Dialogues between social and natural sciences: contribution to the debate on socio-environmental conflicts

• Main Author: Bruno Milanez
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Academia Brasileira de Ciências 2015-12-01
• Series: Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências
• Subjects: interdisciplinaridade; sustentabilidade; conflitos socioambientais; mineração
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0001-37652015000502335&lng=en&tlng=en

ABSTRACT In this article, I argue that attempting to solve real problems is a possible approach to bring social and natural sciences together, and suggest that - as Environmental Impact Assessment necessarily brings together social and environmental issues - this debate is a strong candidate for such a task. The argument is based on a general discussion about the possibilities and limitations of Environmental Impact Assessments, the social-environmental impacts of mining activities and three case studies. The analysis of the cases indicates possibilities and limitations of the dialogue between scientists from various areas - and of the collaboration with social movements and affected communities - in avoiding negative impacts of mining projects and, eventually, increasing their sustainability.