(Dis)agreements on the use of natural resources within a context of land transformation in sergipe

Abstract

This work assesses the intertwining of legal systems, involving actors who have different relationships to natural resources in a context of competition for land ownership in one of the last remaining areas where the native fruit species, mangabeiras (Hancornia speciosa Gomes), occurs in the municipality of Barra dos Coqueiros, state of Sergipe, Brazil. The main results show that both the mangaba gatherers and the landowner have resorted to formal law (state law) to enforce their own interests. The landowner's legal victory abolished open access to mangabeira trees and imposed private access to this resource which has influenced the restructuring of customary rules (local laws). The obstacles encountered in attempts to secure control over this resource by formal legal means contrast with the persistence of customary laws, despite changes in the access system. Moreover, this intertwining demonstrates a complex legal pluralism and the permeability of the different legal systems within this context.