2010
François-Michel Le Tourneau et al., « Homoxi (1989-2004): o impacto ambiental das atividades garimpeiras na terra indígena yanomami (roraima) », HAL-SHS : géographie, ID : 10670/1.qhq9fa
After the invasion of their traditional lands by thousands of gold panners, numerous Yanomami groups faced an alarming degradation in their socioeconomic situation due to the ecological impact of gold panning. To prepare a proposal for an environmental recuperation project in the Upper Mucajaí region (Homoxi), the nongovernmental organization CCPY (Pro-Yanomami Commission) convened a task force composed of scientists of various disciplines to quantify the devastation that occurred and to evaluate its consequences. A geographic information system (GIS) database was created for the study region, crossing data derived from topographic maps and through images obtained from Landsat-TM, Landsat-ETM+, and C-BERS-2 (CCD) satellites. These made it possible to monitor the use of space by the indigenous communities of the Homoxi region and the invasion by gold panners from the late 1980s into the '90s, as well as the subsequent progress of the natural regeneration of the forest in the affected areas. In this article, we present results of this study and discuss various methodological options we tested during research. This case study of the Yanomami, although preliminary, demonstrates the promising potential of crossing geographic information and indigenous knowledge.