Gestão ambiental e o desenvolvimento local na zona costeira paraense: o caso da ilha do Combu/PA

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the implementation of environmental and territorial management carried out by public bodies on Combu Island, in the context of cooperative federalism, and to understand its effects on the conflicts and transformations that have occurred in the area. The island is located on the left bank of the Guamá River, opposite the city of Belém, one and a half kilometers from the mainland, and is currently home to 8 communities that base their livelihoods on fishing, extractivism, agriculture, small-scale river transport, gastronomy and tourism. In order to achieve the proposed objective, it became essential to look at the legal instruments for environmental and territorial management that affect the research site, the ways of conceiving socio-environmental conflicts and social transformations. As for the methodological tools adopted, the study is exploratory and qualitative, with methodological procedures that include a literature review, field research and an ethnographic case study. The universe of the research is the island of Combu and the population of the resident communities, as well as the documentation that regulates and conducts the Environmental Protection Area, into which the territory of Combu has been transformed. From meetings, contact with residents and those responsible for environmental and territorial management, as well as on-site observation as an alternate councillor on the Combu Island Environmental Protection Area Management Council, and as a member of the Working Group to draw up the conservation unit's Management Plan, which took place in 2022, it was possible to identify the main deficiencies in environmental management and the effectiveness of cooperative federalism. The community faces problems such as a lack of dialogue between the community and the government, a lack of licensing and supervision of projects installed on the island, real estate speculation and irregular sale of properties, an exodus of the local population to the outskirts of the capital, the removal of trees that are important for the community's livelihood due to the installation of electricity equipment without proper maintenance, among others. Thus, the social interest of the research lies in the importance of efficient planning and regulation of environmental and territorial management related to Combu Island, in order to meet the needs of the community and the environment. In this sense, the research aims to produce an Illustrative Map, together with an Action Plan identifying the main socio-environmental conflicts in the area and proposing solutions to improve environmental and territorial management on the island, as a contribution to the APA Combu Management Plan. It is understood that the conclusion of the Management Plan will be the starting point for the set of integrated actions needed to safeguard the environmental, cultural and social assets present in the protected space, and to empower the local population to use and appropriate their territory, in order to reduce social inequalities, environmental degradation, the gentrification of the island and the exodus of traditional populations.