Comunidades tradicionais e unidades de conservação no Pará: a influência da criação da Reserva Extrativista Rio Xingu - Terra do Meio, nos modos e vida das famílias locais

Abstract

Nature, as we see it today, has been shaped by human action. However, these actions in some cases have been destructive, making natural resources scarce. Over time, this exploration model has been questioned, emerging several proposals advocating for the ecological and environmental preservation, many of those, in the Amazon. Among several viable social and environmental alternatives, there were the Extractive Reserves, strongly defended by the Rubber Extracting Workers Movement, originally from the Brazilian state of Acre. Even as an alternative to the devastation of the environment and the local traditional culture, the Extractive Reserves, through the established rules in their Management Plan may, in some cases, unable some of the residents’ actions. Seeking to analyze, as assertive as it may be, this study aims to understand the influences created by the establishment of the Extractive Reserve in the Xingu River, located in an area named Terra do Meio (in a free translation “Middle Land”), in the Brazilian state of Pará, the lifestyle and social practices, management of natural resources adopted by the local families. The methodology used was locus immersion research, divided into two visits, between May and August 2012, where through a pre-formulated script, twenty-three families, residents of the reserve, were interviewed. Concerning the methods used to achieve such goal, there were informal conversations, hands-on observation, and direct observation. It was learned that traditional communities have undergone intense historical processes, many of those shattered by conflicts created by land expropriation and harassment by the local population, which corroborated to the establishment of a protected area. After the establishment of the Extractive Reserve, which has happened rapidly, attempting to cease the extraction of natural resources by external actors, the families have felt safer regarding their permanent stay in the area. However, the rules established in the Management Plan have not entirely been seized by them, which is justified by their non-participation in meetings (40%), miscommunication, once external actors language (managers) is not understood (26%), the passive participation of residents when choosing some of the rules and the existing faults in criteria when voting for counselors, both reported in 17% of the interviews. Even demonstrating misunderstandings about the established rules, most interviewed families (between 65% and 78%) complied to follow the rules. Their statements have been analyzed as an alternative to safe keep their lifestyle; even though they are enforced to comply, some residents report one another, deducting that there has continue to carry out the activities as they did before the creation of RESEX, getting outside the established norms. Besides, as the understanding of the rules was done in diferente ways, this may become their justification for non-compliance. It was learned that the families’ lifestyle, regarding activities has not been significantly altered. However, social relations among communities have been shaken due to the enforcement and misunderstanding of the rules, which was legitimized by the increase and externalization of the arguments and gossiping among residents.