Environmental perception and mining of aggregates: the view of the urban-rural population of Ourém, Pará, Brazil

Abstract

Mining has stood out because of the diversity and abundance of products that can be exploited from natural environments. However, this activity is strongly associated with scenarios of environmental degradation and social conflicts. In Ourém, northeastern Pará, the exploitation of aggregates for civil construction (sand, clay and pebble) is a practice that has been happening for some years. In view of this, the present research aimed to analyze the environmental perception of residents directly or indirectly affected by the mining activity of said municipality. Data collection occurred with 154 residents, using: structured forms; participant observation; informal conversations; semi-structured interviews and photographic records. The results showed that individuals are more concerned with safety and employment issues, to the detriment of damage to the environment, including mining. Statistically, the people who are most concerned about environmental damage are older residents, who have lived in the municipality for more than 31 years and have a fixed occupation. Regarding the work of the mining companies, the population considers that there is a much higher proportion of negative socio-environmental impacts than the positive ones. However, people demonstrate have shown that they are accustomed to the harmful effects of mining and are not very active in requesting compensation for damages or any social compensation. The information obtained from these investigations is of paramount importance as a record of scientific evidence available to the population and its leaders, having the potential to contribute in the articulation between public power and civil society and in the elaboration of public policies based on environmental diagnosis projects that reflect the vision of the different actors involved.