Socioenvironmental vulnerabilities in small-scale fishing: challenges and achievements for Healthy and Sustainable Territories in Pernambuco

Abstract

With the objective of analyzing the processes of socio-environmental vulnerability and health of populations exposed to crude oil in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and presenting pathways for integral community repair, this study adopted a theoretical-methodological perspective anchored in the Ecosystem Approach to Health, the Social Reproduction of Health, and the Social Determinants of Health, employing action research as a strategy for dialogic interaction with the subjects of the territories and the construction of emancipatory experiences in the struggle for health, the environment, and sustainable development. We generally present the process of social determination of the health of artisanal fishing communities and the promotion of community-institutional dialogues. The results reinforce the need for studies in the field of environmental health that combine academic knowledge with the wisdom of water peoples in the pursuit of truth, justice, and reparation. To do so, it is necessary to unveil environmental injustices, environmental racism, and environmental conflicts, engaging in dialogue about the development model and neo-extractivism in society, as important challenges and opportunities for the promotion of healthy and sustainable territories.

Key words: Vulnerability to Disasters; Health Surveillance; Occupational Health; Oil Spill; Covid-19.