Environmental Analysis of Guamá River Flood Plan, with Emphasis for Clay Mining in the City of São Miguel do Guamá (PA)

Abstract

The use of natural resources, in recent times, has intensified in exponential scale as well as their degradation, fostered by the inadequate management of the soil, water bodies and biodiversity. One of the most affected places by this dynamic is related to floodplain or lowland, since the vegetation suppression, present in this environment, is subtracted by anthropic actions through practices such as agriculture, urban construction and mining. This last one, in the municipality of São Miguel do Guamá, state of Para, occurs as a result of the extraction of clay, used from the manufacture of ceramics (bricks, tiles, etc.) to medicinal treatments. The approval of Federal Law No. 12,651 / 2012 allows mining activity in floodplain and Permanent Preservation Area (APP). Thus, the present study aims to analyze the recurrent environmental impacts in these areas, focusing on the Guamá river APP, inserted in the municipality of São Miguel do Guamá, by mapping the floodplain, APP and land cover in this area; identification of clay extraction sites; gauging the environmental impacts of extraction; quantify land cover; evaluate and propose measures to mitigate environmental impacts. Based on the results it can be concluded that floodplain forest suppression and fragmentation directly influence the provision of ecosystem services to the local population. The main factor of this loss is the change in land use and the activity of clay extraction along the lowland.