Condições socioambientais das nascentes situadas no alto Piauí: preservação das áreas e qualidade da água

Abstract

Considered indispensable to life, water consists of a limited natural resource. Currently, its presence in nature has been marked by a scenario of degradation and scarcity increasingly frequent as a consequence, mainly, of anthropogenic actions. In this research, it was intended to make an analysis of the socio-environmental conditions in the areas of springs of the upper portion of the River Piauí basin, in the city of Arapiraca/AL, evaluating the actions implemented by the Instituto do Meio Ambiente of Alagoas State – IMA, the agency responsible for environmental management of the springs areas as Permanent Protection Areas (APP) protected by law, as well as the actions envisaged in the Environmental Recovery Project of the Piauí river basin developed by the São Francisco Hydrographic Watershed Committee – CBHSF. In this research was adopted the hypothetical deductive method involving a qualitative and quantitative investigation, comprising three stages: exploratory phase; field work; and analysis and treatment of the material collected regarding the subject matter. The environmental perception of the population in relation to the environmental recovery actions proposed and carried out by the CBHSF was evaluated from the application of a questionnaire in a sample composed by 105 heads of family residing in three communities Rural areas located in the surroundings of the studied springs. The research has made it possible to conclude that the urban development occurred in Arapiraca in recent years has altered the physiography of the Rio Piauí Basin upper portion, where the deterioration of these environments is increasing, occurring without the residents’ perception of the need to preserve and protect the existing springs areas. The respondents, for the most part, stated that they did not know what a watershed committee and their assignments were, ignoring the São Francisco Hydrographic Watershed Committee and the revitalization actions carried out in these areas of high Piauí River. The statistical analyses carried out in the available data made it possible to infer that the river Piauí does not fall in these springs áreas as Class 2, as set out in the resolutions of Conama N° 357/2005 and N° 430/2011. Finally, the work proposes the realization of actions aimed at environmental education in communities and schools as well as actions of supervision and monitoring of the springs areas aiming at the conservation/maintenance of the river Piauí springs.