Tensões e conflitos na metrópole belo-horizontina: (neo)extrativismo, comunidades locais e áreas protegidas

Abstract

Belo Horizonte, the third largest Brazilian metropolis accommodates local communities within its peri-urban area that experience tensions and conflicts: on one hand, due to the intensification and expansion of mining activities; on the other hand, the creation of the Serra do Gandarela National Park. This article aims to unveil the conflicts and tensions experienced by these communities as a result of these proposals on future uses in the region, and the way they have organized and mobilized themselves to defend the access to and the use of land and resources. The work was elaboratedfrom analysis of official documentation, observation, semi-structured interviews and photographic records and has been organized and divided into four parts. The first part presents a regional contextualization of Serra do Gandarela and an analysis of thereality of the researched local communities, the second part discusses the environmental conflicts in Serra do Gandarela, the third part offers evidence of the negotiations for the resolution of environmental conflicts that resulted in the establishment of the Serra do Gandarela National Park and the last part addresses the perpetuation of conflicts in the region. We concluded that the formatting and contents of the decree enacted for the establishment of the Park helped undermine the protection of the socio-biodiversity of Serra do Gandarela. Such findings reveal the complexity and contradictions of socio-biodiversity conservation/preservation in the metro-politan context.