Análise e discussão sobre a possível criação de uma Unidade de Conservação na Bacia do Rio Doce

Abstract

The progressive growth of the population with the urban densification has been causing constant pressure on the natural environments. The Extremoz lagoon located in the Rio Doce basin is an example of this natural environment that is located near large urban areas, specifically the cities of Natal, Extremoz and Ceará Mirim, and which have been suffering constant anthropic pressure. This work seeks to analyze and discuss the possible creation of a Conservation Unit (CU) in the Rio Doce basin, mainly for the protection of its water resources, through a bibliographical review and satellite image processing using the Quantum GIS (QGIS). So, soil use and cover, water quality, soil quality and water availability were analyzed. The mapping of land use and land cover showed a great urban expansion between 1977 and 2017, accounting for 81.6% increase only between 2001 and 2017, in addition showed anthropic activities within the area of permanent protection defined by law. The quality of the water showed signs of contamination in 2004, due to the high values of ammoniacal nitrogen and coliforms, which may be worsening over time. In the study of soil quality, it is noticed that all uses of the soil diminish their quality in different aspects, so that the anthropic action in the riverside region may be contributing as diffuse polluting source of the water. Finally, the lack of water occurred in the first half of 2017 shows that water availability can indeed be a problem. In this way it is clear the need for a good protection and management of this resource, grounding the idea of implementing a CU.