The Social Network Analysis to Study Discourse …
139
Using the concept of trade-offs it is possible to examine issues of justice and its
relationship to environmental management by analyzing land-use, land tenure, water
use, access to markets and the equity issues related to management of the benefits and
costs of environmental management, and the land-water competitions in the biofuel
production as this chapter try to demonstrate. The trade-offs within the complex
interactions of the nexus also tell us about the consequences for human well-being,
health, poverty and inequality. Food production systems, for example, rely heavily
on energy for fertilizers, water for irrigation, and the functions of nature to recycle
nutrients and pollinate crops [6, 18]. Altering the availability or demand of one sector
can have repercussions on the others. Thus, recognizing the relationships between
the elements of the nexus poses challenges that require considering beyond the three
elements when evaluating the consequences and planning investments, policies, and
actions. Such cross-cutting challenges include, for example, a strong push toward
the use of biofuels, which could affect the availability of land and water for other
purposes, especially for food production, extensive areas of irrigated agricultural land
that use water and are needed for food production and energy generation, particularly
hydroelectric power [7].
Figure 3 shows the thematic network of water, food, health, biofuels and climate
change, and highlights the interdependencies and connections between them. Nexus
approach is based on an understanding of the synergies and regulated negotiation of
fair trade-offs between competing uses of water, energy and food. However, other
components or sectors can also be taken into account. As Fig. 3 shows, health can
be an important component within the nexus, as well as labor or land that is independent when studying the WEF nexus of biofuels. In this study, the health theme
is related to the expansion of agriculture, the use of pesticides or agrochemicals,
and the contamination of water, the latter of which is occurring a large and constant
scale. The study reveals that agrochemicals are easily spread in the environment, and
thereby, reach the atmosphere and contaminate the areas surroundings where they are
applied thanks to their potential to volatilize from the soil, water and plant surface.
This process can consequently impact the health of the sorrounding population.
Figure 4 shows the degree centrality of the thematic network by actors. In terms
of graphs, the degree centrality of an actor is calculated by its number of neighbors.
For example, in a model of a social network of friends, the centrality of each actor
would consist of the number of friends that each individual actor possesses, and the
individual who has the most friends or acquaintance (highest popularity) would have
the highest degree centrality index [20]. This study examined 3 different types of
actors: The media, the government and NGOs. With respect to the MEDIA, three
themes dominated discussion on the nexus approach: Food, Biofuels and Water.
Moreover these themes demonstrated to be well connected one another. These three
themes are the basis of the nexus sector. It is possible that the advancement of
discussions on this issues and the importance of inserting it in the public debate
on food production, energy and water resources protection has been dominating the
communication channels in the Brazilian media.
For the government, “food” was also found to be a central theme. This could be
related by the importance of agricultural sector in Brazil. Another theme that came
139
Using the concept of trade-offs it is possible to examine issues of justice and its
relationship to environmental management by analyzing land-use, land tenure, water
use, access to markets and the equity issues related to management of the benefits and
costs of environmental management, and the land-water competitions in the biofuel
production as this chapter try to demonstrate. The trade-offs within the complex
interactions of the nexus also tell us about the consequences for human well-being,
health, poverty and inequality. Food production systems, for example, rely heavily
on energy for fertilizers, water for irrigation, and the functions of nature to recycle
nutrients and pollinate crops [6, 18]. Altering the availability or demand of one sector
can have repercussions on the others. Thus, recognizing the relationships between
the elements of the nexus poses challenges that require considering beyond the three
elements when evaluating the consequences and planning investments, policies, and
actions. Such cross-cutting challenges include, for example, a strong push toward
the use of biofuels, which could affect the availability of land and water for other
purposes, especially for food production, extensive areas of irrigated agricultural land
that use water and are needed for food production and energy generation, particularly
hydroelectric power [7].
Figure 3 shows the thematic network of water, food, health, biofuels and climate
change, and highlights the interdependencies and connections between them. Nexus
approach is based on an understanding of the synergies and regulated negotiation of
fair trade-offs between competing uses of water, energy and food. However, other
components or sectors can also be taken into account. As Fig. 3 shows, health can
be an important component within the nexus, as well as labor or land that is independent when studying the WEF nexus of biofuels. In this study, the health theme
is related to the expansion of agriculture, the use of pesticides or agrochemicals,
and the contamination of water, the latter of which is occurring a large and constant
scale. The study reveals that agrochemicals are easily spread in the environment, and
thereby, reach the atmosphere and contaminate the areas surroundings where they are
applied thanks to their potential to volatilize from the soil, water and plant surface.
This process can consequently impact the health of the sorrounding population.
Figure 4 shows the degree centrality of the thematic network by actors. In terms
of graphs, the degree centrality of an actor is calculated by its number of neighbors.
For example, in a model of a social network of friends, the centrality of each actor
would consist of the number of friends that each individual actor possesses, and the
individual who has the most friends or acquaintance (highest popularity) would have
the highest degree centrality index [20]. This study examined 3 different types of
actors: The media, the government and NGOs. With respect to the MEDIA, three
themes dominated discussion on the nexus approach: Food, Biofuels and Water.
Moreover these themes demonstrated to be well connected one another. These three
themes are the basis of the nexus sector. It is possible that the advancement of
discussions on this issues and the importance of inserting it in the public debate
on food production, energy and water resources protection has been dominating the
communication channels in the Brazilian media.
For the government, “food” was also found to be a central theme. This could be
related by the importance of agricultural sector in Brazil. Another theme that came