LAND USE AND COVERAGE AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES IN CONSERVATION UNITS: STUDY ON THE APA OF THE CEARÁ RIVER ESTUARY / USO E COBERTURA DA TERRA E DESAFIOS AMBIENTAIS EM UNIDADES DE CONSERVAÇÃO: ESTUDO SOBRE A APA DO ESTUÁRIO DO RIO CEARÁ

Abstract

The Conservation Units (CUs) that exist in Brazilian environmental policy are important instruments for managing natural ecosystems. They play a fundamental role in combating environmental degradation and promoting sustainable development. Despite this, the existence of CUs does not completely guarantee the preservation of nature and its resources. The Environmental Protection Area (EPA) of the Estuary of the Ceará’s River is a Conservation Unit that is highly vulnerable to anthropic activities, especially those that produce negative environmental impacts. For this reason, the aim of this study was to identify the different typologies and environmental problems associated with the EPA's Land Use and Land Cover, in order to see how the main environmental problems arising from the production of space interfere with its spatial organization and ecological balance. In view of this, the methodology employed in this study combines bibliographical and documentary review techniques, as well as the analysis and interpretation of images from the CBERS4A and Google Earth satellites. The main result was a map made up of six classes of land use and cover, bringing together aspects related to anthropic activities and the vegetation cover of the UC. It was also found that EPA of the Estuary of the Ceará’s River has been directly impacted by human actions, especially as a result of disorderly urban growth and the inappropriate use of its natural resources, which produces a series of harmful effects on the EPA's biotic and abiotic factors and compromises its sustainability.