Análise da pegada hídrica no perímetro irrigado de são gonçalo, localizado no sertão paraibano.

Abstract

The water footprint is an environmental indicator that focuses on assessing the direct and indirect needs of water to sustain the lifestyle of a person, region, nation, product or process of a company. Thus the main objective of this work was to analyze the total water footprint of the irrigated perimeter of São Gonçalo, in Sousa, located in the Paraiba backlands, between the years 2012 e 2016. For this, it was used the calculation of the water footprint, based on the water demand of the temporary and permanent cultures cultivated in the region studied, which related the green evapotranspiration and the blue evapotranspiration, taking into account that since 2012 there has been a decrease in the planting of crops on site, due to water scarcity, an agricultural calendar for the region was presented, and some crops such as mango were selected, coconut, guava, cashew, banana, soursop, passion fruit and acerola, among others as crop options. Therefore we can state that the perimeter of São Gonçalo for this period is unsustainable and that the consumption pattern calculated through total water footprint can serve as support in the decisions on the use of water in the studied perimeter, providing information for a possible sustainability policy, raising awareness among users of this sector about the use of water, and, above all, this knowledge can bring us the promotion of the management and conservation of this resource.