The text deals with the relations between economic growth of a sector responsible for consuming non-renewable natural resources and the process of sustainable development in the Eastern part of the Brazilian state of Pará. The mining of metallic ores in Pará has been growing strongly; local mines are global leaders in their respective fields and must operate in tune with established global social-environmental norms. Therefore, almost all of these mining companies are certified, both socially and environmentally. This behavior presupposes that these companies adhere to the principles of sustainability. Thus, the object of this research effort is to inquire about the effectiveness of these certifications for the process of sustainable development of the territorial sections in which those companies operate. The major findings are (1) that the positive consequences of certifications are still much more visible in the realm of the productive performance of the companies than in terms of socio-economic development of the nearby areas and (2) that socio-environmental certification processes place much more emphasis on ecological variables than on social ones.
Eastern Amazonia; metallic ore mining; sustainable; development; certification
