Banca de DEFESA: ELIANA DA SILVA FILGUEIRA

Uma banca de DEFESA de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : ELIANA DA SILVA FILGUEIRA
DATE: 30/01/2026
TIME: 08:00
LOCAL: Plataforma Google Meet
TITLE:

Use of Potiguar Territory, Wind Farms and Land Rent: Land Leasing and Social Impacts

KEY WORDS:

Used territory; Wind energy; Land leasing; Land rent; Rio Grande do Norte.

PAGES: 337
BIG AREA: Ciências Humanas
AREA: Geografia
SUBÁREA: Geografia Humana
SUMMARY:

The expansion of wind energy in Brazil, which gained momentum from the 2000s onwards, has established itself as a strategic element of the energy transition and the diversification of the national electrical matrix. However, its territorial deployment has produced contradictory effects in rural areas of the Northeast. In Rio Grande do Norte, the leading wind energy-producing state in the country, the installation of wind farms has promoted reconfigurations in land use, social relations, and the local economic dynamics. In this context, this thesis analyzes the impacts of land leasing for the implementation of wind farms in the municipalities of Serra do Mel, Rio do Fogo, and João Câmara, focusing on processes of territorial redefinition and the socioeconomic implications for local populations. The study is based on critical Geography, adopting as analytical categories the used territory, the State, leasing, and dispossession. It starts from the understanding of territory as a social construct and an arena of disputes, in which power relations, economic interests, and everyday dynamics are materialized. Methodologically, this is a qualitative study, based on a literature review, document analysis, with emphasis on lease contracts, and field research, including semi-structured interviews with traditional peasants, settlers, and residents of the affected areas. The statements were interpreted through content analysis. The results indicate that the territorialization of wind energy in the semi-arid region of Rio Grande do Norte contributes to the capture of land rent and the subordination of land uses to the demands of capital. Although leasing represents, for certain groups, a source of supplementary income, the benefits are distributed unevenly and temporarily, while the social and environmental costs persist over time. Restrictions on socio-cultural activities, weakening of family autonomy, socio-environmental conflicts, and difficulties of access to public policies, especially in areas of peasant agriculture and agrarian reform settlements. Such processes constitute contemporary forms of territorial expropriation, legally mediated, which do not necessarily involve the formal loss of property, but redefine control and use of the territory. It is concluded that, despite the prominence of Rio Grande do Norte in the renewable energy matrix, the current model of wind energy expansion has limits as a strategy for territorial development. The research indicates the need to problematize the energy transition from a critical perspective, which incorporates social, territorial, and political dimensions, as well as the principles of socio-environmental responsibility.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Presidente - 1486670 - CELSO DONIZETE LOCATEL
Interno - 1530760 - RAIMUNDO NONATO JUNIOR
Interna - 347943 - RITA DE CASSIA DA CONCEICAO GOMES
Externa à Instituição - FLÁVIA SPINELLI BRAGA - UERN
Externo à Instituição - MATHEUS AUGUSTO AVELINO TAVARES - IFRN