, coffee, salt, rice, and
pasta. They would re-use the packaging for other purposes, and usually bury or
burn the unwanted trash. Sanitary facilities were made further from the house
and from the river to avoid contamination. They could use water from the river
or groundwater reserves without worrying about contamination.
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| Village in the middle of the Amazon accessed only by boat |
Nowadays, almost twenty years later, things are very
different. The Amazon region has developed rapidly thanks to road systems and
better fluvial transportation, which has improved the communication between
remote villages and the main cities. Social policies4 have increased
access to industrialised goods. Now the riverside inhabitants or ribeirinhos, as we say in Portuguese,
have more financial resources to acquire goods, and are thus more likely to buy
something than to exchange or produce their own5. Better trade and
access to electricity have improved the quality of life. However, these changes,
coupled with access to TV (almost everybody has one!) have propagated the
concept of modern lifestyle and consumerism. Consequently, large changes in
food and social habits are happening, which ultimately impact human and
environmental health as never before6.
Though this rural development is obviously important,
there are several adverse effects. The main one is that ribeirinhos are opting for harmful diets and lifestyles7.
These poor choices can be explained by a lack of access to education, by restricted
market options, and by a lack of government support. First, instead of having to fish, hunt or
grow, now food can be bought from the nearest small markets6, but
they mostly offer frozen and canned items. The main source of meat is frozen
chicken5 or canned beef, which is readily accessible (better than
having to kill the animal yourself). Second, with the advent of electricity, TV
has become the main source of entertainment. Congregating to tell each other
stories, village parties and football games are all losing out to the much
catchier drama in Brazilian soap operas (which, to be sincere, I also love!).
This reflects the new sedentary lifestyle of the ribeirinhos. Third, the behaviour of taking responsibility for your
own garbage has disappeared, while there is increasing waste production and few
options for waste collection. Large amounts of plastic accumulate on the shores
of the rivers.
In my view, although there is more “development” now,
that is, greater urbanisation and access to technology, the truth is that people
now eat less nutritious food5,6,7, have more sedentary habits and
degrade nature to a higher extent. Of course, the problem is much more complex
and there is no one-way solution or approach. I am also not saying that old
times were better because everybody was happier and in communion with the
forest. They were difficult times for sure, and that is why it is so easy to
change habits as soon as people are given the chance.
All this makes me wonder how to best balance development
with human and environmental health. The ribeirinhos' bad food habits
are partly due to the low education level and lack of policies to control the
nutritional content of industrialised food. However, even though there was very
little education in the past, people re-used packaging when possible or
organised their own landfill to avoid water and soil contamination. I think
they had a clear notion of their dependence on nature. Now, because food comes
from markets, it is harder to make the connections with the manufacturing
processes and supply chains. All this serves to highlight the key role that
education has to play in raising awareness of these issues and imposing
personal responsibility over personal waste. Education would also help to
understand the detrimental effects of bad waste management. Clearly, if we are
able to flood these remote areas with industrial goods, we should also be able
to organise access to public waste collection services. Because there has been
little or no improvement in waste collection in these localities, there is an
urgent need for public governance to provide better conditions.
Overall, I believe that the key hope for improvement
relies on better education and public services, which together may ensure that
development can occur without costly negative consequences on human health and
the environment.
7 - Piperata, B. A.
(2007). Nutritional status of Ribeirinhos
in Brazil and the nutrition transition. American
journal of physical anthropology, 133(2), 868-878.
