Application of Information Entropy to Assessment Environmental …
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Concerning economy, sanitation is considered a strategic sector in a country’s
development perspective as investment expansion would promote improved population health and environmental quality, as well as create job openings. Investments
in sanitation, from a social perspective, are essential to reduce poverty. However,
from an economic development perspective, they also add value to a number of other
activities, such as real estate production and tourism. From an economic and financial
point of view, the importance of the sanitation sector to Brazil is characterized by the
expressive volume of resources handled both by companies directly responsible for
the provision of sanitation services and by those linked to the industrial sector that
produce equipment and services for the sanitation sector (Britto and Bessa 2009).
Thus, the sanitation sector, both at GD1 and GD8, still displays many challenges
to be faced in the coming years concerning universal, equitable and comprehensive
access to sanitation services and compliance with the SDG 6 to occur up to 2030. The
scarcity of non-burdensome resources due to the current fiscal crisis (from 2014 to the
present day) and the end of the disqualification due to the PAC (Growth Acceleration
Program) are some of the greatest current challenges is the search for investment
resource sources. Another important challenge to be overcome is the significant
fragmentation between environmental policies and social and economic development
policies (intersectionality), which require integration in search of transdisciplinarity,
aiming at knowledge unification.
The entropic weight method presented results compatible with the real GD1 and
GD8 situations. However, this method displays some limitations, and the results
presented herein are restricted to its methodology. Thus, generalizations for different
periods, other work scales and different indicators are not possible.
The present study is useful for future research, especially those aimed at compliance with the SDG 6 in Brazil, and provides appropriate theoretical and practical
implications of the evaluated indicators for assessing sanitation conditions under the
sustainable development scenario.
5 Conclusions
From 2008 to 2014, sanitation at GD1 showed improvements (especially from 2012
to 2014), from a “weak stage of sustainable development”, with a CSS of 0.3721
to “basic or intermediate stage of sustainable development, with a CSS of 0.6670.
However, GD8 presented worsening conditions from 2010 2014 compared to 2008.
The sustainability condition of GD8 sanitation in 2010 was at a “basic or intermediate
stage of sustainable development” with a CSS of 0.5271, decreasing to a “weak stage
of sustainable development”, with a CSS of 0.3603, in 2014.
The economic and environmental subsystems corresponded to approximately 74%
of the total weight for both GD1 and GD8, with significant responsibility in the sanitation sustainability condition of both water management units during the analyzed
period. The impacts of economic development and environmental quality on the
human subsystem also became evident in this study.
285
Concerning economy, sanitation is considered a strategic sector in a country’s
development perspective as investment expansion would promote improved population health and environmental quality, as well as create job openings. Investments
in sanitation, from a social perspective, are essential to reduce poverty. However,
from an economic development perspective, they also add value to a number of other
activities, such as real estate production and tourism. From an economic and financial
point of view, the importance of the sanitation sector to Brazil is characterized by the
expressive volume of resources handled both by companies directly responsible for
the provision of sanitation services and by those linked to the industrial sector that
produce equipment and services for the sanitation sector (Britto and Bessa 2009).
Thus, the sanitation sector, both at GD1 and GD8, still displays many challenges
to be faced in the coming years concerning universal, equitable and comprehensive
access to sanitation services and compliance with the SDG 6 to occur up to 2030. The
scarcity of non-burdensome resources due to the current fiscal crisis (from 2014 to the
present day) and the end of the disqualification due to the PAC (Growth Acceleration
Program) are some of the greatest current challenges is the search for investment
resource sources. Another important challenge to be overcome is the significant
fragmentation between environmental policies and social and economic development
policies (intersectionality), which require integration in search of transdisciplinarity,
aiming at knowledge unification.
The entropic weight method presented results compatible with the real GD1 and
GD8 situations. However, this method displays some limitations, and the results
presented herein are restricted to its methodology. Thus, generalizations for different
periods, other work scales and different indicators are not possible.
The present study is useful for future research, especially those aimed at compliance with the SDG 6 in Brazil, and provides appropriate theoretical and practical
implications of the evaluated indicators for assessing sanitation conditions under the
sustainable development scenario.
5 Conclusions
From 2008 to 2014, sanitation at GD1 showed improvements (especially from 2012
to 2014), from a “weak stage of sustainable development”, with a CSS of 0.3721
to “basic or intermediate stage of sustainable development, with a CSS of 0.6670.
However, GD8 presented worsening conditions from 2010 2014 compared to 2008.
The sustainability condition of GD8 sanitation in 2010 was at a “basic or intermediate
stage of sustainable development” with a CSS of 0.5271, decreasing to a “weak stage
of sustainable development”, with a CSS of 0.3603, in 2014.
The economic and environmental subsystems corresponded to approximately 74%
of the total weight for both GD1 and GD8, with significant responsibility in the sanitation sustainability condition of both water management units during the analyzed
period. The impacts of economic development and environmental quality on the
human subsystem also became evident in this study.