Conflito socioambiental na APA “Santuário ecológico da Pedra Branca”, em Caldas, Minas Gerais

Abstract

The mining of ornamental rocks, especially granite, inside the Environmental Protection Area “Santuário Ecológico da Pedra Branca”, in Caldas, Minas Gerais, has caused conflicts with the population. The establishment of restrictions on mineral extraction, as well as the resistance of residents and local entities, evidenced this conflict, marked by legal, social and political disputes. The confrontation between the guarantee of an ecologically balanced environment and the economic interest reached the Brazilian superior courts, which defined the possibility of the Municipality to establish norms of environmental protection in specially protected spaces. This work seeks to identify, analyze and understand the origin, actors and strategies developed in this socio-environmental conflict, from the professional and personal perspective of the researcher, who is a native of the conflict area and a member of the environmental movement. To this end, the research got employed of a case study and used methodological instruments that allowed the understanding of the studied phenomenon.