Conflitos territoriais e impactos socioambientais na bacia hidrográfica do Rio Preto, Maranhão - Brasil

Territorial conflicts and socio-environmental impacts in Rio Preto water basin, Maranhão – Brazil

Abstract

Given the different conflicts of land use and occupation present in the Rio Preto/ Maranhão river basin, more specifically associated with the model of assisted space appropriation between the peasant population and the growing activity of the agribusiness industries present, we directed the discussions to the presentation of the main environmental impacts related to the industrial activity present in the basin. So, we chose as research procedures the literature review, fieldwork and statistical analysis using geoprocessing operations to make the map of conflicts in the water basin, using the Geographic Information System (GIS). The results show that the conflicts that materialize in the study area are directly related to the expanded reproduction of capitalism and that, in the last two decades, the municipalities of Urbano Santos, Santa Quiteria do Maranhão and Belagua stood out with the highest number of conflicts. We conclude that the land-use models in the study area, by not considering the fragility relationship of natural systems, significantly changes the stability of fragile systems such as the Cerrado biome, compromising not only the permanence of the natural system itself but also the subsistence of the peasant population that uses this biome as part of their survival. Thus, the present article sheds light on how conflicts occur, giving us subsidies for the elaboration of public policies for the prevention of territorial conflicts and the reduction of environmental impacts.