Oil palm cultivation is a spatial process fostered by actions between the State and the business sector, enabling the expansion of oil palm cultivation in the Amazon. As a research focus, we argue that oil palm cultivation emerges as a central activity in monoculture expansion in the Amazon, bringing a series of socio-environmental damages, especially in the Tomé-Açu Microrregion (MRTA). The research consists of a multifaceted analysis, from the historical context and set of laws that facilitated the expansion of oil palm plantations, to the application of advanced geoprocessing techniques and remote sensing to detect and understand changes in land cover and land use. Thus, the general objective is to understand the expansion of oil palm cultivation as a source of socio-environmental damages in the Tomé-Açu Microrregion, PA. The chapters of this dissertation were written in the format of scientific articles, corresponding to chapters 2, 3, and 4. The study area is the Tomé-Açu Microrregion, in northeastern Pará, and we used the Arauaí settlement and the Jambuaçu quilombola territory as clipped portions from the study area. The methodology consisted of literature review, supervised classification of satellite images, and field visits to communities impacted by oil palm cultivation. We perceive the persistence of the discourse promising economic and social integration of rural areas adapted to oil palm cultivation. There is no room for discussion of alternative proposals for rural economic integration, nor is the peasant way of life considered in the conception of integration projects. Geoprocessing techniques proved to be efficient in identifying oil palm plantations and detecting deforestation associated with the expansion of oil palm monocultures. Between 1988 and 2023, 32,322 hectares of forests (primary and secondary) were converted into oil palm plantations in the MRTA. Family farmers associated with the production chain are irreversibly linked to oil palm cultivation. Residents of Jambuaçu suffer from pressure on the territory caused by industrial oil palm cultivation.
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