Irregular occupation and environmental degradation at Delta do Jacuí state park - RS

Abstract

The Delta do Jacui State Park is an environmental preservation area with 21,450 hectares in the Metropolitan Region of Porto Alegre/RS, contiguous to the area considered the most populous of the city. Assuming that the environmental degradation problems are consequences of social processes, especially in places close to big urban spaces, this essay aims to identify and evaluate the social-environmental impact caused by irregular occupation and a non-sustainable use of soil inside the property of the park. The method included a research about the historic processes of the park invasion and its current situation. The study was conducted using data collected from public services, previous researches, field research, interviews with local people to check the social-environmental perception they had concerning their environment, photo-interpretation and mapping the park. All this together resulted in maps of irregular occupation and maps of areas where there are conflicts as far as it concerns soil use and soil occupation. These maps and charts evidencing the growth of irregular occupation proved that in some areas the natural environment is fragile, a circumstantial evidence of bad use of soil in those specific areas. Key words: Irregular occupation, Environmental degradation, State Park, Environmental perception, Photo-interpretation.