SOCIAL CARTOGRAPHY OF ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE IN CHAPADA DO APODI, CEARÁ

Chapada do Apodi, in the state of Ceará, is an expansion area for cotton agribusiness, producing environmental injustice against peasant communities. The study reveals the potential of social maps created through participatory mapping to expose environmental injustice caused by agribusiness. The research aims to demonstrate the environmental injustice triggered by the territorialization of agribusiness in the region through social cartography. A qualitative approach, participatory research, and social cartography are the core procedures for the investigation. The results show that it was possible to demonstrate increased deforestation, areas with a "smell of poison," the incorporation of former goat breeding areas, the deactivation of apiaries and bee deaths, the destruction of social technologies, and the possible contamination of storage tanks for household water. Furthermore, it is evident that environmental injustice can be revealed through participatory mapping processes based on social cartography. Keywords: Social cartography; Environmental injustice; Agribusiness; Chapada do Apodi.