Monoculture of sugarcane in Sergipe, Brazil:

impacts from the perspective of environmental justice

Abstract

The sugar cane culture has arrived late in Sergipe and so far is a prominent economic activity. It is reinvented by employment in by-products and in the use of new technologies, but it conserves old structures such as latifundia. The objective of this work is to discuss, from the perspective of environmental justice, the problems generated by these enterprises in the state of Sergipe. For that, a non-systematic search of articles, journalistic material and documents related to the theme was carried out. Through the review of the material found, this activity represents in Sergipe a threat to extractive communities and beekeepers, contaminates water bodies and introduces young people to the labor market early. Therefore, from the point of view of environmental justice, sugarcane activity contributes to increasing social inequities, further accentuating poverty in the Sergipe countryside, especially for vulnerable groups.