Educação ambiental e recursos hídricos: um olhar sobre Santa Maria - RS

Abstract

The present study aimed to correlate human actions with environmental problems of the city of Santa Maria with focus on the theme of water resources. For this, was used the study of environmental perception in two ways: the first consisted to compare the worsening of the environmental problems from 10 points of a watercourse located in the urban area of Santa Maria - Sanga da Aldeia; the second wanted to examining the perception of academics of the 8th semester of Forestry at UFSM regarding environmental problems around the creek Cadena. Held a photographic survey of the 10 points of Sanga da Aldeia. The current state of the watercourse was compared with the situation in which it found itself in 2008, when it was photographed in the same places. However the students worked in the classroom issues related to water resources management and watched a documentary about Cadena, then answered a questionnaire. There was a significant increase in environmental degradation in Sanga da Aldeia, the increase in the number of buildings along the banks and the illegal sewage connections, as well as the accumulation of solid waste (garbage), besides the presence of inappropriate vegetation in that areas. As for the perception of academics on the Cadena, the majority noted there is a lack of adequate planning for managing water resources in Santa Maria, and a lake of awareness population. Then with the aid of environmental perception, it can be stated that the behavior of the population, coupled with the lack of commitment by the government, made in a short period of time, has increased the environmental neglect in relation to resources water and environment in the city of Santa Maria.