Diagnóstico ambiental e adaptação de Protocolo de Avaliação Rápida no Córrego do Limoeiro

Abstract

The growing demand of the population, coupled with the pollution of watercourses, results in a reduction in the amounts of freshwater available for human consumption, requiring prompt actions to mitigate impacts and slow down degradation. Understanding the responses of rivers to anthropogenic changes is essential for water resource management and requires a holistic perspective. According to the United Nations (UN), if water management is not implemented, 75% of the world's population will experience water scarcity by 2050. In this context, the Rapid River Assessment Protocol (PAR) was developed as a method for evaluating river ecosystems. This protocol is based on visual criteria and allows adaptation to the specific characteristics of the observed landscape. The research aims to contribute scientific knowledge by investigating the various PARs applied by students from elementary school to higher education in Brazil, addressing the cross-cutting nature of environmental education within the academic context, and proposed the adaptation of a PAR that would be accessible to all academic levels in Presidente Prudente. The study was based on three reference protocols, which were adapted and applied by elementary, high school, and university students according to the peculiarities of their respective Brazilian study regions over the past three decades. According to the phenomenological methodology, five observed points were evaluated, resulting in the selection of qualitative parameters for composing the adapted instrument, following reference protocols, including: indicators of erosion; anthropogenic alterations; presence of aquatic plants; odor; color and oiliness of the water; presence of solid waste and domestic sewage; type of bank occupation. According to the phenomenological methodology, five observed points were evaluated, resulting in the selection of (qualitative) parameters for the composition of the adapted instrument, following reference protocols, including indicators of erosion; anthropogenic alterations; presence of aquatic plants; odor; color and oiliness of the water; presence of solid waste and domestic sewage; type of bank occupation; and presence of riparian vegetation. Thus, the adapted PAR is proposed as an accessible and low-cost solution to be used by schools and universities to promote environmental education and student empowerment in integration with the subjects taught by teachers in watercourses near the institutions. The results of the application of the adapted PAR demonstrated that the most impacted section of the Limoeiro Stream is the source (Point 1), which shows severe impacts due to real estate expansion in the region. The environmental condition of the Limoeiro Stream presented a disturbance level in 40% of the total points evaluated, with Point 1 being the most affected, and changes were observed at Points 4 and 5 due to parameters such as color and odor influenced by the discharge of effluents and waste disposal. The result of applying the adapted PAR provides Watershed Committees with a simplified environmental diagnosis, allowing for the direction of actions toward the impacted sections.