Metodologia para avaliação ambiental de bacias hidrográficas com uso de sistemas de suporte à decisão espacial e do indicador pegada ecológica

Abstract

In the current environmental context is huge the demand for consistent information that supports the territorial planning, allowing environmental assessments thereby subsidizing public and private sectors. This demand can be satisfied with the integration of information into a system, with properties and processing functions, allowing its use in integrated environment. Thus, this thesis proposes a methodology for environmental assessment of watersheds that operates from the choice of indicators and definition of the weights of its contribution to the implementation of assessments and spatialisation of results in a GIS environment. This methodology is composed of two distinct phases: assessment of environmental vulnerability of the basin by the use of spatial decision support systems, and assessing the sustainability of the basin through the calculation of Ecological Footprint. In the first phase are adopted decision support systems, knowledge bases, GIS and a tool that integrates these results allowing the generation of assessments, analysis and / or prospective scenarios. In the second stage, the sustainability of the basin is pictured from the calculation of the ecological footprint, which consists in accounting the area that a population needs to produce the resources consumed and absorb the waste generated. The comparison between the most vulnerable and less sustainable, can guide restoration projects and environmental conservation.