O Rio Branco: representações de ribeirinhos e balneabilidade na Vila Vista Alegre no Sul de Roraima

Abstract

The Amazon riverside people built their way of life around water, making the local natural resource essential to their existence. In view of this, it is necessary to discuss the use of water resources by local residents, highlighting the meaning of this ecosystem, their beliefs and the environmental damage perceived by them, allowing a correct direction of Organs responsible bodies and public policies of environmental education. The present research aimed to investigate the representations of residents about Rio Branco, emphasizing social (experience, beliefs and economic importance) and environmental (bathing) aspects in the context of Vila Vista Alegre, municipality of Caracaraí, in Roraima, as well as contributions to actions aimed at conserving this water resource and social well-being. The study was carried out in Vila Vista Alegre, located in the municipality of Caracaraí/RR, and the analytical procedures were carried out in the laboratories of the Center for Biodiversity Studies and the Graduate Program in Natural Resources at the Federal University of Roraima. The methodology for the analysis of representations started with the selection of participants using the “Snowball” technique, having as the initial interviewee the resident with the longest living in the locality. The interviews took place in December 2021 and January 2022, and the data were worked through content analysis. For the evaluation of bathing, three collection points were selected (Acássio, Balsa and Manoel ports), with water samples collected during five consecutive weeks, from August 2021 to January 2022, comprising the dry and rainy seasons. Escherichia coli density, pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen and electrical conductivity were analyzed. To investigate the relationships between the characteristics of the water, the seasonality and the ports, the statistical computer program R was used. The research verified that the multiple uses of the Rio Branco, over the years, have modified the environment and altered the points of fishing, as well as all the old dynamics of this social group. This finding exposed by the residents was confirmed by the laboratory analyzes that showed that the waters of the ports of Vila Vista Alegre are in the process of making it impossible to practice recreational activities of primary contact. In view of this, it is necessary that conservation actions for this water resource are carried out in a participatory way, involving residents and environmental agencies, given the importance of residents in the construction of the locality.