Green grabbing and climate mitigation: territorial use dynamics in Southwest Piauí and South Maranhão (Matopiba, Cerrado biome, Brazil)

• Grant number: 24/13564-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: January 01, 2025
• End date: December 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Geography - Human Geography
• Principal Investigator: Samuel Frederico
• Grantee: Bruno Rezende Spadotto
• Host Institution: Instituto de Geociências e Ciências Exatas (IGCE). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 23/07352-1 - Agricultural frontier, green grabbing and land control in the Cerrados of Piauí, AP.R

Abstract

The climate emergency is an urgent social, political, and scientific challenge. In this sense, this research project aims to understand how climate change mitigation solutions alter land use in the Matopiba macro-region, focusing on Southwest Piauí and South Maranhão, and their relation to "green grabbing" practices. The study addresses emblematic cases such as the São Gonçalo do Gurgueia (PI) Solar Energy Park, which presents negative socio-environmental consequences, and the appropriation of land in the traditional territory of Melancias (PI) through fraudulent environmental reserve registrations. Additionally, it investigates the agroecological project of the Rio Peixe Family Farming School (MA) as a community-based ecosystem mitigation solution. Methodologically, the research uses the dialectical pair of verticalities and horizontalities to analyze the adaptations, acquiescences, resistances, and demands of peasant populations affected by green grabbing. The study includes fieldwork, interviews, documentary analysis, and mapping of the affected areas, with support from the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT) and other local organizations. Expected results include the typification of green grabbing mechanisms, analysis of the socio-environmental gains and losses of solar projects, and the development of frameworks on the agroecological practices of peasant communities. The project aims to contribute to the formulation of public policies that favor ecosystem-based and community-supported climate mitigation solutions. In summary, this research seeks not only to understand the dynamics of green land appropriation in Matopiba but also to promote sustainable and fair solutions, strengthening the resilience of traditional communities and contributing to the debate on climate change and land use.