Perfil sócio-econômico de usuários de praia e percepção sobre a poluição por lixo marinho: Praia do Porto da Barra, BA, Brasil

Abstract

Contamination by garbage affects all marine areas of the world, either isolated or populated areas. In populated areas, beach users are often singled out as a source of litter, hence its inclusion in coastal management planning is suggested by scientific literature. In order to provide subsidies to local coastal management, tourism planning and development of environmental education activities, a socio-economic characterization of users of Praia do Porto da Barra, Salvador, Bahia, has been done, as well as an evaluation of their perception about aspects of marine pollution by litter. The beach corresponds to a small cove about 300m long, considered one of the postcards of the city, boasting a diverse local audience, including local users, tourists, traders and fishermen. Together these users were applied to a total of 337 socio-economic-environmental questionnaires, during the summer of 2009. The discussion of results has been extended to the whole city of Salvador, with the inclusion of other local scientific publications. The users interviewed were mostly young locals who had been to college. The relationship between users and the presence of garbage, the application of concepts and educational practices to the local population did not prove to be efficient. Household income reported evidence the high potential for public consumption, and the consequent generation of litter. This consumption is closely related to beverages sold on the beach, especially beer. Some food items are served on wooden skewers, a skin-piercing material present in Praia do Porto da Barra and the cause of several cases of injuries among users. Lack of awareness / education of users of beaches in Salvador demonstrate the need for mitigating actions that result in improving the beach environment, as the development of environmental education activities, which in this case should be directed to a young local audience. Insufficient supply of garbage disposals and the inefficiency of public-sponsored garbage gathering, according to users, show the need for improvement of infrastructure to collect litter on the beaches of Salvador