ENVIRONMENTAL MISMATCH: A COLONIZATION PROJECT WITHIN THE SAVANNAS OF THE LEGAL AMAZON REGION

The official response to the centuries’ old land concentration problem in Brazil has been the colonization of new areas, most notably in the Amazon region. Nonetheless, the so called “Amazonia Legal” also encompasses biomes other than tropical forests, including patches of savannas. This is the case of Central Roraima, where colonization projects have been created in savanna areas, where agriculture is much harder to sustain without the appropriate tools and techniques, and where natural resources are more scant than those found in forested areas. The colonization project Nova Amazônia, located in the municipality of Boa Vista is emblematic. The project was created in 2003 and after ten years of existence it experiences high abandonment rates and a significant re-functionalization, as most plots sold by peasants to upper middle class urban workers of Boa Vista have been converted into weekend homes. A sample of 200 colonists was recorded in Nova Amazônia and migration histories, agricultural experience and practices, and settlers’ relationship with the local environment were explored. Results indicate among the causes of land abandonment colonists’ lack of previous experience in savanna environments, as most settlers came either from urban areas, the semi-arid Northeast or the Pampa areas of South Brazil.