Impactos socioambientais do turismo no distrito de Tapera: o caso do complexo turístico e residencial Aquiraz Golf & Beach Villas

Abstract

Tourism is a sector of the economy that has been increasing over the years and Ceará natural beauties are attractive in developing this activity. On the other hand, public policies for the development of tourism in Brazil, notably in its various coastal states, have strengthened the expansion of this segment of the economy. In this context, it is important to consider the concept of entropy, the disorder levels of a system, since while tourism generates economic growth, also causes the expression of controversial ideas that take into consideration the negative social and environmental impacts, particularly within traditional communities, where often the major tourist projects are installed. In this sense, the objective of the research in question is to investigate the effects generated by the construction of Tourist Complex “Aquiraz” Golf and Beach Villas (“Aquiraz Riviera”) in “Tapera” district. Seeking to better understand the dynamics experienced in the region, as well as achieve the goal of the research, questionnaires will be used to probe the situation experienced by the community of Tapera district, located nearby of the Complex, which are: “Engenho Velho”, “Curralinhos”, “Praia Bonita”, “Sítio Barrinhas”, beyond the center of “Tapera”. Also will be made semi-structured interviews with those responsible for “Aquiraz Riviera” and with the Department of Tourism and Environment of the city of Aquiraz. From the collection of the data may be noted that the project is in a permanent preservation area causing several impacts such as imbalance in the coastal dynamic dunes, deforestation, pressure on the fauna, set of plants, water available, in view of increasing consumption and the dry season, and on final disposal of solid waste, given the saturation of the municipal landfill capacity. The social impacts are positives and negatives. These positives impacts are also economic impacts, the main one being the generation of employment and income, in addition to promoting trade and increasing the tax collection. In contrast, there are negative social impacts. The population suffers from a shortage of water resources, with the difficulties of access to the beach, interference with fishing for subsistence and leisure activities freely undertaken previously. The community also feels lower and excluded from the development process and decision making. Finally it can be considered that many of these impacts were generated by a lack of organization and planning of the government in relation to the management of infrastructural, financial and environmental aspects of the municipality so that the intensification of tourist activity has not been accompanied by the demand of population growth of region.