IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE FIGHT FOR TERRITORIAL RIGHTS AND THE REPRODUCTION OF SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL CONFLICTS IN THE BAIXADA MARANHENSE REGION

Abstract

Based on the premise that socio-environmental conflicts in traditional communities are profoundly influenced by practices that contribute to climate change on both a local and regional scale, this article aims to reflect on the influence of climate change on the struggle for territorial rights and the production of land conflicts in traditional communities from Brazil to Maranhão, and specifically in the municipalities of Baixada Maranhense. Following a systemic and multidisciplinary approach, the study used the database of the Pastoral Land Commission, the National Institute for Space Research, the Rural Environmental Registry, the Land Management System and the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform, in order to verify the correlation between the incidence of socio-environmental conflicts, deforestation and fires in Brazil and Maranhão, from 2010 to 2023. Specifically, 821 land conflicts were recorded in Maranhão, representing 5% of the occurrences in the country and 40% of the conflicts occurring only in quilombola communities in Brazil. The correlation of data demonstrated that practices that drive climate change at local and regional levels, such as deforestation, agricultural expansion and the exploitation of natural resources, not only directly affect the environment, but also intensify actions that produce and reproduce socio-environmental conflicts in quilombola communities, threatening their survival and their traditional ways of life.