De mata à estação ecológica: um estudo sobre Acauã, Alto Jequitinhonha, Minas Gerais

Abstract

In the 1970s, Jequitinhonha from Minas Gerais was the target of the development policies of the military dictatorship; large areas of eucalyptus monoculture were implemented through tax incentives and justified by the expectation of economic growth based on the steel industry. The plateaus of this region were intensively occupied by the business sector, which profoundly changed the uses of soil and water. Remnants of native vegetation were transformed into conservation units. This study analyzed the relationships between rural communities and the Acauã Ecological Station, an integral protection unit in the region, investigating the implantation of the reserve, the interactions established with farming families and its socio-environmental effects. The methodological procedures brought together social, forest and spatial research. The results show that the creation of the ecological station expropriated farmers of rights of access, sharing and customary management of natural resources in common lands,depriving them of access to 70% of the cerrado area in the chapada. In three decades, the native forest lost 18.6% of its vegetation and the areas of eucalyptus monoculture and planted pastures increased 274% and 189%, respectively.