DIAGNOSIS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL FRAGILITY OF THE CAETE RIVER BASIN AS A SUBSIDY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING

The knowledge of the potentialities and limitations of the natural systems is fundamental so that the anthropic actions undertaken in these are according to their characteristics, dynamics and functionalities. The use of Geotechnologies, integrated to the systemic analysis of the landscape, is increasingly indispensable in the studies related to environmental problems. Thus, this work aims to elaborate the Environmental Fragility map of the Caete Hydrographic Basin based on the methodological proposal of Crepani et al. (2001), as a subsidy instrument for decision-making in the planning and environmental management of the basin's territory. We constructed the base maps of the geoenvironmental units of the Caete river basin as: Declivity, Soil Types, Geology, Geomorphology and Land Use. The result of the diagnosis of environmental fragility presented the predominantly medium level (51.04%), with the high level (32.90%) afterwards. This result arises from the use of land, where the economic activities developed, in an unsustainable way, together with the naturally susceptible components impel the intensification of fragility process of the environmental systems of the Caete hydrographic basin.