AVALIAÇÃO AMBIENTAL DA OCUPAÇÃO ESPACIAL DO VALE DO RIO TOCANTINS POR USINAS HIDRELÉTRICAS

Abstract

In Brazil, due to its enormous quantity of rivers, most part of the electric energy available comes from large hydroelectric power plants. The construction of these hydroelectric enterprises involve a series of social-environmental changes on the site of location but are essential to supply the energy demand of the Country. The necessity of mitigation of the environmental impacts related to energy production and the seach for sustainability generate global discussions that involve environmental, political, social, and economic interests. Therefore, several projects of energy generation of hydroelectric power plants on the Tocantins river basin which facilitate the multiplication of hydropower reservoirs need a planning that aims the sustainable development of future and ongoing activities. The main objective of this dissertation was to verify the social, economic, and environmental impacts of hydroelectric power plants on the Tocantins river between 1980 and 2006 in the States of Goiás, Maranhão, Pará and Tocantins. From satellite images and the elaboration of maps it is possible to analyze\image mosaics and compare, in these 26 years, biodiversity loss, anthropic occupation along Tocantins river, and the economic and social impacts on the municipalities involved by hydroelectric power plants. From this the present study tried to map the spatial occupation of hydroelectric power plants on the Tocantins river valley using remote sensing as a subsidy to understanding the social environmental processes.