No caminho das águas: territórios em risco à jusante da Hidrelétrica Nova Ponte, no rio Araguari, Minas Gerais

Abstract

This investigation has searched to establish a dialogue among the concepts of Risks, Dangers and Vulnerabilities with Geography. For such, one has taken into consideration a Great Project of Hydroelectric Investment called Nova Ponte Hydroelectric Plant, located in the Araguari River, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, belonging to the hydrographic region of Paraná River. One has searched, through the principles of deep ecological movement, to analyze territories threatened the downstream of the barrage, in case it comes to a collapse, so that all its reservoir may be run out. One has defined a downstream limited area up to the barrage of Miranda Hydroelectric Plant to identify and map the path which a wave of flood may reach, aiming to contribute, so that Public Power, Entrepreneur and threatened communities may know the potentially threatened areas by some kind of disaster making it possible the revision of their actions towards planning and ordering policies with a view to establish a management of the risks and vulnerabilities which protect human life and all forms of vegetable and animal life. For such work, one has used the principles of qualitative research in the relationship with the involved subjects: landlords and locals of the surrounding area of the reservoir of Miranda Hydroelectric Plant, employees of the electric plant concessionaire and the city civil servants. Bibliographic research has been fundamental to hold the dialogue of the Risk Theory, deep ecological paradigm with Geography. Field work provided the abundant use of photography as document and inventory, being included as a facilitator of the understanding of the analysis held. Documental research permitted to assess and understand the relationships of the Great Enterprise and Public Power with the territory. Geoprocessing technologies made it possible to translate into cartography, great part of the content produced during investigation. At finalizing the research, one has intended to clarify the problematic of the thesis: there is no great enterprise, particularly the hydroelectrics, a hundred per cent safe and it should not be seen only as an engineering job, but fundamentally as a group of other effects over the territory which subject people and environments to lots of kinds of risks and vulnerabilities deserving to be known so that it is planned and ordered thus aiming their safety.