Une région, plusieurs mondes, impressions d’une étude de terrain dans la région du Jarí, Amazonie brésilienne, août 2009

Cette synthèse de terrain retrace quelques journées clefs d’un travail de recherche réalisé en Amazonie brésilienne entre janvier et août 2009 dans le cadre d’une thèse de doctorat en géographie sur la naissance et le développement de la région du Jarí, un territoire transfrontalier entre l’Amapá et le Pará. L’histoire récente de cette région est indissociablement liée à l’installation en 1967, par l’entrepreneur Américain D.K. Ludwig, d’une entreprise agro-industrielle, la Jari Cellulose S.A., pour la production de pâte à papier à grande échelle, reposant sur des plantations extensives, alors que la région était déjà peuplée de petites communautés vivant de cueillette et d’agriculture de subsistance. Avec l’arrivée de l’entreprise, la région a connu un important changement de cap, caractérisé par une nouvelle dynamique économique, mais aussi par des impacts sociaux et écologiques considérables, dont les effets contradictoires entre développement et conservation en contexte de l’Amazonie forestière n’ont pas encore été résolus dans la région aujourd’hui. Le voyage raconté ici est la dernière et plus lointaine excursion entamée pendant le travail de terrain. Il nous amène aux communautés de l’Estrada Nova, territoire situé au sud-ouest du domaine de l’entreprise Jarí Cellulose. Ici, la plupart des familles des communautés vivent dans un isolement prononcé, en indépendance absolue de l’entreprise où en coopération silencieuse avec celle-ci. L’article suivant inclut plusieurs témoignages de quelques-uns des personnages clefs rencontrés au cours de l’expédition au et à travers de l’Estrada Nova.<br>This article is based on a prolonged fieldwork carried out in the Brazilian Amazon region between January and August 2009 for a PhD in geography about the rise and development of the Jarí river region, a trans-border territory between the Amapá and the Pará state. The recent history of this area inextricably connected with the installation in 1967 of an agro-industrial company, the Jari Cellulose S.A., by the American businessman D.K. Ludwig. He had set up a large-scale production of paper pulp on the basis of extensive tree plantations. However, the area was already populated by small communities making a living by gathering forest products and through small-scale subsistence agriculture. With the arrival of the company, the area took a new turn, characterized by new and dynamic economy, but also by considerable social and ecological impacts. Its contradictory effects on the region suspended between development and conservation in the context of the Amazon forest are still notable today. The journey documented in this text is about the last and most remote excursion endeavoured during the fieldwork in the region. It takes us to the communities of the Estrada Nova, a territory at the south-west end of the Jarí Cellulose domain. Here, the majority of the families in the communities live isolated from the company, either in absolute independence or in quiet cooperation with the latter. The following article includes several testimonies of some of the key-characters encountered during the expedition to and across the Estrada Nova.<br>Esta síntese nara alguns dias de trabalho de campo realizado na Amazônia brasileira entre janeiro e agosto de 2009, como parte de uma tese de doutorado em geografia sobre o nascimento e desenvolvimento da região do Jari, um território de fronteira entre Amapá e Pará. A história recente desta região está indissoluvelmente ligada à implantação, em 1967, pelo americano DK Ludwig, de uma empresa do agronegócio, a Jari Celulose SA, que produzia celulose em larga escala, com base em plantações extensivas, enquanto que a área já era habitada por pequenas comunidades que viviam de coleta e de agricultura de subsistência. Com a chegada da empresa, a região tem assistido a uma mudança significativa, caracterizada por uma nova dinâmica económica, mas também pelos impactos sociais e impactos ambientais, incluindo os efeitos contraditórios entre desenvolvimento e conservação no contexto da Amazônia Floresta, que ainda não foram resolvidos na região hoje. A jornada contada aqui é a última viagem, e a mais distante, feita durante o trabalho de campo. Ela nos levou para as comunidades da Estrada Nova, área ao sudoeste da empresa Jari Celulose. Aqui, a maioria das famílias vivem em comunidades isoladas em absoluta independência da empresa ou em cooperação silênciosa com ela. O artigo inclui vários depoimentos de alguns dos principais personagens encontrados durante a viagem na Estrada Nova.Expedição nos confins, populações tradicionais, agronegócio e de agricultura de subsistênci

Une région, plusieurs mondes, impressions d’une étude de terrain dans la région du Jarí, Amazonie brésilienne, août 2009

This article is based on a prolonged fieldwork carried out in the Brazilian Amazon region between January and August 2009 for a PhD in geography about the rise and development of the Jarí river region, a trans-border territory between the Amapá and the Pará state. The recent history of this area inextricably connected with the installation in 1967 of an agro-industrial company, the Jari Cellulose S.A., by the American businessman D.K. Ludwig. He had set up a large-scale production of paper pulp on the basis of extensive tree plantations. However, the area was already populated by small communities making a living by gathering forest products and through small-scale subsistence agriculture. With the arrival of the company, the area took a new turn, characterized by new and dynamic economy, but also by considerable social and ecological impacts. Its contradictory effects on the region suspended between development and conservation in the context of the Amazon forest are still notable today. The journey documented in this text is about the last and most remote excursion endeavoured during the fieldwork in the region. It takes us to the communities of the Estrada Nova, a territory at the south-west end of the Jarí Cellulose domain. Here, the majority of the families in the communities live isolated from the company, either in absolute independence or in quiet cooperation with the latter. The following article includes several testimonies of some of the key-characters encountered during the expedition to and across the Estrada Nova