Geoethics is an emerging concept particularly suited to planning and managing the use of geo-resources (including water and soil). The main objective of this paper is to explore geoethics to contextualize the problems associated with mining activities in ferruginous geosystems, using as examples the ruptures of the Fundão and the Córrego do Feijão dams, both located in the Quadrilátero Ferrífero (QF), in the state of Minas Gerais-Brazil. Mining industry in the region has been developing for centuries being a guiding thread of the identity and memory of the local communities. By claiming to bring economic returns to the area, mining has been transforming the environmental balance and the physiognomy of landscapes. By examining the context of the rupture of two dam breaks (human and environmental losses), our work challenges the prevailing view that mining, as practiced in the QF, only brings development and aggregates value to the population. Instead, our work highlights that the performance of mining sector as a whole, and the mining companies in particular, requires a more responsible and ethical action towards society. We therefore call for the need to include geoethical approaches in mainstream landscape management strategies in ferruginous geosystems in Brazil.
ResumoEste trabalho objetiva propor o museu de território, no quadro do direito brasileiro, para desenvolvimento de iniciativas de geoconservação. Apresentam-se fundamentos conceituais e normativos da musealização de território, correlacionando-os aos objetivos da conservação do patrimônio geológico. No campo da Geoconservação Aplicada, que enfoca políticas, normas e instrumentos para valorização e proteção de lugares singulares pelos atributos, processos geológicos ou geomorfológicos que neles têm ou tiveram lugar, esta reflexão visa trazer contributos à classificação e formalização jurídica de espaços de conservação do patrimônio geológico no Brasil.
Palavras-chave:Geoconservação; Musealização; Direito Ambiental; Patrimônio Geológico; Patrimônio Cultural.
AbstractThis work aims to propose the Territory Museum, within the framework of Brazilian law, for the development of geoconservation initiatives. Conceptual and normative bases of the musealisation of the territory are presented, correlating them to the objectives of the conservation of the geological heritage. Applied Geoconservation focuses on policies, norms and instruments for the valorization and protection of singular sites by the attributes, geological or geomorphological processes that have or have taken place at these sites. Dealing with these concepts, this reflection intends to contribute to the classification and also legal formalization of conservation spaces of geological heritage in Brazil.
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