THE OCCUPATION OF PUBLIC LANDS IN THE STATE OF AMAZONAS: A LEGAL ANALYSIS OF THE CHALLENGES FACED BY THE POPULATION AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

Abstract

This article seeks to examine the legal challenges posed by the occupation of public lands in the state of Amazonas, focusing on the difficulties faced by the local population and the socio-environmental impacts of the lack of land regularization. It questions the extent to which current legal regulations, particularly Laws No. 11,952/2009 and No. 13,465/2017, provide adequate and sufficient solutions for the local reality, especially considering that existing frameworks prioritize the privatist paradigm of property and land titling to the detriment of collective forms of land use. The study employs a deductive research method, taking the form of qualitative research grounded in a literature review and an analysis of case law. The results indicate that the lack of integrated information, land conflicts and land occupation, the insufficiency of accessible procedures, and the inadequacy of individualized solutions for certain community territories can exacerbate social vulnerability, hinder access to land, and foster the irregular appropriation of public lands. It is concluded that land regularization involving the possession of public lands—in order to comply with the constitutional requirements regarding the social function of property and environmental preservation—depends on the promotion of legal mechanisms capable of reconciling land tenure with the concrete needs and ways of life of the affected population, as well as ensuring its rational and environmentally sustainable use.