title: Dialogues between social and natural sciences: contribution to the debate on socio-environmental conflicts.
abstract: In this article, I argue that attempting to solve real problems is a possible approach to bring social and natural sciences together, and suggest that - as Environmental Impact Assessment necessarily brings together social and environmental issues - this debate is a strong candidate for such a task. The argument is based on a general discussion about the possibilities and limitations of Environmental Impact Assessments, the social-environmental impacts of mining activities and three case studies. The analysis of the cases indicates possibilities and limitations of the dialogue between scientists from various areas - and of the collaboration with social movements and affected communities - in avoiding negative impacts of mining projects and, eventually, increasing their sustainability.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Engenharia de Produção e Mecânica, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Milanez