Abstract

The article analyzed the sugarcane-derived socioenvironmental conflicts and injustice in the Acaú-Goiana Extractive Reserve, Pernambuco, Brazil. A descriptive case study was conducted with rural workers based on social cartography and documents, analyzed under the EJAtlas categories. The Global Atlas of Environmental Justice (EJAtlas) is a web inventory that gathers environmental conflicts and injustice, serving as a basis for reporting affected territories. Even with the creation of the Reserve to protect natural assets and ecosystem life, new conflicts emerged from the installation of enterprises that put pressure on the territory and added to centuries-old problems such as sugarcane cultivation. Other impacts include air pollution, contamination of soil and water resources, biodiversity loss, food and nutritional insecurity, increased violence, human rights violations, and mental health problems.

Keywords:
Socio-environmental Conflicts; Environmental Injustice; Health and Environment; Rural Workers’ Health; Extractive Reserve