Socio-environmental disasters and their impacts: socioeconomic consequences of the oil spill in the northeast region of Brazil

FERREIRA, BEATRIZ M.P.; BONFIM, CRISTINE V. DO; RAPOSO, ISABEL P.A.; QUINAMO, TARCISIO S.; CAMPOS, LUÍS HENRIQUE R. DE

doi:10.1590/0001-3765202220210399

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SOCIAL SCIENCES • An. Acad. Bras. Ciênc. 94 (suppl 2) • 2022 • https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765202220210399 copy

Socio-environmental disasters and their impacts: socioeconomic consequences of the oil spill in the northeast region of Brazil

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

The 2019 oil spill was the biggest in Brazilian history. Oil was found along more than 3,000 km of the Brazilian coastline, mainly in the Northeast, in more than 1,000 localities. This article analyzes the disaster’s damage using a sample of interviewers who were impacted - fishers, tourism and beach hawkers - distributed along 40 of the affected municipalities in the Northeast Region of Brazil. The socio-economic indicators obtained by the research show that the impacts were not homogeneous between the segments and cities researched. Localities specialized in tourism and with a workforce relatively more specialized in fishing were the most affected. Accordingly, the populations of fishers and beach hawkers suffered the most severe impacts in terms of income reduction and the sale of products. These agents report a negative impact of the disaster on their work activities of 73% (fishers) and 65% (beach vendors), while the lodging and food sectors reported losses in about 38% of the cases. The interviewees’ health indicators demonstrated that the volunteers at the oil spill clean- up suffered damage due to the exposure experienced, evidencing the public health emergency dimension of the disaster.

Key words
Beach pollution; environment; fisheries; oil spill; petroleum pollution; socio-economic impacts

Variable	Fisheries	Touristic	Major Centers
Population	19,300	40,056	722,581
Employment participation – Fishing	0.06	0.03	0.02
Employment participation – Tourism	0.04	0.13	0.05
Human Development Index (HDI) – City	0.59	0.61	0.71
HDI – Income	0.57	0.59	0.69
HDI – Longevity	0.75	0.77	0.81
HDI – Education	0.49	0.51	0.63
Gini Index	0.57	0.59	0.61
Illiteracy - 10 to 17 years of age	7.45	6.29	3.31
Illiteracy – 18 years of age or older	28.06	23.7	11
Percentage of employed persons with Basic Education	38.41	44.47	67.07
Percentage of employed persons with Secondary Education	24.01	28.7	51.05
Percentage of employed persons with Higher Education	4.42	5.48	13.27
Infant Mortality	29.65	24.43	17.2
Dependency Ratio	58.38	54.5	43.16
Hospital Beds	16	38	1,533
Number of primary medical offices	12	22	449

Variable	Statistics
Gender (dummy 1= female)	0.18 (0.38)
Race (dummy 1= brown skin)	0.67 (0.47)
Age	47 (13)
Education¹	3.67 (1.95)
Proportion of illiterate persons	0.09 (0.29)
Time working as a fisherman	27 (15)
Registered with the General Fishing Registry	0.51 (0.50)
Activity is the family’s main source of income	0.88 (0.33)
Develops any other paid activity	0.23 (0.42)
Monthly household income (BRL)	1,200 (971)
People per household	3.6 (1.9)
Coastal areas (estuaries and inland sea) are the main fishing grounds	0.66 (0.48)
Uses a boat to fish	0.81 (0.39)
Fish both for their own consumption and for sale	0.84 (0.37)
(i) Direct sale to consumer	0.56 (0.50)
(ii) Middlemen	0.26 (0.44)
Had access to a financing for the activity	0.11 (0.31)
Says that fishing activity has been decreasing over the last ten years	0.82 (0.38)
Learned about the oil spill	0.97 (0.16)
Interviewed No. 1,999

Variable	Statistics
Gender (dummy 1= female)	0.45 (0.50)
Race (dummy 1= brown skin)	0.57 (0.50)
Age	45 (13)
Education¹	5.79 (1.84)
Lifetime of the establishment	13 (13)
No. of permanent employees	5 (8)
No. of temporary employees	2 (3)
Weekly revenue in high season (BRL)	8,558 (14,879)
Weekly revenue in low season (BRL)	4,258 (7,558)
% of revenue attributed to tourism	0.32 (0.30)
% of seafood from local fishermen	0.20 (0.40)
Perception of the oil spill as a crime	0.54 (0.50)
Interviewed No.: 869

Variable	Statistics
Gender (dummy 1= female)	0.51 (0.50)
Race (dummy 1= brown skin)	0.56 (0.50)
Age	44 (13)
Education¹	7.43 (1.72)
Lifetime of the establishment	12.50 (10.35)
No. of permanent employees	8 (15)
No. of temporary employees	3 (5)
Weekly revenue in high season (BRL)	10,056 (14,555)
Weekly revenue in low season (BRL)	4,107 (5,375)
% of establishments that sell reservations online	0.71 (0.46)
% of establishments that sell packages to major operators	0.22 (0.42)
Perception of the oil spill as a crime	0.46 (0.50)
Interviewed No.: 134

Variable	Statistics
Gender (dummy 1= female)	0.26 (0.44)
Race (dummy 1= brown skin)	0.65 (0.48)
Age	39 (13)
Education¹	4.53 (2.05)
Percentage of illiterate persons	0.04 (0.20)
Activity is the family’s main source of income	0.81 (0.39)
Time as a beach hawker	10 (10)
Registration at the City Hall	0.25 (0.44)
Weekly income in low season (BRL)	269 (218)
Weekly income in high season (BRL)	685 (709)
Perception of the oil spill as a crime	0.43 (0.50)
Interviewed No..: 325

Fishers	Fisheries	Touristic	Major Centers	All¹
Did this spill decrease fish production?	0.37 (0.03) N=307	0.41*** (0.02) N=528	0.32*** (0.01) N=1164	0.35 (0.48) N=1999
Did this spill decrease the sale of fish?	0.76*** (0.02) N=307	0.72** (0.02) N=528	0.64*** (0.01) N=1164	0.68 (0.47) N=1999
Percentage of reported income reduction	0.39 (0.03) N=198	0.41 (0.03) N=341	0.38 (0.02) N=693	0.38 (0.27) N=1232

Bars and restaurants	Fisheries	Touristic	Major Centers	All
What is the percentage of reduction in typical weekly revenue?	0.23 (0.17) N=6	0.25** (0.05) N=62	0.14** (0.01) N=737	0.15 (0.25) N=805
Percentage that considers that the turnover has not yet returned to normal	1 (0) N=3	0.91** (0.05) N=32	0.74** (0.03) N=285	0.75 (0.43) N=320
Percentage of employees dismissed	0.07 (0.10) N=6	0.11* (0.04) N=64	0.05* (0.01) N=745	0.06 (0.18) N=815

Accommodation facilities	Fisheries	Touristic	Major Centers	All
Cancellation fee for reservations or packages	0.06 (0.12) N=4	0.34 (0.07) N=51	0.27* (0.05) N=79	0.29 (0.49) N=134
Percentage that considers that the turnover has not yet returned to normal	1 (0) N=4	0.78 (0.06) N=51	0.76 (0.05) N=79	0.78 (0.42) N=134
Percentage of employees dismissed	0.00 (0.00) N=3	0.02 (0.02) N=45	0.01 (0.01) N=61	0.02 (0.10) N=109

Beach hawkers	Fisheries	Touristic	Major Centers	All
Percentage of drop in the weekly sales revenue	0.17 (0.09) N=17	0.15 (0.05) N=47	0.18 (0.05) N=65	0.16 (0.33) 129
Percentage that considers that the turnover has not yet returned to normal	0.88 (0.06) N=26	0.81 (0.04) N=85	0.69** (0.05) N=97	0.76 (0.43) N=208

Fishers	Fisheries	Touristic	Major Centers	All¹
Was a volunteer in the oil removal?	0.23 (0.02) N=307	0.27*** (0.02) N=528	0.19*** (0.19) N=1154	0.22 (0.41) N=1989
Did the person have any side effects on health?	0.03 (0.01) N=307	0.03 (0.01) N=528	0.02 (0.12) 1154	0.02 (0.15) N=1989
Did any of the person's relative have any side effects on health?	0.01 (0.00) 305	0.02** (0.01) N=526	0.01 (0.00) N=1128	0.01 (0.11) N=1959
Bars and restaurants	Fisheries	Touristic	Major Centers	All
Was a volunteer in the oil removal?	0.00 (0.00) N=6	0.25*** (0.05) N=67	0.09*** (0.01) N=796	0.10 (0.30) N=869
If volunteer, did the person have any side effects on health?	0.00 (0.00) N=6	0.00 (0.00) N=67	0.00 (0.06) N=796	0.00 (0.06) N=869
If so, did any employee have any side effects on health?	0.00 (0.00) N=6	0.02 (0.02) N=54	0.00 (0.00) N=732	0.00 (0.07) N=792
Accommodation facilities	Fisheries	Touristic	Major Centers	All
Was a volunteer in the oil removal?	0.00 (0.00) N=4	0.22*** (0.06) N=51	0.05*** (0.02) N=79	0.11 (0.32) N=134
Did the person have any side effects on health?	0.00 (0.00) N=4	0.04* (0.03) N=51	0.00* (0.00) N=79	0.01 (0.12) N=134
Did any employee have any side effects on health?	0.00 (0.00) N=3	0.05* (0.03) N=43	0.00* (0.00) N=75	0.02 (0.13) N=121
Beach hawkers	Fisheries	Touristic	Major Centers	All
Was a volunteer in the oil removal?	0.13 (0.05) N=40	0.26 (0.04) N=128	0.22 (0.03) N=156	0.22 (0.42) N=324
Did the person have any side effects on health?	0.00 (0.00) N=40	0.05** (0.02) N=128	0.02 (0.01) N=156	0.03 (0.17) N=324
Did any of the person's relative have any side effects on health?	0.00 (0.00) 40	0.02 (0.01) N=128	0.01 (0.01) N=156	0.01 (0.12) N=324

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