The Oil and Natural Gas Exploitation in Petrol Field of Urucu and Their Impacts on the Traditional Peoples of Amazon

Abstract

This study deals with an approach to the design of Petrobras oil and gas in Amazonas, Brazil, establishing an analytical cut on environmental issues and social issue that affects traditional peoples impacted by Coari / Manaus, located in the heart of the Amazon Brazilian. In 1986 was discovered the first commercial oil field and natural gas in urucú River, a tributary of the Solimoes basin in the Amazon, considered a watershed event in the history of Petrobras and the local development process. Since then, Petrobras built two underground to conduct gas to regional capitals pipelines. This research shows that large impacts hit the Amazon forest to logging of native trees without replacement and management with assault on rivers, lakes, streams and flooded areas. The pipeline that connected the town of urucú where Petrobras is installed to the city of Coari, county seat of oil and gas in the Amazon, dried three streams supplying water to fish and riparian communities. Added to this, the impact of social order that reached the lives of people with traditional land dispossession of local people, sexual exploitation among other social problems. It should be recognized, finally, that the development model implemented in the Brazilian Amazon has no way to thread the ethnic issue. Economic growth under the auspices of big business does not have to induce and basic environmental conservation and human development of traditional indigenous and non-indigenous peoples, from an ethic of social and environmentally sound development.