“Rio Preto Urgente”: A Proposal for Conservation and Recovery

Abstract

The Association of Young People of Alto Rio Preto (JUAP) and the Association of Children and Friends of São Benedito, Maranhão, Brasil (AFASB) develop the “Avante Camaradas” (Forward Comrades) Project and the “Alonga Vida” (Lenghten Life) Operation, for the maintenance of the Preto River and the Mocambo River, its main tributary. From these actions arose the necessity of technical study of the Preto River. In this research we carried out expeditions in the river, we verified its bed, tributaries, vegetation, number of households and riverside. The study area was from Tutanguira village to ETA CAEMA (Water Treatment Station of the Environmental Sanitation Company of Maranhão). Flora, with identification of 89 species and fauna, with identification of 101 bird species, 28 species of herpetofauna (amphibian and reptiles) and 11 species of mammals were studied. Environmental impacts such as cutting and burning vegetation, extraction of wood for sawmill, coal and fishing, sand extraction and pebble stone are frequent in the river area. A socioeconomic diagnosis of the community of the study area was made, being verified that the majority is farmer and with low schooling. The river runs the risk of being no longer perennial and becoming intermittent due to the degradation caused by population growth and the monoculture of soybean and eucalyptus. One suggests the execution of an urgent maintenance and recovery project in the Preto River.