Tradicionalidade camponesa e contradições socioambientais no Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses (PNLM): o caso das comunidades Buriti Amarelo e Ponta do Mangue em Barreirinhas - MA

Abstract

The socio-environmental conflict between residents and the Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ICMBio) on the perimeter of the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park specifically in the municipality of Barreirinhas in Maranhão originates with the creation of the Conservation Unit in 2002 and its demarcation. The establishment of the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park has transformed the way of life of local inhabitants due to the norms and restrictions imposed by the management plan laid down in the law of creation of the National System of Conservation Units, which manages the Conservation Units in their various modalities. The communities located in the park's dependencies have their way of life drastically affected by tourism, especially in the agropastoral activities and the extractivism exercised by the peasants since the occupation of the territory by their ancestors. The ICMBio considers that the most coherent solution is the removal of the inhabitants of the park, claiming that they are mainly responsible for environmental degradation, on the other hand, the peasants live in the territory for several generations before the creation of the park. However, the law is only effective in disciplining residents, as tourists degrade the environment, but they are not penalized. For this reason, the ICMBio contradicts itself as “penalizing" tourism agencies with fines in order to curb such practices, in addition, there are large constructions belonging to private individuais, especially in the buffer zone, to which also applies to legislation regarding the park, evidencing that the focus of the repressive actions only focuses on the peasant communities, to which they are unassisted by the government and are sacrificed to guarantee leisure to the urban residents