Valoração ambiental do ecossistema manguezal no Ceará: contribuições dos serviços ecossistêmicos nas políticas públicas

Abstract

Mangroves play a relevant role in the provision of ecosystem services, including shoreline protection, biodiversity conservation, regulation of ecological processes, and support for socioeconomic activities. Despite their importance, these ecosystems have been subjected to continuous degradation processes associated with urban expansion, aquaculture, anthropogenic activities, and changes in land use and land cover. In this context, the economic valuation of ecosystem services is configured as a planning instrument capable of expressing, in monetary terms, the benefits generated by mangroves, contributing to comparative analyses within the scope of the formulation and evaluation of public policies. This study aimed to carry out the environmental valuation of ecosystem services provided by mangrove forests in the State of Ceará and to analyze how these values relate to public policies aimed at the conservation and sustainable use of these environments. The research was based on the analysis of the spatial dynamics of mangroves over time, using land use and land cover data, and on the application of the benefit transfer method to estimate the economic values associated with ecosystem services. In addition, a bibliometric analysis of the scientific production on environmental valuation, ecosystem services, and mangroves was conducted. The analysis indicated an increase in the area of mangrove forests, concomitant with a reduction in apicum areas, highlighting changes in the configuration of these coastal environments over recent decades. The bibliometric analysis revealed the evolution and thematic concentration of research on ecosystem services, indicating the growth of scientific interest in the topic and its relationship with global environmental agendas. The results of the environmental valuation indicated expressive values, especially for regulating services, reaching the order of billions of reais, highlighting the economic relevance of these ecosystems and enabling the analysis of the relationship between the estimated values for mangrove ecosystem services and the resources allocated in state planning instruments. Thus, the study sought to contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge on the valuation of coastal ecosystems and to provide support for decision-making processes in the context of environmental management and the conservation of mangroves in Ceará.