Estado de conservação dos recifes costeiros da Paraíba, Brasil: a relação com a política e a gestão ambiental

Abstract

Urbanization in coastal zones makes it necessary to assess the anthropic impact on associated ecosystems. The management of coastal areas with corals reefs and the environmental policies involved influence the types of uses and, consequently, the reef conservation status. The objective of this work is to analyze the managements and the conservation status of the reefs of João Pessoa/PB and Cabedelo/PB, trying to relate these aspects and providing subsidies for evaluation of management work in search of sustainable reef development. In addition, it was proposed to provide the reef management bodies with a method to evaluate the impacts caused by the activities carried out in the localities and could be incorporated into management plans, including those of Conservation Units. The Ecological Evaluation Index (EEI) and Indicatior Value (IndVal) methods, respectively, were used to indicate the conservation status and species selection for the proposed monitoring. With the institutional actors legally constituents of the management process, interviews and structured questionnaires were applied to characterize and evaluate the effectiveness of management. The analysis of the conservation status and the species selected for the monitoring of the reefs indicated that the reef environments of João Pessoa and Cabedelo have environmental quality at levels satisfactory from the point of view of conservation. The lower values of environmental quality found in the dry season were expected due to the greater tourist flow at this time of year, which potentiates the impacts caused by tourism and influences the composition of the local macrobenthic community. The species selected for the monitoring of reefs are recognized bioindicators of areas not impacted by urbanization, with the exception of Acanthophora spicifera that despite the recognized potential bioindicator of impacted area, the occurrence observed in Areia Vermelha is understood as seasonal and positive, since it increases the biodiversity and functional complexity of the reef. The effectiveness of reef management ranged from high in Areia Vermelha and average in to other reefs, possibly reflecting the larger organization and structuring promoted by the Conservation Unit in which the Areia Vermelha reef is inserted. The management characterization indicated that the main impacts perceived by the managers on the reef are of tourist origin (trampling, organic pollution, anchoring and the traffic of motorized vessels), but the works for reef conservation were classified by the managers as bad in Picãozinho and in the Seixas, medium in Formosa and good in Areia Vermelha. The characterization also showed that among the management tools, the Orla Project is only used by for the management of the reef Areia Vermelha. The system of cooperation and integration between federated entities set out in national coastal management policies and plans is used only in the implementation of environmental fiscalization and exchange of information on reefs. Studies that integrate conservation status and management process assessments are crucial for understanding impacts and consequences on the reef community, evaluating management work in minimizing impacts and using management tools.