The Perception of Adult and Young Adult Students on the River Rio Doce - Cartographies of Fear

Abstract

The article is part of a series of debates that are concerned with the effects of the socio-technical disaster caused by the Fundão dam collapse in the year 2015, which affected the river Rio Doce, and presents results of a study that sought to understand the perceptions of Adult and Young Adult Education (EJA) students about the river. The theoretical framework establishes a dialogue between EJA, Environmental Education, and the contributions of the geographer Yi-Fu Tuan. The empirical material was produced through mental maps and interviews. The results indicate that the subjects’ perceptions on the river are marked by cartographies of fear of environmental degradation, before the disaster and post-disaster, health concerns, household budget, and work loss. The conclusions point to the importance of providing further information about water to the population, and the effects of the disaster, which intensify social inequalities.