Traditional peoples and communities in Conservation Units

Socio-environmental conflicts and fight for identity and territory

Abstract

This article discusses the territorial and socioenvironmental conflicts resulting from the creation of Conservation Units in lands traditionally occupied by traditional peoples and communities. From the conflict surrounding the creation of the Pontões Capixabas National Park, which overlaps with the territory of a Pomeranian community in the municipality of Pancas, state of Espírito Santo, the study analyzes the process of mobilization and organization of the population in defense of their territory and, in an associated way, the process of revival and identity affirmation through the appropriation of the notion of Traditional Peoples and Communities. In a broad sense, the analysis also provides elements for understanding the paradoxical relationships between rights, knowledge and ways of life of traditional peoples and communities and the environmental conservation policies in progress in the country.