Zoning of the hydrographic basin of Moju river (Pará): Water use and its relation with the forms of land cover and land use

Abstract

The Moju River Basin presents different patterns of land use resulting from a historic expansion of the agricultural and extractive sector in the state. It is embedded in the area of developmental projects in the region, with emphasis on the palm oil productive chain. In the present work, a zoning of the Moju River Basin has been carried out, evidencing the interconnection between the land use and land cover and the water use, showing the pressures on the natural resources that the basin is undertaking. The zoning is a product resulting from the association between land use and land cover mapping, and the categories of water users of the municipalities that compound the basin. The results showed that the greatest water user grant has industrial purpose, with underground extraction massively than the superficial, where the palm oil industry has the highest water use grant. Only a small number of inhabitants are served by water distribution and there are high rates of loss in the distribution system. The Alto Moju sub-basin suffers high pressure on its natural resources. We noticed that the basin as a whole has most of its territory covered by forest, although pasture and secondary vegetation are also expressive. In general, we observed that the biggest challenge is to align the management of water resources and efficient land use.

Keywords:
Amazon; palm oil industry; water users.