Conflitualidades territoriais no Vale do Ribeira paranaense: o Parque Estadual das Lauraceas e os quilombolas do entorno

Abstract

The Ribeira Valley, located on the border of São Paulo and Paraná States, is a territory composed by a mosaic of protected natural areas with significant ecological diversity but also ethnic and cultural. The Lauráceas State Park is one among several conservation units present there. Created in 1979, the park territory is overlapped by the territory historically occupied by quilombola communities, as occurs on João Surá, São Joãoand Córrego do Franco. Given this context, this research seeks to understand the emerging territorial conflictualities from this overlap. For research operationalization were explored the concepts of territory and quilombo, historical documents, institutional discourses and quilombolas reports. The study shows that the process of creating the park was founded mainly on the biodiversity protection bias, without considering the social diversity of its territory. Eminent conflicts were faced by the State with the resettlement of the interior occupants to areas bordering the park. The result was a change in the socio-spatial dynamics inside and surroundings as well as in respect of the communities living environment. From 2005, however, a number of laws were created in order to include the Quilombolas as political subjects and guarantee them a number of rights before denied. Among the policies directed to this group is the land tenure, guaranteeing them the right to a territory and, therefore, again to new conflictualities.The legal provisions, however, guarantee the Quilombolas greater social participation and leadership in the Park management. The Lauráceas State Park manager´s and the surrounding Quilombolas, however, still face a great challenge to reconcile conservation of natural and cultural resources in the Ribeira Valley.