Environmental impacts caused by the exploration of limestone in a rural community of Rio Grande do Norte’s semiarid

Abstract

Social, economic and of environment preservation are three dimensions of sustainable development. That way, mining activity, on one hand, is an opportunity for income generation, especially due to the difficulties of agricultural activity in Rio Grande do Norte’s semiarid region, notably by the water restrictions imposed by local nature. On the other hand, there are several impacts on the environment and on human health, frequently associated to limestone exploration. Thus, the aim of this study is to identify the environmental impacts caused by the extraction of limestone in Brejinho, a rural community in Upanema, a small town in Rio Grande do Norte, through the analysis of the perception of the local residents and workers. This is a case study that encompasses the following steps: bibliographic research, semi-structured interviews with local residents and those who work in this activity, and elaboration of the location’s map. Most interviewees realize that the activity causes negative impacts on the local environment. However, they justify that this is the only source of income of the greatest part of the local families and families of neighboring communities. Then, according to the residents and workers, the damages, caused by the mining activity, to nature and human health, are compensated by the income generated for the families, that subsist economically through this activity. Therefore, it is necessary to improve technological processes, in order to preserve people’s health, such as the use of PPE, vegetation and fauna monitoring, among other environment indexes, in order to create socioenvironmental sustainability.