A agricultura irrigada no semiárido é sustentável? Um (re) estudo de caso - enfocando a sustentabilidade.

Abstract

As themes of extensive discussion in the Northeast, the sustainable devclopment and the desertification have originated several researches, politicai attitudes and projects which have as a main goal the concern to brakc down the insustainable development and prevent the processes of enviromental degradation from going on for they are determiners of the quality of life in the semi arid áreas. Having the worry taken into consideration, the sustainable development idea research took place to investigate the environmental, economical and social conditions in the irrigated perimeter of São Gonçalo, a municipal town of Sousa, in the state of Paraíba, with the purpose to find the clues that could raise the debate about the irrigated agriculture, its eífeets and contribution for the regional developnicnt. The signs of non-equilibrium in the social, economic and environmental áreas found in the perimeter, the tough context in which it is placed - also found in tnany other states and municipal towns in the Northeast region, as well as the aspeets of the latent vulnerability of the semi-arid, establish the need to review ali that is known and indicates the irrigated agriculture as the most important policy of development of the semi-arid arcas of the Northeast. In the perimeter, several decisions are required in order to generate an equilibrium in the environment and economic and social future perspectives. In the Semi-arid, "new" attitudes need to be applied so that there is an overcoming of the processes of social exclusion and environmental instability conditions that are pari of its essence.