Territory, urbanity and sustainability: a study about the recovery of springs in a rural community in Patos de Minas/MG

Abstract

The society’s concern for sustainability has intensified in recent times, and facing the scarcity of natural resources, these actions aim to ensure that progress happens in harmony with nature, ensuring quality of life for the current and the future generations. Bearing in mind the importance of the recovering of springs, since they originate the watercourses, this research proposes to conduct a study on the Pronascentes program, which aims to protect hydrographic microbasisns and the recharge the aquifers areas of the springs used to collect water for public supply in the cities operated by Copasa, the Sanitation Company of Minas Gerais. The program intends, through the recovery of degraded areas, to conserve the environment and improve the quality of life of this population of small farmers and rural workers. With the participation of the Sanitation Company, environmental entities, the City Hall and other supporters, as well as the local community, the project was implemented in the District of Pindaíbas, located in the municipality of Patos de Minas. The general objective of this work is to demonstrate the efficiency of the executed project and examine the concepts of territory, sustainability and community, in the same way that the presented theme intends to propose a discussion based on the relation between them. The methodological procedures used are a literature review for a theoretical and descriptive approach to the subjects previously mentioned, and also semi-structured interviews with agents who participated in the project. The main result of the research was the identification of the strengthening of the integrated water resources management system, supported by the consolidation of a democratic and shared management between the government, private entities and the local community. It was possible to verify that, through Pronascentes, a situation of complete water scarcity for the district’s supply was reverted to an abundance of water within a short period of only two years.