Sustainable development and Brazilian states: Comparison using the sustainability barometer

Abstract

The present study proposes to conduct a performance comparison of the 26 Brazilian states in relation to sustainable development using the State Sustainability Barometer (SSB) methodology. The Sustainability Barometer (SB) consists of a combination and graphical representation of a large number of indicators in two dimensions, namely, ecological well-being (EWB) and human well-being (HWB). This method aims to analyse the interaction patterns between people and the environment. In this sense, the 28 selected indicators are substantiated in the expansion of human freedom and the ability to support the ecosystem. Social indicators are represented by sub-dimensions related to demographics, education, economics, social justice, health, and safety, whereas ecological indicators are represented by sub-dimensions concerning health, environmental health, vegetation cover, soil pollution, and institutions. All of the indicators are published periodically by the Brazilian government in official documents. Results demonstrate that the Brazilian state with the best performance in sustainable development is Rio Grande do Sul (71.50 HWB; 67.43 EWB), followed by Santa Catarina (71.83 HWB; 66.42 EWB), and Paraná (66.26 HWB; 61.44 EWB). The state with the worst performance is Alagoas (30.34 HWB; 36.52 EWB), followed by Maranhão (35.93 HWB; 47.79 EWB), and Rondônia (50.46 HWB; 36.1 EWB). Hence, Southern Region states have a good performance in sustainable development, leveraged mainly by the quality of life indicators related to the population. Northeast Region states show a poor performance in the HWB and EWB indicators. © 2014 WIT Press.