Paulo Roberto A. Tagliani

The Costa Sul Program: Integrated Coastal Management with Latin American Applicability

This article presents results obtained by the Costa Sul Program in the coastal region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, a local integrated coastal management (ICM) initiative, with applicability for other Latin American regions, that is, all of the Americas south of the United States. One of the biggest challenges faced by Latin America in the 21st century is overcoming historical barriers that hinder the full economic development of these countries and the promotion of a technological transition in concert with social justice and ecological balance.1 This challenge, due to various complex reasons such as the still fragile environmental governance system, is further exacerbated when the Latin American coastal zone is taken into consideration, given that the region lacks an integrated approach to coastal management.2 The coastal zone in the Latin American region and the Caribbean still presents some characteristic problems at the beginning of the new millennium. According to Agüero,3 the main problems of the coastal zone can be classified as those relating to the state of the ecosystems and their resources, use conflicts, the lack of institutional support for coastal

Conflicting Uses in Mangueira Bay: A Prospective Analysis

Abstract Developing countries in the technological transition period seek fast economic growth and give environmental issues lower priority. This is one of the causes of environmental degradation in coastal zones. The Patos Lagoon Estuary, located along the southern coast of Brazil, has accumulated environmental liabilities over the last 30 years due to socioeconomic activities in the city of Rio Grande. These liabilities are particularly conspicuous in the shallow estuarine embayments, which are considered vital habitats due to their high productivity and significance as nurseries (shelter and feeding) for the local biota. Since the 1970s, these habitats have suffered various stressors from uncontrolled urban and industrial expansion, which are responsible for landfills at the estuary shores and the enrichment of the water with nutrients and metals from the disposal of effluents. In the medium to long term, these problems tend to be aggravated by existing projects and policies of industrial and port expansion. One of the most productive environments in this estuary is Mangueira Bay, an oval semi-enclosed bay located south of the city with an area of 23 km2 and a depth mostly below 1.5 m. This embayment is currently a focus of land/water use conflicts involving several social actors, including fishermen, socially excluded people, high-class housing users, public institutions, industries and the general population. In this context, finding a solution that is appropriate and compatible with all social demands on the environmental goods and services provided by the estuary is a difficult task. The process must begin with a technical diagnosis that is extensive and detailed enough to include social, economic and environmental issues. This paper describes the use conflicts of Mangueira Bay and suggests guidelines for a collective management plan.

Spatial planning for wind farms: perspectives of a coastal area in southern Brazil

Wind energy is considered one of the most promising clean technologies for power generation. For the sustainable development of this industry, it is essential that planning integrate spatial zoning with estimates of installed capacity and energy production. A Geographic Information System-based methodology was developed to propose planning for wind farms from a spatial perspective in the extreme south of Brazil. Through multi-criteria evaluation, the feasibility of the study area for this activity was analyzed according to suitability and constraint criteria. The assessment of suitability was based on wind energy exploitation, while the constraint analysis was based on the environmental legislation, social aspects and exclusion areas. In the suitability analysis, importance weights were assigned to the variables according to the unprecedented combination of the Delphi, linear and geometric Analytic Hierarchy Process methods. Constraint and suitability maps were established for the wind farms. The integration of both aspects allowed the generation of a spatial zoning map. Based on this zoning, installed capacity was calculated according to technical characteristics of a reference wind turbine. Finally, energy production of the suitable zones was estimated. The proposed spatial planning aims to contribute to the licensing processes in southern Brazil. Furthermore, the methodology developed can be replicated in other similar case studies.