The Virola-Jatobá Sustainable Development Project (PDS) is considered an environmentally
differentiated settlement, because it has in its guidelines the insertion of rural workers who carry
out activities of low environmental impact. The settlement received in 2015 a Notice of
Infringement from the State of Pará Environmental Secretary (SEMAS). It blamed the settlers
for unauthorized deforestation, generating among insecurity regarding the accomplishment of
their subsistence activities. Deforested areas were, to a great extent, located in the so-called
areas of alternative use, land plots made available to settlers to carry out their agricultural
practices. This work seeks to assess how settlers perceive the effect of State action in their
activities, through the enforcement of environmental legislation. Firstly, we sought to
systematize the environmental legislation related to the activities carried out by PDS VirolaJatobá residents, discussing legislation and specificities of the area. As the settlers also received
a notice for deforestation in permanent preservation areas, some of the settlement plots were
mapped, assessing deforested areas. Subsequently interviews were applied to obtain settlers’
perception on these areas and on the factors that lead them to deforestation or not. To achieve
the objectives, three semi-structured questionnaries were developed: one for residents
addressing APPs, one for residents addressing livelihoods and environmental legislation, and
another for public institutions’ officials working in the PDS. The main foundations considered
in the interviews were citizens’ fundamental rights, the rights to access food, and the context in
which the peasantry survives, and their relationship with the land. The findings were that the
environmental legislation often does not take into account the specificities of the areas, also
presenting the lack of dialogue between the institutions that work in the PDS. APPs are a wellknown topic among the interviewees, and the fundamental factor for deforesting or not the land
is related to the main activities carried out by the residents. Those who crop the land have a
greater share of forest in their land than those who are ranchers. In relation to settlers’ perception
of the state, their narratives convey to it the notion of a "boss". It was also verified that state
officials’ perspective expresses greater priority to the enforcement of the environmental
legislation, than to settlers’ access to fundamental rights.
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