RIO PANDEIROS: território e história de uma área de prote o ambiental no norte de Minas Gerais

The basin of the river Pandeiros is located in the northern region of Minas Gerais, involving the municipalities Januária, Bonito de Minas and C nego Marino. Was transformed into the Environmental Protection Area for its ecological importance for maintaining the region's ecosystem, the cerrado and the river San Francisco. The transformation brought with it the need for formation of new relationships with nature, generating conflicts. These conflicts are reflections of a historical building, marked by the occupation and economy of a mining region. Before being introduced to the “APA” region was occupied for centuries, forming small communities that have their activity in family farming and livestock. These communities formed the cultural aspects that characterize the region, known as Sert o Mineiro. In the 1970s it was introduced a new economic activity that defined changes in environmental and cultural area. Start the production of charcoal in the region was a decision of the state, aiming to meet the demand for this raw material in steel industries. The fact was decisive for the configuration of the existing territory today, marked by environmental degradation resulting from production of coal with the native vegetation of the Cerrado and the conflicts arising from such activity, most often illegal. This article aims to demonstrate the importance of considering historical aspects of the formation of a territory for the management of a conservation unit and the reduction of this conflict there.