A gestão ambiental e suas nuanças jurídicas na comunidade tradicional costeira do Porto do Mato, na cidade de Estância/SE

Abstract

Artisanal fishers are subjects whose experiences with the sea and the environment reveal ways of being and existing that are deeply connected to nature. Beyond an economic activity, they express a way of life that conveys meanings of belonging, identity, resistance, and strength. Such is the case of the fishermen and women of the Porto do Mato community, in the municipality of Estância, State of Sergipe, Brazil, where their practices are passed down from generation to generation, reflecting not only technique but also social and cultural values. In light of this, the present research is justified by the need to identify and understand socioenvironmental vulnerabilities through experiential accounts, with the aim of filling existing gaps in environmental management and promoting a balance between enacted legislation and management practices. The topic proves relevant insofar as, once socio-environmental vulnerabilities are identified, the study of public policies and the applicability of state laws— specifically Law No. 8,980/2022—may support the effective needs of the traditional coastal community of Porto do Mato, located in the municipality of Estância, on the southern coast of the State of Sergipe. The general objective of this research is to understand the contexts of environmental management of artisanal fishing in the fishing community of Porto do Mato, municipality of Estância, Southern Coastal Zone, State of Sergipe, Brazil. More specifically, it seeks to: (1) analyze public authority documents that underpin the regulatory system and intervention instruments aimed at environmental management in fishing communities of the Southern Coastal Zone of Sergipe; (2) recognize the meanings and significance of artisanal fishing for fishers of the Porto do Mato community, Estância/SE, in relation to environmental management; (3) describe the political and social profile of the Porto do Mato fishing community, Estância/SE, in light of socio-environmental problems and their management; (4) identify factors that hinder or facilitate the participation of artisanal fishers in the environmental management process of fishing activities in the Porto do Mato community, Estância/SE; and (5) assess socio-environmental aspects of the meanings expressed by the Porto do Mato fishing community, Estância/SE, potentially capable of grounding parameters for participatory environmental management in the Southern Coastal Zone of Sergipe. Based on these objectives, the following hypothesis is formulated: even with the enactment of State Law No. 8,980/2022, which approves the coastal ecological-economic zoning of the southern coast of Sergipe (a management instrument), the objectives established in Article 4 thereof have not achieved— and are far from achieving—effectiveness to the point of resolving or even identifying pathways to address the socio-environmental conflicts, vulnerabilities, and risks existing in the traditional community of Porto do Mato, in the municipality of Estância/SE, given the absence of any form of participation by these communities in decision-making and in the construction of such management instruments. The methodological approach guiding the research is the phenomenological method, through an analysis of the structure of the situated phenomenon. The results indicate that among the factors hindering popular participation in environmental management processes are conflicts of private and political interests, economic dependence on 15 certain benefits, and the presence of parallel associations that fragment representation. At the same time, there are favorable factors, such as collective mobilization, decision-making through assemblies, and proposals for the implementation of economic projects, such as an ice factory and fish processing facilities. In conclusion, the socio-economic and environmental aspects identified through the participants’ accounts indicate that genuine participatory environmental management must recognize the subjectivities of that territory and community, including their knowledge, experiences, and their entire socio-historical and cultural context. In this way, it would be possible to attempt to correct inequalities and strengthen democratic instruments, ensuring that the meanings attributed to artisanal fishing serve as parameters for more inclusive public policies in the Porto do Mato community, in the municipality of Estância/SE, located in the Southern Coastal Zone of Sergipe.