Land use and occupation in Feira de Santana (BA) on the banks of the Subaé River

Abstract

The process of urbanization and population growth has been intensifying around the world, leaving its scars recorded in cities through different land uses and occupations. Irregular occupations arise in this context due to several factors, from the deficiency of governance, the non-application of urban laws to spatial segregation. The analysis of land use and occupation stands out in environmental studies as a tool in the identification of environmental degradation processes, being considered an ally by urban, environmental and social improvements. In our regional context, the Subaé River, which is born in Feira de Santana, Bahia, records irregular occupations in its permanent protection area (APP), suppression of vegetation cover, contamination and pollution of the river by domestic and industrial effluents, which currently determined the inadequate local environmental conditions. In view of this identified problem, the objective of the article is to analyze the relationship between the environment and land use and occupation in an urban stretch of the Subaé River, in order to obtain a diagnosis of the environmental condition and verify the validity and supervision of normative instruments for environmental protection in the face of local environmental problems, which we present in this article. For this, the research was based on the descriptive study with bibliographic and documentary research, in addition to field research through the application of the rapid evaluation protocol. We identified that the current scenario of environmental degradation of the Subaé River and its banks are also due to the use and occupation of the land in the municipality of Feira de Santana being associated with non-compliance with environmental standards and the lack of supervision of the competent agencies.