Environmental Zoning of the Marumby River’s Hydrographic Basin, in Paraná: Perspectives for the Analysis and Evaluation of the Socio-Economic Conditions

Abstract

This research considers the Marumby River’s hydrographic basin located on the western part of the State of Paraná’s (Brazil) coastline area, in the coastal municipal district of Morretes. To organize an environmental zoning, in order to allow the analysis and evaluation of socio-environmental conditions in this area, is the main purpose in this work. The methodology that was used is divided into two distinct instances: it is based upon the conceptions of Crepani et al (2001), in order to evaluate the natural morphodynamic vulnerability in the studied area and the evaluation of the socio-economic conditions, adopting Becker & Egler (1996) and Mendonça (1999) as the theoretical-methodological reference. By using these approaches, we could keep the specificities of the natural processes and of the social processes and, at the same time, promote their integration. This procedure involves preparing several thematic charts, used to propose the socio-environmental zoning, as well as a synthesizing chart from which it is possible to subsidize planning and management actions, based upon sustainability and the existing environmental law. Keywords: Hydrographic Basin, Natural Morphodynamic Vulnerability, Socio- Economic Conditions, Socio-Environmental Zoning.