Creation of an environmental monitoring observatory for coastal management in the municipality of Itaguaí, Brazil

Abstract

This project aims to propose the creation of a socio-environmental observatory which will serve as a system of information and it will incorporate data about technical specifications, business partners, environmental impacts and social conflicts in the coastal zone of the municipality of Itaguaí, on the green coast of Rio de Janeiro. The significant increase in the number of local enterprises which are sometimes not set up in an ecological way is remarkable. Our work includes the use of a PSR Model (Pressure-Status-Response) serving as a structure that, along with the field research conducted, defines the sustainability indicators of socio-economic sectors as pressure indicators that characterize the pressures on environmental systems such as: emission of contaminants, technological efficiency, intervention in the territory and environmental impact-status indicators that reflect the quality of the environment in a given space/time and response indicators that assess the society’s responses to change and environmental concerns. It was found that the increase in the number of companies in the maritime area of operation can generate more than a large environmental impact, but a significant social impact. Studies of associations and local companies say that the main problem of the region is not the emergence and development of enterprises, but the lack of a structured coastal management. Among the problems encountered, it highlights the increased mortality of marine animals and the excessive movement of vessels, which, in addition to harming the marine environment, is affecting the generation of income that is based on fishing. It was concluded that it is extremely important to be clear that the local government spheres can not be considered in isolation, since the efficience of local management depends on the ability to mobilize resources and joint actors, governmental or not, aimed at increasing the local governance and thus ensure their assignments, the observatory would meet this need.