Uso e ocupação do solo e sua relação com a distribuição das outorgas emitidas na bacia Piranhas-Açu/RN

Abstract

The growing population and economic growth has led to a significant increase in the use of water resources. The demand for water to meet the needs of the population's consumer goods and services has led to an increase in the consumption of water resources in all sectors of society and, consequently, conflicts over the use of water. The granting of the right to use water resources is one of the instruments recommended in the National Water Resources Policy that seeks to regulate the use of water resources in the country and, when combined with studies on territorial management, can enable a balance between availability and demand. In this context, the objective of this study is to evaluate the interaction between land use and occupation of the Piranhas-Açu River Basin (BHRPA) and the grants for the right to use groundwater and surface water resources, issued between 2012 and 2022. Using geoprocessing techniques, the study adopts a qualitative, quantitative and exploratory methodological approach, employing documentary research and analysis of secondary data provided by the Water Management Institute of Rio Grande do Norte (IGARN), the agency responsible for issuing grants in the state. Through the creation of thematic maps using QGIS software, the research aimed to characterize the spatial and temporal variations in the study basin, integrating land use and occupation data with the granted grants. The results obtained indicate that the predominant modality of issued grants and granted flow is groundwater. Irrigation and shrimp farming represent the main demands for this source, with percentages of 74.42% and 14.13%, while for surface sources the largest consumers are irrigation and human supply, which hold 45.95% and 42.39%, respectively. The largest increases in land use and occupation area over the years 2012 to 2022 were observed in the categories “Pasture”, “Range Formation” and “Annual Perennial Crops”, with percentage increases of 3.7%, 1.55% and 1.03%, in their corresponding order. The largest concentrations of grants are distributed in areas classified as high and medium priorities for action for environmental restoration and conflict management. Therefore, the integration of land use and occupation data with grants can be used as a tool to adopt strategies and subsidize the competent agencies, adapting the activities carried out in the basin, with a view to sustainable development.