161
This coercion by use and occupation has been ever increasing, ignoring the
importance of maintaining balance in the natural systems that control the morphogenetic processes, which in turn assume the role of risk factors, implying the deterioration of landscapes and ecosystems, as well as the unfeasibility of economic
activities, culminating in irreversible damage.
Thus, Muehe (1998) stresses the need to prepare specific diagnoses for each area,
not only for the identification of causes, but also for the proposing of mitigation and
management measures concerning environmental impacts. In accordance with
Muehe, geographer Ab’Saber (2003) defends the urgency of developing technogenic insertions that are compatible with the strengths and weaknesses of coastal
landscapes. In this sense, a brief discussion on the current conditions of use and
occupation of the Brazilian coastal wetlands is presented, based on the context of
socioeconomic formations that established themselves throughout their evolution,
forging a path characterized by environmental and cultural diversity, and by social
and economic imbalances. Then, the analysis is deepened and the operating variables in the use and occupation of the Whale Coast – state of Bahia are presented,
in order to represent and synthesize the current forces operating in the use and
occupation of the Brazilian coastal tropical wetlands.
5.2 Distribution of the Wetlands Coastal Tropical in Brazil
The Brazilian Coastal Tropical Wetland shown in Fig. 5.1 is a continuous challenge
for management due to the diversity of associated issues.
It extends from the mouth of the Oiapoque River (04°52′45″N) all the way to the
mouth of the Chuí River (33°45′10″S) and the limits of the cities on the coastal
strip, to the west. The land strip, of variable width, its natural recesses considered,
extends for about 10,800 km throughout the coast, and has an approximate area of
514,000 km
2
, of which 324,000 km
2
correspond to the territory of 395 cities
(MMA 2008). Generally, it has very few indentations, with the largest being the
Amazonian Gulf (PA) and the baía de todos os santos (BA).
It is a variable relief area, where a quarter of the Brazilian population lives,
according to the Interministerial Commission for Sea Resources (CIRM), which
results in a density of about 87 inhabitants per square kilometer, a rate five times
higher than the national average in 2010 (Ibge 2010). This narrow continental strip
includes 17 states and concentrates 13 of the 27 Brazilian capitals, some of which
are metropolitan areas where millions of people live, an indicator of the high level
of anthropic pressure to which natural resources are subjected (Nicolodi and
Peterman 2010).
It is within this dynamic scenario of high mobility, both physical and socioeconomic, that approximately 30% of the population lives, with 16 of the 28 metropolitan areas concentrating on the coast (Fig. 5.2). These areas of high population
density coexist with large expanses of scattered and sparse populating, such as the
habitats of artisanal fishing communities, the remnants of the afrodescendant
5 Land Use and Occupation of Coastal Tropical Wetlands: Whale Coast, Bahia, Brazil
This coercion by use and occupation has been ever increasing, ignoring the
importance of maintaining balance in the natural systems that control the morphogenetic processes, which in turn assume the role of risk factors, implying the deterioration of landscapes and ecosystems, as well as the unfeasibility of economic
activities, culminating in irreversible damage.
Thus, Muehe (1998) stresses the need to prepare specific diagnoses for each area,
not only for the identification of causes, but also for the proposing of mitigation and
management measures concerning environmental impacts. In accordance with
Muehe, geographer Ab’Saber (2003) defends the urgency of developing technogenic insertions that are compatible with the strengths and weaknesses of coastal
landscapes. In this sense, a brief discussion on the current conditions of use and
occupation of the Brazilian coastal wetlands is presented, based on the context of
socioeconomic formations that established themselves throughout their evolution,
forging a path characterized by environmental and cultural diversity, and by social
and economic imbalances. Then, the analysis is deepened and the operating variables in the use and occupation of the Whale Coast – state of Bahia are presented,
in order to represent and synthesize the current forces operating in the use and
occupation of the Brazilian coastal tropical wetlands.
5.2 Distribution of the Wetlands Coastal Tropical in Brazil
The Brazilian Coastal Tropical Wetland shown in Fig. 5.1 is a continuous challenge
for management due to the diversity of associated issues.
It extends from the mouth of the Oiapoque River (04°52′45″N) all the way to the
mouth of the Chuí River (33°45′10″S) and the limits of the cities on the coastal
strip, to the west. The land strip, of variable width, its natural recesses considered,
extends for about 10,800 km throughout the coast, and has an approximate area of
514,000 km
2
, of which 324,000 km
2
correspond to the territory of 395 cities
(MMA 2008). Generally, it has very few indentations, with the largest being the
Amazonian Gulf (PA) and the baía de todos os santos (BA).
It is a variable relief area, where a quarter of the Brazilian population lives,
according to the Interministerial Commission for Sea Resources (CIRM), which
results in a density of about 87 inhabitants per square kilometer, a rate five times
higher than the national average in 2010 (Ibge 2010). This narrow continental strip
includes 17 states and concentrates 13 of the 27 Brazilian capitals, some of which
are metropolitan areas where millions of people live, an indicator of the high level
of anthropic pressure to which natural resources are subjected (Nicolodi and
Peterman 2010).
It is within this dynamic scenario of high mobility, both physical and socioeconomic, that approximately 30% of the population lives, with 16 of the 28 metropolitan areas concentrating on the coast (Fig. 5.2). These areas of high population
density coexist with large expanses of scattered and sparse populating, such as the
habitats of artisanal fishing communities, the remnants of the afrodescendant
5 Land Use and Occupation of Coastal Tropical Wetlands: Whale Coast, Bahia, Brazil