Licenciamento ambiental e gestão dos recursos naturais nos assentamentos rurais: uma compreensão hermenêutica a partir da realidade do semiárido paraibano.

Abstract

The problem addressed in this thesis focuses on the model of the management of natural resources that is employed in rural settlements. Seeks to investigate if environmental licensing has been used as a tool to prevent and minimize environmental impacts in the areas occupied by rural municipalities assentments in the Brazilian semi-arid region in the state of Paraíba and analyze how environmental licensing can be characterized as a tool for management of natural resources. It investigates if there are and what are the contributions from the content of the legal rules that govern the management of natural resources, as well as the legal rules concerning protection of the environment, especially the legal system that involves environmental licensing as a tool for management of natural resources in the areas of rural settlement on Paraiba’s semi-arid. The overall objective is to investigate whether there are and what are the contributions derived from the content of the legal rules that govern the management of natural resources and the protection of the environment, especially the legal system of environmental licensing as a tool for natural resource management in settlement areas in the rural semi-arid of Paraiba, specifically in the Western Seridó microrregion of Paraiba State. The specific objectives are to: a) analyze how the process of occupation of rural settlement areas in the semi-arid region of Paraiba, specifically in Western Seridó microrregion of Paraiba State, is characterised; b) examine the management of natural resources in these areas; c) determine whether there is a relation between actions/omissions of public authorities concerning the management of natural resources, as well as the type of supervision exercised; d) conduct a socioeconomic and environmental assessment; e) determine whether there are mismatches between the content of the environmental licensing and the social practices from the natural resource management in settlements located in the Western Seridó microrregion of Paraiba State. The method applied was the hermeneutic phenomenology, which is understood as a methodology of interpretation that seeks to understand the forms and contents of human communication, and its fundamental strategy is the "comprehensiveness". It highlights and justifies that the development of this thesis is based on the integration of law between the fundamental aspects of the subject examined, with an innovative and inclusive approach to environmental licensing as a tool for natural resource management, seeking to know how this legal- normative instrument can surpass its formal-procedural character and present itself as a consistent management tool. It was found from the analysis of settlements that, as a general rule, the settlers had a weak understanding of sustainable development, not even when seeking to formulate examples of everyday practices, such as natural resource management and the treatment of solid waste. In fact, even the dialogue presented , as potentially, confusing, as it became necessary to overly simplify the language. This happened in all settlements. Also, as a general rule, they had no idea how to treat solid waste, much less had minimally consistent management information on natural resources or areas that would and could be managed, or the limitations that they were subjected. Therefore, is noticeable, along with all the above, that is not properly a problem that is exclusively legal, political, economic or social. In fact, the implementation of public policies by agrarian reform through rural settlements, in order to make environmental licensing useful and to make it an effective tool for management of natural resources in rural settlements, requires a comprehensive renovation that considers three fundamental axes: a) improvement of the environmental licensing; b) integration of the social actors involved and the establishment of a connection between these actors and environmental licensing in order to promote a permanent adherence to their conditions; c) development of effective public policies for social inclusion.