A agricultura familiar de base agroecológica em Uberlândia (MG) - Uma Análise Ambiental por meio do Método PEIR

Abstract

The environmental crisis challenges economic paradigms that understand nature as a source of resources to be exploited. In agriculture, the Green Revolution, which occurred between the 1960s and 1970s, implemented practical dynamics and technologies that increased productivity, but also generated ecological and social problems, such as the manipulation of natural resources, the emission of greenhouse gases and the disarticulation of local cultures and ways of life. As a counterpoint, the emergence of agroecology, based on ecology and agricultural science, as a combination capable of contributing to the transition to sustainable agriculture. The general objective of this research is to apply the Pressure-State-Impact-Response (PEIR) environmental impact assessment method to study a plot of land in a settlement in Uberlândia-MG, where agroecological planting has been used as a form of environmental recovery and income generation through family farming. The results indicated that the PEIR Method was effective for the research proposal, helping to understand how agroecological practices contribute to the environmental recovery of an area impacted by agroforestry activities. The components selected for analysis were water quality and land use, and the results demonstrated that the water quality meets the physical and chemical specifications established by CONAMA nº357/05 for water used for safety purposes. Regarding the biological parameter, the presence of coliforms in the water was identified. To deal with this aspect, responses related to practices that have a chance of contamination were used. Regarding land use, the diachronic mapping of the area's occupation contributed to the understanding of landscape changes, with an increase in vegetation cover in the settlement area being observed during the analyzed period. The data generated by this study can contribute to local public management, with regard to external actions for small agroecological farmers and a better understanding of the reality of environmental components of the Ribeirão Douradinho River Basin.