Mapping Environmental Racism: Hydroelectric Power and the Ongoing Displacement of Maroon-descended Communities in Vale do Ribeira, Brazil
Mapping Environmental Racism: Hydroelectric Power and the Ongoing Displacement of Maroon-descended Communities in Vale do Ribeira, Brazil

Author(s): Diego de Jesus Santos
Subject(s): Energy and Environmental Studies, Physical Geopgraphy, Social differentiation
Published by: Transnational Press London
Keywords: Mapping Environmental Racism; Hydroelectric Power; Displacement; Maroon-descended Communities; Vale do Ribeira; Brazil; Racism;
Summary/Abstract: The twelve hydrographic regions located in Brazilian territory occupy an area of more than eight million square kilometers. They permeate metropolises and rural areas, forest areas and reserves, are the main source of income for riverside communities, support the livelihood of indigenous peoples, provide water for the agricultural industry or agricultural products, and bring electricity to the homes of millions of Brazilians through the production of hydraulic energy generated through water flows. The river, therefore, has outsize geographical impact, and I also think of the river as a methodology for a geohistory written in the course of its waters, recounting lives and livelihoods, and taking us through a Brazil which is shaped by the banks of its rivers and seas.

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