Conflitos ambientais e as águas do rio São Francisco

Abstract

This article presents a study on the environmental conflicts over water in states directly involved in the context of the Integration Project of the San Francisco River in Northeastern Brazil. It is based on an approach guided by the social determination of health involving the relationships between the use of natural resources, political domination and economic ownership that underlie the processes of environmental injustice. A transversal, descriptive, and observational study was carried out. The database from the Pastoral Land Commission—which monitors conflicts over water—was used as a source of information. The states of Ceará, Paraíba, Pernambuco and Rio Grande do Norte were chosen as scope for the study. The conflicts were characterized according to state, status and the number of affected families. We observed that conflicts existed in all states studied, but especially in Ceará and Pernambuco. We, thus, concluded that the water transposition project for the São Francisco river worsens environmental conflicts involving indigenous populations and others vulnerable groups rooted in the territories that demand access to the water.