Avaliação ambiental de APP ripárias da Mata Atlântica: instrumento para gestão de políticas ambientais

Abstract

Land use in Brazil has been characterized over time by the intense use of natural resources and the conversion of land with native vegetation into areas for the expansion of the agricultural frontier, which has led to the occupation of regions of great ecological importance, such as regions marginal to watercourses. These areas are currently protected by Brazilian environmental legislation as Permanent Preservation Areas (PPA). However, many of these areas were converted to human use before the forest laws came into force or even irregularly, especially in the Atlantic Forest region, which had its original vegetation cover degraded. Thus, this paper aimed to develop practical tools based on technical and scientific criteria to assess and classify the gradient of environmental quality of riparian PPAs in the Atlantic Forest, to assist in managing public policies for the conservation and restoration of these environments. A Rapid Assessment Protocol (RAP) for riparian regions was elaborated through a bibliographic survey of environmental indicators tested and validated under field conditions. Samples were launched into the main watercourses to assess the hydrographic basin of the Rio das Mortes, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The results were extrapolated to the entire basin using the spatial interpolation of the Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW). This information, along with other indicators, allowed us to classify the municipalities' sustainability in the basin using the Sustainability Barometer (SB) methodology. The results showed that the RAP could assess the environmental quality of the riparian PPAs, showing that 57% were under unsatisfactory conditions, classified as reasonable and inadequate. Of the 26 municipalities in the Rio das Mortes basin, only one was classified as potentially sustainable, four as intermediate, 20 as potentially unsustainable, and one as unsustainable. The methodology developed enabled a fast and low-cost assessment of the environmental conditions of the riparian PPAs. Associated with geo-technology, the RAP expanded the studied region and can become an environmental indicator aiding in the management of environmental policies directed at the conservation and restoration of riparian systems. The protocol can also assist in managing watercourses and be replicated in many regions and biomes provided that the environmental indicators be adjusted.