Sustentabilidade no setor agropecuário: uma avaliação do modelo pressãoestado-impacto-resposta na região do Alto Paraguaçu-Ba

Abstract

Alto Paraguaçu is considered an emerging region with potential for expanding agricultural production, considered an important economic hub for the state. The region has stood out in relation to its economic activities and the increase in gross domestic product, mainly due to agricultural activities, growing in the region, it follows that this growth process is not always linked to sustainable development, since the Upper Paraguaçu's main characteristic is the abstraction of surface and underground water to sustain production, which has caused socioenvironmental conflicts. The general objective of this work is to analyze sustainability in the agricultural sector using the Pressure-State – Impact – Response model in the Paraguaçu watershed, in the Alto Paraguaçu region. To understand the dynamics of agricultural activities, environmental, social and economic aspects of the river were evaluated, based on local sustainability indicators under the Pressure – State – Impact – Response (PEIR) methodology. The PEIR methodology consists of analyzing the human pressures exerted on the environment, the state in which this environment is, what impacts are being caused and the responses of public authorities and society to mitigate the negative impacts. In the end, 14 indicators were selected, using favorable, unfavorable or inconsistent criteria that served as a basis for measuring sustainability. With this, it was possible to observe the expansion of agricultural activities and, as a consequence, the reduction of the river area, together with the decrease of forest areas in the region. Therefore, the need for programs and projects for environmental management is highlighted, being of fundamental importance the inspection and monitoring of activities in the basin, which reconcile the use with the protection of natural resources.