Os grandes negócios ambientais da Amazônia e a maldição da abundância

Abstract

It can be seen that the three major businesses in the State of Pará, where the Carajás region has great prominence, are linked to the environment, mining, soybean agriculture and farming (which uses large fields to raise livestock). Within this context, the present work aimed to compare the large environmental businesses in Pará. For this analysis, we sought the sustainability theory developed by John Elkington in the 1990s, which became known worldwide as The Triple Bottom Line, or Tripod of Sustainability, which analyzes sustainability through 3 basic pillars: Environmental (Planet), Economic (Profit) and Social (People). The methodology used was based on bibliographical review and quantitative data. Three scientific articles were produced in addition to the introductory texts and final considerations. As a result, comparing the economic aspect of the 3 businesses, it can be seen that they bring positive results to the Brazilian economy, whether through the macroeconomic aspect, bringing in external resources, positively balancing the trade balance, and in the microeconomic aspect, in the case of livestock farming, it also moves the domestic market, since 70% of what is produced is consumed in Brazil, and in the case of mining, Royalties (CFEM) paid to mining states and municipalities bring revenue to governments, which can invest in improving the lives of the population. From a social aspect, the 3 businesses do not make significant contributions to the State, as they offer few employment opportunities. Mining employs the most of the three businesses, and livestock farming, being a very small business compared to the other two, offers few possibilities for professional development. Now, it is in the environmental aspect that the 3 activities bring the greatest concerns, as it was evident that these activities bring different environmental impacts to the Amazon, whether due to the intensive use of natural resources, and it would be unnecessary, but it is important to highlight that these are resources “ finite”, and this should be the State’s biggest concern, because the moment these resources are exhausted, the municipalities where the operations of these businesses are based will quickly transform into a “ghost town”.