Mudanças climáticas e impactos locais em costas semiáridas: percepção socioambiental sobre um estuário com manguezais

Abstract

The present work will respond as a coastal community has been adapting and perceiving the climatic changes and local impacts in the estuarine environment in which it is inserted(shallow estuary and of low river flow of Piranji River, Ceará).Through the perception of the interviewees of the coastal community of Parajuru (Beberibe, Ceará), it will be possible to verify if the local and global environmental impacts perceived by them coincide with the literature and if, somehow, they interfere in their socioeconomic activities.To answer these objectives were applied 62 semi-structured questionnaires and divided among shellfish, fishermen and farmers.The activity time developed in the estuary between the interviewees is between 2 and 63 years (mean = 28.52), prevailing with 35% between 40 and 63 years, which reveals a large number of respondents with knowledge over 4 decades on changes in the estuary.The results indicate that the environmental change most perceived by the community (93% of respondents) was the increase in temperature.About 73% of the interviewees said that rainfall decreased between 2012 and 2018. In addition, 69% reported an increase in wind speed and 84% reported increased salinity in the river, favoring, according to the observations of the interviewees, those who they fish seafood.It was pointed out by the majority (62%) of respondents that climate change is human activities, and 35% said that climate change is a natural process that can be maximized by human actions.The majority of respondents (76%) said that environmental changes interfere with family income, as it directly affects fish and shellfish fishing.Most of the insights gained through the questionnaires coincide with what scientific studies say, except the perception that climate change is brought about only by human action.The value of community understanding is an important factor, because with the awareness that changes in the environment occur it will be possible to map mitigation and adaptation strategies for environmental changes that are likely to intensifyin the coming decades, are not reduced urgently