A challenge for integrated environmental management in agricultural frontier territory in western Pará, Brazil

Abstract

Terra do Meio, a region of the state of Pará, the most conflict-ridden in the Brazilian Amazon, presents an emblematic challenge for integrated public administration in the country, since it typifies characteristic frontier geopolitics: illegal occupation of public lands, irrational resource usage, absence of government, and inconsistent public policies for the region. The regional scenario includes an organized social movement, as well as NGOs supporting biodiversity protection and conservation and traditional populations (Indians, riparian communities, rubber tappers and family farmers). In this article, we present a socio-environmental and economic description of the region and discuss the reserves mosaic and Xingu biodiversity corridor as alternatives for integrated regional land use planning and management.