Water use and conservation at the environmental protection area of Brilhante, Santa Catarina - Brazil

Dissertação mest., Gestão da Água e da Costa, Universidade do Algarve, 2008

Human occupation in rural tropical watersheds has been contributing to a steady degradation of water and other natural resources. Agricultural expansion, deforestation and a lack of sound sanitary equipments to treat wastewater are conditions that threaten the environmental quality of the Environmental Protection Area of Brilhante (APA Brilhante), located in Santa Catarina, South Brazil. The area, being largely covered by native Atlantic Forest, holds a number of natural springs, important for the overall quality conservation and distribution of water in rural parts of the municipality. In APA Brilhante land use is permitted, but must be done in accordance with the principles of sustainability. To understand the socio-environmental conditions, the possible threats to water quality and to highlight the potential for alternative land uses, a field survey was done based on interviewing families that all lived inside or near the protected area. Results show that degradation of soil and water combined with pollution are the main concerns for the population. If no alternative land use practices are applied, the environmental conditions will continue to degrade. Thus intelligent management, based on socio-environmental understanding, education and effective stakeholder collaboration is needed to protect the landscape and secure the environmental benefits that people can derive from working with nature. The population requests information on how to conserve water, soil and vegetation to protect nature and continue farming for food production. For this reason the study concludes that the Brilhante community possesses great potential for the adaptation of suitable land use practises. This will help APA Brilhante to become a good example of sustainable management for similar protected areas.