Rio Uberaba: quando os desgastes ambientais refletem os desgastes sociais

Abstract

This research is the result of questioning the current system of water supply for the population of Uberaba. The investigation sought to discover the situation of the natural resources also called natural wealth especially water. It was found that there is an incompatibility in the sustainable development with modern society’s production and consumption standards, which is historic and in a crisis. The proposal of sustainable development requires change in production and consumption as well as in the way society thinks and acts. This implies producing our sustenance without increasing soil deterioration, without excessive pressure on vegetation, without pollution and the decline of water resources. The implications of predatory action are: social exclusion, the merchandising of natural resources and is the product of the absence of supervision. In the case of Uberaba, the only river to furnish water to the population is the Uberaba River. Thus, understanding its basin is fundamental for local society to rethink its relationship with the natural resources. The deterioration of the river’s upper course is caused by the usage of the natural resources: the soil, the vegetation and the water. Deforestation and the absence of conservation of protected areas, which compromises the springs and the tributaries and cause erosion and the scarcity of water during dry periods are the result of an attitude that such resources are inexhaustible. This lack of care left the population under the threat of water-shortage during that last few years and subjected it to ecological accidents because the basin is crossed by highways and railways where toxic products are transported and are a danger for the entire community especially for the lower classes who have fewer alternatives of water consumption. As the basin‘s environmental problems were identified, with special attention to the area above the pumping station on the Uberaba River, as well as the process of commercialization of water resources has produced knowledge and an evaluation system to help solve the problems of water supply and the deterioration of the basin. The final understanding of the research is that the solution for misunderstandings that occur lies in having a dynamic and participative management. The hydrographic basin should be adopted as a geographic unit for the planning of integrated projects, involving the various parties (land owners and consumers in general, besides civic entities and organizations), and guarantee adequate solutions through the search of new practices. With the creation of a new landscape, the interventions will be more favorable to the environmental and social quality of life.