Socio-economic impacts of bioethanol from sugarcane in Brazil

Abstract

The impacts of sugarcane and ethanol production in Brazil are widely discussed in all steps of its production. The rapid expansion, the possible indirect land use changes, and the socio-economic impacts are of great concern for different stakeholders. As any economic activity, ethanol production and sugarcane cultivation have many positive and negative socio-economic impacts such as employment and income generation, health issues, and migration. In this chapter, three geographical levels of impacts and aspects are discussed for Brazil: national, with an overview of the country and the main macroeconomic impacts; regional, focusing on the Northeast region; and local level with two case studies, Pindorama mill and São Francisco mill.