Historical factors associated with forest conversion in the Carajás region
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37002/biodiversidadebrasileira.v15i1.2698Keywords:
Socio-environmental, policy , territory , communitiesAbstract
The history of deforestation in the Carajás region has led to the geographic isolation of protected areas. Understanding the drivers associated with this process is crucial for planning strategies to mitigate impacts and promote a transition toward sustainability. In light of this, the aim of this article is to evaluate the historical, socioeconomic, political, and environmental factors associated with forest conversion around the conservation units of Carajás. To this end, the methodology was divided into three stages: (1) literature review, (2) document analysis, and (3) semi-structured interviews. In this way, historical data were compiled on deforestation, land management, land tenure, economy, demography, and environmental regulation. Direct drivers of the deforestation process were identified as: (1) mining; (2) agricultural expansion; (3) road and infrastructure construction; (4) pig iron production. Indirect drivers included: (1) population growth; (2) tax incentives; (3) land conflicts; (4) illegal logging; (5) lack of public policies; and (6) land speculation. Regarding these aspects, it is worth highlighting the dependence of the local economy on exogenous factors related to global commodity trade and the demographic flows associated with this process. Another significant element was the pronounced history of unequal conflicts over access to natural resources. Thus, it can be concluded that the underlying factors of forest loss around the protected areas of Carajás are linked to a historical development agenda that gave rise to powerful physical, institutional, cultural, and political structures, which have driven mining, agriculture, and illegal logging.
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