Análise da sustentabilidade da pegada hídrica total na Sub-bacia do Rio Piancó no Sertão Paraibano.

Abstract

In the current world political structure, the State must evidently assume the role of greater protector of the environment, since it is the responsibility of the Public Power to guard the interests of the community. Among the public demands that the State seeks to meet, is the management of the river basins. Despite all the environmental, social and economic importance that river basins provide, many of them have been disrupted and few recovery and environmental management measures are taken. In this context, the Water Footprint Assessment emerges as an important tool to be applied in order to increase the awareness about water use and the improvement in the management of water resources. Based on these premises, this research had as main objective, to analyze the total water footprint in the sub-basin of the Piancó-PB River, in 2017. For this, the measurement of the total water footprint in the sub- sum of all estimates of the blue, green and gray components of the main water users. Subsequently, the sustainability of the water footprint in the sub-basin was analyzed from an environmental perspective, through water scarcity indicators recommended by the Water Footprint Assessment Manual. According to the results, it became clear that irrigated agriculture and sanitation are the sectors that exert the greatest pressure on the water resources of the sub-basin. With regard to the sustainability of the water footprint in the sub-basin in 2017, it was sustainable on an annual scale, but between July and December, the sub-basin presented unsustainable scarcity and pollution indices due to the natural discharges, caused mainly by the region's rainfall irregularity. Therefore, the mapping of the water footprint and its sustainability in the Piancó River sub-basin will subsidize the public manager in a precise decision-making and consequently promote the strengthening of the Water Resources Management System that seeks sustainable governance.