Caracterização de uso das terras na Amazônia Maranhense: uso real e formal na região de planejamento do Baixo Munim

Abstract

Accelerated population growth and inadequate land use lead to major changes in the Earth's surface and, consequently, to the destruction of areas that should be protected. Changes in land use are associated in a complex way with economic, demographic, technological and environmental changes, and may involve transformations of area or changes in the intensity of use, reflecting the history and perhaps the future of humanity. In recent decades, the Amazon biome has been the target of changes in native vegetation for other types of use resulting from human action. In this sense, this work has as its study area the Baixo Munim Region, one of the 32 planning regions of the state of Maranhão, mostly contained in the Amazon. Its extensive forest areas are converted to alternative land use (pastures, agribusiness, mining and logging), thus causing high rates of deforestation and burning, with significant loss of biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions and reduction of territories of traditional populations. Based on the above, this monograph aims to identify land use conflicts by comparing the (formal) use provided for in the legislation and the actual use in the Baixo Munim region; to identify the association between the spatial information available from the Land Use and Occupation Standards (IBGE) in relation to the (actual) use; and to identify the association between the spatial information available from the Land Use and Occupation Standards (IBGE) in relation to the (formal) use provided for in the legislation of the agencies. Over the last thirty years, the Baixo Munim region has been undergoing transformations in the forms of coverage by uses. According to the statistical data, urban infrastructure has been growing especially near the riverbeds, thanks to the form of occupation that occurred in the area. Along with this increase, there was a reduction in mangrove areas, savanna formation (although the territory does not contain it, which may be a classification error by MapBiomas), beaches and dunes, and apicum areas. An interesting fact acquired is also the reduction in pasture areas, which in recent years have been appearing with little expression, giving way to activities linked to soybean farming, thus requiring further studies to arrive at well-founded explanations. This research becomes relevant, since it seeks to highlight the advance of the capitalist mode over the Baixo Munim region. It is aimed at the academic community and can serve as a subsidy for the production of future studies and interventionist policies that seek to balance human production with natural resources.