Social Life Cycle Assessment of Green and Burnt Manual Sugarcane Harvesting in the Northeastern Thailand 10.32526/ennrj/20/202100190
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Despite green sugarcane harvesting being promoted in Thailand, with some limitations on the use of harvesting machines, green sugarcane harvesting is practiced manually in many sugarcane fields. Although the environmental benefit seems clear, this harvesting practice’s social implications are yet unknown. This study assessed social performances of green and burnt manual sugarcane harvesting in North-Eastern Thailand, the region hosting the largest sugarcane plantation area, using the Social Life Cycle Assessment technique. Data collection was undertaken by surveys. The performance reference points method was applied to assess the different stakeholder’s social performances. Key stakeholder groups examined were workers, local community, and farm owners. The main social issues included in this study are fair wages, working conditions, health and safety, local employment, economic development, social responsibility, and satisfaction of occupation. The results showed that the social performances of green and burnt sugarcane harvesting were generally similar except for the local community group. This is mainly due to the health impact of sugarcane burning on the local community. Different issues cause the farmers to harvest the burnt sugarcane; for example, labor shortage in the harvesting season and the difficult working conditions for green harvesting, causing the farm owners to bear higher costs. For these reasons, mechanized harvesting is suggested to help promote green harvesting to reduce local air pollution. However, technology development is in urgent need to make the harvesting machines more affordable and applicable to all geographical conditions.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Published articles are under the copyright of the Environment and Natural Resources Journal effective when the article is accepted for publication thus granting Environment and Natural Resources Journal all rights for the work so that both parties may be protected from the consequences of unauthorized use. Partially or totally publication of an article elsewhere is possible only after the consent from the editors.
References
Aparcana S, Salhofer S. Development of a social impact assessment methodology for recycling systems in low-income countries. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 2013;18(5):1106-15.
Barbosa CMG, Terra-Filho M, Albuquerque ALP, de Giorgi D, Di Grupi C, Negrão CE, et al. Burnt sugarcane harvesting-cardiovascular effects on a group of healthy workers, Brazil. PLoS ONE 2012;7(9):e46142.
Bonsucro. Bonsucro Production Standard Version 4.01. London, UK: Bonsucro; 2014.
Chaya W, Bunnag B, Gheewala SH. Adoption, cost and livelihood impact of machinery services used in small-scale sugarcane production in Thailand. Sugar Tech 2019;21(4):543-56.
Chhipi-Shrestha GK, Hewage K, Sadiq R. ‘Socializing’ sustainability: A critical review on current development status of social life cycle impact assessment method. Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy 2015;17(3):579-96.
Coulis M. Abundance, biomass and community composition of soil saprophagous macrofauna in conventional and organic sugarcane fields. Applied Soil Ecology 2021;164:Article No. 103923.
Department of International Organizations. Thailand’s Voluntary National Review on the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Bangkok, Thailand: Department of International Organizations; 2021.
de Oliveira Bordonal R, Barretto de Figueiredo E, Aguiar DA, Adami M, Theodor Rudorff BF, La Scala N. Greenhouse gas mitigation potential from green harvested sugarcane scenarios in São Paulo State, Brazil. Biomass and Bioenergy 2013; 59:195-207.
Du C, Ugaya C, Freire F, Dias LC, Clift R. Enriching the results of screening social life cycle assessment using content analysis: A case study of sugarcane in Brazil. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 2019;24(4):781-93.
Gheewala SH, Silalertruksa T, Pongpat P, Bonnet S. Biofuels production from sugarcane in Thailand. In: Khan MT, Khan IA, editors. Sugarcane Biofuels: Status, Potential, and Prospects of the Sweet Crop to Fuel the World. Springer, Cham; 2019. p. 157-74.
Khaosod. Move forward to solve the sugarcane problem with hope to reduce the air pollution [Internet]. 2019 [cited 2021 Oct 31]. Available from: https://www.khaosod.co.th/economics/news_ 2184918 (in Thai).
Kijjakosol T. Sugarcane planters federation explains the necessity to burn sugarcane [Internet]. 2019 [cited 2022 Jan 5]. Available from: https://www.77kaoded.com/news/thanapat/ 289029 (in Thai).
Manik Y, Leahy J, Halog A. Social life cycle assessment of palm oil biodiesel: A case study in Jambi Province of Indonesia. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 2013;18(7): 1386-92.
Matsuda M, Braga ALF, Marquezini MV, Monteiro MLR, Saldiva PHN, de SantosU. Occupational effect of sugarcane biomass burning on the conjunctival mucin profile of harvest workers and residents of an adjacent town-A Brazilian panel study. Experimental Eye Research 2020;190:Article No. 107889.
Mitr Phol Group. Stop burning sugarcane! what are benefits of green harvesting? [Internet]. 2020 [cited 2020 Jan 24]. Available from: https://www.mitrphol.com/news_detail.php? topic=263 (in Thai).
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture Systems Indicators. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; 2013.
Office of the Cane and Sugar Board (OCSB). Situation Report on Sugarcane Planting: Producion year 2020/2021. Bangkok, Thailand: Office of the Cane and Sugar Board; 2021. (in Thai).
Pongpat P, Gheewala SH, Silalertruksa T. An assessment of harvesting practices of sugarcane in the central region of Thailand. Journal of Cleaner Production 2017;142(Part3): 1138-47.
Prasara-AJ, Gheewala SH. Applying social life cycle assessment in the Thai sugar industry: Challenges from the field. Journal of Cleaner Production 2018;172:335-46.
Rezaei Kalvani S, Sharaai AH, Abdullahi IK. Social consideration in product life cycle for product social sustainability. Sustainability 2021;13:Article No. 11292.
Russo Garrido S, Parent J, Beaulieu L, Revéret JP. A literature review of type I SLCA-making the logic underlying methodological choices explicit. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 2018;23(3):432-44.
Sawaengsak W, Olsen SI, Hauschild MZ, Gheewala SH. Development of a social impact assessment method and application to a case study of sugarcane, sugar, and ethanol in Thailand. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 2019;24:2054-72.
Sawaengsak W, Prasara-AJ, Gheewala SH. Assessing the socio-economic sustainability of sugarcane harvesting in Thailand. Sugar Tech 2021;23(2):263-77.
Thansettakij Multimedia. Why burn sugarcane?...insight stories that outsiders don’t know about! [Internet]. 2019 [cited 2021 Oct 31]. Available from: https://www.thansettakij.com/ content/379992 (in Thai).
Tomei J, de Oliveira L, de Oliveira Ribeiro C, Lee Ho L, Montoya LG. Assessing the relationship between sugarcane expansion and human development at the municipal level: A case study of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Biomass and Bioenergy 2020;141:Article No. 105700.
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The Methodological Sheets for Subcategories in Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) (Pre-Publication Version). Paris, France: United Nations Environment Programme; 2013.
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Guidelines for Social Life Cycle Assessment of Products and Organizations 2020. Paris, France: United Nations Environment Programme; 2020.
Valdivia S, Ugaya CML, Hildenbrand J, Traverso M, Mazijn B, Sonnemann G. A UNEP/SETAC approach towards a life cycle sustainability assessment-our contribution to Rio+20. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 2013; 18(9):1673-85.
WordPress. Udonthani, Thailand [Internet]. 2021 [cited 2021 Oct 31]. Available from: https://udonthailand.files.wordpress. com/2015/10/2558-09-25-11_52_19-udon-thani-google-maps.png?fbclid=IwAR0_4uWkhhGkinAjDiWlbPXQVvmn_Efn36wtTsbfG3SEZWZLA9nCZZTqGM8.
Workman D. Sugar exports by country [Internet]. 2020 [cited 2021 Oct 31]. Available from: http://www.worldstopexports.com/ sugar-exports-country/.