Changes in the landscape, threats, and the struggle of the quilombola communities from Alto Trombetas for their territories

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study addresses landscape changes in the quilombola territories of the communities Alto Trombetas 1 and 2, on the banks of the Trombetas River. It also points out transformations that have taken place since the creation of federal conservation units and the installation of bauxite mining activities in the region. The production and management of overlaps involves a heterogeneous network of state actors, artifacts, and socio-technical apparatuses that materialize interventions in the landscape, in a web of government bodies, norms, and a discourse favorable to progress and profit. This overlap has made the communities organize themselves against the invasion of their lands and struggle constantly to give visibility to the effects of mining and conservation units. We conclude that the history of questionable interventions from different sectors of the state has compromised the coexistence of quilombola territories with other lives in the region. Also, the lack of monitoring and studies focused on the effects of mining on quilombola communities shows how environmental racism falls upon racialized bodies and territories. However, quilombola communities continue to resist in their ancestral territories.