Mirror without reflections: social and environmental conflicts and vulnerabilities in a sugarcane producing region

Gurgel, Aline do Monte; Souto, Aline de Souza; Guedes, Clenio Azevedo; Guedes, Geovanna Hachyra Facundo; Pereira, João Antonio dos Santos; Bezerra, Virgínia Carmem Rocha

doi:10.1590/1413-81232022273.27502020

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FREE THEMES • Ciênc. saúde coletiva 27 (03) • Mar 2022 • https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232022273.27502020 copy

Mirror without reflections: social and environmental conflicts and vulnerabilities in a sugarcane producing region

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the socio-environmental and health effects of sugarcane crops in a county in the Zona da Mata of the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. A collective mapping was carried out with use of social cartography. The issues investigated were plotted on maps, whose final versions were elaborated by means of the ArcGIS 10.2 software. The study was carried out in the district of Tejucupapo, located in the municipality of Goiana, selected due to its proximity to the sugarcane fields. In the environment there was an increase in deforestation, mangrove degradation, silting of rivers, reduction of fish and contamination of water and other crops by pesticides and sewage. For health, respiratory problems were pointed out by sugarcane burning, pesticide poisoning and the precariousness of the governmental health care. In the socio-cultural dimension, conflicts related to land use and occupation were identified, with loss, expropriation and destruction of historical objects and symbols of the community, reflecting the loss of cultural identity. The problems related to sugarcane production severely affect human health and destroy the territory both in its environmental aspects and the very identity construction of the community, threatening traditional livelihoods.

Key words:
Sugarcane; Health vulnerability; Environmental impacts; Pesticides

Categories	Central themes
Environment	Precarious environmental sanitation, with reduced quality of water supply and precarious sanitary sewage; Use of pesticides in sugarcane cultivation; Aerial spraying; Increased deforestation; Contamination of rivers and mangroves due to the use of pesticides, shrimp farming and domestic sewage; Siltation of rivers; Reduction in food and fish from the region
Health	Precariousness in health care for residents and workers in the territory; Absence of prevention, diagnosis, and care actions for pesticide poisoning cases; Illness in factory workers causing compulsory retirement due to disability; Acute poisoning in workers; Increased symptoms of asthma and tiredness in residents at the time of sugarcane burning; Lack of structure in the educational system and mobility
Conflicts	Land and power concentration; Land conflicts; Lack of historical recognition of Tejucupapo; Appropriation of historical landmarks in the region by landowners; Losses of historical objects of the territory; Losses in lifestyles and identity; Loss of access to public areas and environmental resources such as rivers and mangroves; Lack of public security; Increased prostitution, violence, and drug use

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E-mail: cienciasaudecoletiva@fiocruz.br

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[1] Collaborations

AM Gurgel: collaborated with the following activities: study design, data collection, systematization and interpretation of data, critical review, writing and approval of the final version of the manuscript, agreeing to be responsible for all aspects of the work. Other authors: collaborated with the following activities: data collection, systematization and interpretation of data, critical review, writing and approval of the final version of the manuscript, agreeing to be responsible for all aspects of the work.