There is now a growing search for renewable energy sources and less aggressive to the environment. In Brazil, despite the fact that oil and derivatives are the main source in the national energy matrix, the production of... [ view full abstract ]
There is now a growing search for renewable energy sources and less aggressive to the environment. In Brazil, despite the fact that oil and derivatives are the main source in the national energy matrix, the production of renewable energy - mainly hydroelectric - is highlighted. In this context, the Amazon Basin region stands out due its hydroelectric potential, still little explored. In the region of the Amazon River Basin, the "Madeira River Hydroelectric Complex", is formed by the Jirau and Santo Antônio Hydroelectric Power Plants, in the municipality of Porto Velho (Rondônia). The region, since the licensing and implementation period of the project, has been consolidated as a stage of disputes over the right and forms of use of water resources. The infrastructure and electricity generation projects in the Amazon provided periodic immigration movements, resulting in rapid annual population growth in the implementation periods of the projects. The immigrants that no return to their places of origin generates sociocultural impacts in the municipality of Porto Velho and increases the pressure on the local infrastructure services. The installation of the enterprise established a new form of appropriation of the natural resources and of the arrangement of the territorial functions. In this way, the immigration movements are consolidated as one of the main impacts of the implementation of hydroelectric plants in the Amazon, as they aggravate a series of problems related to social and economic order. The main objective of this research was to characterize and compare the immigration movements and the immigrant profile of the municipality of Porto Velho, in the period before and after the installation of the project through descriptive analysis of the microdata of the Demographics Census 2000-2010. The proposed immigration analysis will be obtained by fixed date, that is, those individuals who reside, at the reference date of the Census, in a place different from the one registered at a previous fixed date, generally 5 years before. The results obtained allowed to characterize the immigrants by sex, state of origin, schooling and main economic activity developed, besides ratifying the Hydroelectric Complex as a new locus of attractiveness. In addition, the impacts of immigration on the provision of basic services and local infrastructure were measured through the following variables: electricity, treated water, garbage collection and sanitation. In Porto Velho it is possible to perceive the construction of a new social dynamic, established in such a way as to favor an occupation of an economicist character which, in turn, does not correspond to the existing social and economic practices. In this sense, the immigration movements of the Madeira Hydroelectric Complex should be viewed from a macro perspective, integrating the role, function and interest of all the actors involved and evidencing the need for projects that present sustainable perspectives inclusive.
Keywords: renewable energy, Amazônia, migration, hidroeletric power plants
