Socioeconomic analysis of the biggest environmental disaster in Brazil

Abstract

The collapse of a dam containing mining tailings in 2015 is recognized as the biggest environmental disaster in Brazil's history. Millions of cubic meters of sludge were dumped into nature. The aquifer ecosystem of a region of 35 municipalities was affected, totaling 1.2 million inhabitants deprived of water and susceptible to mineral contamination. The impacts went far beyond the environmental dimension. In this sense, were analyzed the socioeconomic consequences of this disaster on the living conditions of the population in the municipality of Mariana (MG/Brazil), where the dam was located. Based on official secondary data and primary data derived from a sample composed of 256 interviews, was used the Alkire-Foster method, to assess the multidimensional conditions of poverty in which the inhabitants of that region find themselves. The results show that the number of jobs, the average wage, and tax revenue in Mariana decreased in the period after the dam collapse, causing the proportion of poor people and the level of deprivation of the inhabitants to increase. In addition, there has been a 280% increase in the incidence of poverty ex post facto. in the incidence of poverty ex post facto. The mapping of multidimensional impacts and strategic planning of actions to address vulnerabilities remain among the immediate priorities for the region.

Keywords: Multidimensional Poverty. Socioeconomic vulnerabilities. Alkire-Foster Method.