Dinâmica territorial e políticas ambientais: uma análise da relação entre crescimento da renda per capita e ocorrência de desmatamento nos municípios da Área de Proteção Ambiental da Baixada Maranhense

Abstract

This paper, evaluates the territorial occupation dynamics and environmental policies in terms of the relationship between per capita income increasement and the high degree of deforestation in the Maranhão lowland ECA (Environmental Conservation Area) it was considered appropriate to test the hypothesis of interrelationship among accumulated deforestation, per capita income and territorial occupation dynamics. The research had an interdisciplinary approach focusing on causes of deforestation in that studied area due to the demographic and economic dynamics. We included the following items in the methodological procedures: documentary research, literature and both qualitative and quantitative data analysis. The Maranhão lowland ECA (Environmental Conservation Area) was founded in (1991) to protect natural resources, such as these municipalities forest cover. The percentages below 30% of remaining forests (data analysis in km2 ) in 2010 had confirmed that the environmental policies of the sixteen municipalities in question were not effective; it had allowed the significant deforestation. The results indicate that the municipalities that had had the highest rates of accumulated deforestation (2000-2010), such as Santa Helena (18,85%), Turilândia (15.78%) and Pinheiro (11.65%), also had shown different trends regarding to the growth rates for the Agriculture and Husbandry Gross Domestic Product (AGDP) registered in Santa Helena village (54.61%), Turilândia (16.66%) and Pinheiro (-35.73%) respectively. Thus, it was evident that although the deforestation rates and Agricultural GDP have had the same growth trend in the municipalities of Santa Helena and Turilândia, the same trend is not configured in the Pinheiro city. In fact, the increasement rate for the accumulated deforestation observed in Pinheiro was positive, but its agricultural GDP was negative. The result of the regression analysis between the accumulated deforestation in km2 (dependent variable) and growth of per capita income (independent variable) in the municipalities of the Maranhão lowland ECA ( Environmental Conservation Area) was not statistically meaningful , thus, we conclude that the study of economic dynamics is not sufficient to explain the suppression of forest cover of this conservation unit.