Climate Change and Health: Governance Mechanisms in Traditional Communities of Mosaico Bocaina/Brazil

Abstract

This chapter addresses socio-environmental challenges, health and traditional communities in the context of climate change. The study regards a protected area, the so-called Mosaico Bocaina, in the municipalities of Angra dos Reis and Paraty, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, and Ubatuba, in the state of São Paulo, where traditional communities from three different ethnic groups live (indigenous, quilombolas and caiçaras). The knowledge of nature and of the physics of climate change (including its causes, consequences and characteristics) isn’t always accompanied by the understanding and science of how climate change affects the well-being and health of populations. The analysis of the public policies and science production for the field concluded that the situation for the region in question is no different from that of other regions in Latin America: (1) public policies have not become effective interventions against climate change in general, and the interest in its implications over the health of populations is recent; (2) the science of climate change is insufficient, especially regarding its effects over the health of populations, whether in this specific region or more encompassing scales; (3) there is no information on how traditional communities perceive climate change, their impacts on health and well-being and tackling strategies. This chapter seeks to contribute to the knowledge of the impacts of climate change on the health and well-being of traditional communities, focusing on the governance tools required to address it. What strategies have traditional communities been using to deal with it? How does the official agenda of efforts reflect the socio-cultural perceptions and mitigation and survival strategies of traditional communities? Qualitative methods of participant observation that combined participation, observation, informal open interviews and analysis of documents were employed. The results generated territorialized knowledge in the social, economic, political and cultural dimensions of climate change and their implications on the health and well-being of traditional communities, as well as allowed the identification of governance mechanisms and socio-cultural strategies that can be used to mitigate, adapt to and help avoiding climate change.