Implicações das mudanças do Código Florestal na delimitação das Áreas de Proteção Permanente da Zona de Proteção Ambiental 9, Natal/RN

Abstract

The Master Plan controls the urban planning of a city. In this context it was created 10 Enviroment Protection Zones (EPZ) at the city of Natal/RN, and currently the EPZ 9 it’s in regulation process. Among the changes caused by the new Forest Code ,2012, one of the points is the reduction of the Permanent Protection Area (PPA) range for rivers, given that it does not consider anymore the seasonal ground, but the regular ground for the PPA delimitation. The objectives were to map the PPAs for the EPZ 9 following the Forest Code and the CONAMA 303/2002, map the vegetation of the area, and finally compare the mapping of the PPAs of the Rio Doce between the new and the old Forest Code to spatialize and quantifying how much of native vegetation ceases to be protected using the software ArcGIS. The results demonstrate that there will be a reduction of approximately 74% of the area which will be no longer protected, and this includes the marsh areas and the riparian forest, which will negatively impact the ecosystem of the region. This work shows the fragility of the forest code in respect of the protected areas within the EPZ, and recommend some practices for recovering the degrade area within the context of urban and environmental planning.