Scientific feedback and interaction between scientists and society through the perception of residents of the location affected by the rupture of the Fundão Dam, Mariana (MG)

Abstract

Scientific feedback is the return of research results to the participants of the investigation, promoting greater democratization of these results. The literature on this topic is incipient, and more research is needed to associate the dynamics of scientific production with the communities it investigates, being particularly relevant in the context of socio-environmental tragedies. This research intends to analyze how scientific feedbacks and the interactions between researchers and residents of an area marked by socio-environmental conflicts occur, through insights from Political Ecology and Sociology of Science. Therefore, a qualitative approach was chosen, using in-depth interviews and content analysis. In 2021, semi-structured interviews were conducted with about 60 subjects belonging to the communities directly affected by the tragedy of the rupture of the Fundão dam, Minas Gerais: Bento Rodrigues, Paracatu de Baixo, Mariana and Barra Longa. This article discusses the preliminary results from Bento Rodrigues, showing that all eight interviewees declared a desire for scientific feedback, mentioning mainly the theme of contamination, but also report that these results are never or rarely returned to them. Although this research is related to feedback from university researchers, there were records of confusion between the role of various agents, in which university researchers were associated with technical advisors, teachers of basic education, Renova Foundation contractors, or journalists. Most researchers do not return their results, causing a feeling of frustration and helplessness in the researched subjects and perpetuating academic extractivism. The results show the urgency in overcoming this gap, including as a priority point for researchers to return the results to the communities participating in their research. We must, however, think about how to make these feedbacks more than merely producers of colonialist knowledge, further increasing the existing power asymmetries - and to what extent the feedback is able to help in this theme. It is through the approximation, collaboration, and participation of society in research mechanisms that the added value of scientific production is disseminated and popularized as an element of citizenship and promotion of social development.