Unintended consequences of 'Development' in the Amazon: Commercial aquaculture and malaria in Mâncio Lima, Brazil

Abstract

This chapter aims to show how 'development' policies, promoted and/or endorsed by different spheres of Brazilian government (federal, state and municipal) have contributed to the occurrence of malaria in parts of the Amazon. A detailed case study is provided, analysing the city of Mâncio Lima, in the Acre state. In this locality, a state policy in the early 2000s encouraged fish farming through opening fish ponds. The initiative, however, eventually led to massive production of breeding sites for the mosquito Anopheles darlingi, which transmits malaria in the Brazilian Amazon. As a consequence, malaria transmission has exploded in the municipality, which currently has the largest number of cases per inhabitant in Brazil. This investigation uses literature review and secondary data, as well as fieldwork records from September 2019. A set of proposed interventions are presented to address the malaria problem in the locality. Finally, we conduct an analysis of the case in the context of recent development/post-development theories. We argue that any intervention in the area must consider social participation, environmental preservation and defence against the main local health risks, especially malaria.