Serviços ecossistêmicos da lagoa da Precabura (Estado do Ceará)

Abstract

The benefits provided by ecosystems to humans are called ecosystem services. However, the provision of these services is increasingly in danger due to anthropogenic impacts on the environment. Thus, services generated by urban and coastal ecosystems are the ones that most take risk of depletion. Therefore, this research aims to characterize the ecosystem services of an urban coastal lagoon, the Precabura Lagoon (Ceará State), from the perception of the surrounding residents. For this study, 30 people were interviewed, selected from the "Snowball" method, in which the participants answered semi-structured questions about the importance of the Precabura Lagoon, for their lives and for the collective. Subsequently, the data were analyzed using non-parametric statistics and qualitatively and the services found were classified according to the classification of the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES) into three categories of services: provisioning, regulation and maintenance and cultural. As a result, it has been found that Precabura Lagoon is an important source of ecosystem services such as: provision of fish, water for crops, source of fruits, fiber, wood and medicinal resources, hydrological and climate regulate, biological and erosive control, waste treatment, pollination, biodiversity maintenance, leisure and recreation options, scientific and educational research and the opportunity for social and cultural experiences through contact with man and nature. In addition, from the participant’s environmental perception, it was possible to register effects of environmental degradation on the generation of these services, such as decreased fish diversity and abundance and leisure activities. In this context, it is noted that Precabura Lagoon is a rich and important ecosystem for the regional context and requires protection actions, such as the creation of a Conservation Unit, already pleaded by the local population and object of discussion in some Public Assemblies, for which the lagoon continues to promote its ecological, social, economic and cultural functions, ensuring the quality of life and well-being of the current and future generation.