COLLECTIVE NARRATIVES ON LAND-USE CONFLICT, PUBLIC POLICIES, AND WAYS OF LIFE ALONG THE SANTARÉM WATERFRONT, PARÁ

Abstract

The waterfront of Santarém, Pará, constitutes a territory marked by intense land-use conflicts, socio-spatial reconfigurations, and environmental pressures resulting from urban expansion and port logistics. In this context, the study is justified by the need to understand how different actors structure rationalities, perceptions, and action strategies in response to territorial tensions that affect ribeirinho livelihoods. The objective is to analyze, through collective narratives, the meanings attributed to socio-environmental conflicts, operational risks, public policies, and governance processes. To this end, a qualitative approach aligned with decolonial critique is adopted, combined with lexicographic procedures in IRaMuTeQ (CHD, AFC, similarity networks, and word cloud). The results highlight the centrality of the artisanal fisher as an articulating node between ecological, community, and institutional spheres, and emphasize biocultural knowledge, such as lunar calendars and reading of river currents, as technical devices for resource management. The territorial dynamics are shown to be traversed by structures of coloniality and manifestations of environmental racism, particularly evident in port expansion and in the heightened vulnerability of waterfront communities. It is concluded that socio-environmental governance depends on the integration of ribeirinho epistemologies with intersectoral management mechanisms capable of guiding more just and territorially sensitive public policies.