PROJECT STORY
The challenge
Revitalization of the Itapecuru River Basin, water source for 2 million people, through environmental assessment designed through participation of public and private stakeholders.
Strategic environmental assessment to support the revitalization of the Itapecuru River Basin
Securing Water for 2 million people
The solution
Development of a study through the analysis of future scenarios, and the elaboration of an action plan to guarantee the water availability for all people in the surroundings.
The impact
Resilient water and good environmental quality of the territory of the hydrographic basin improving quality of life and health of nearly 2 million people.
55
Municipalities involved
52,540
km² of area studied
2,000,000+
people benefited with water resilience and environmental quality
The challenge
Itapecuru River is an important source of water basin for the state of Maranhão, supplying about 60% of the water consumed by over 1,200,00 people only at the capital São Luís, plus those from other municipalities located around along its course. Located at a very dry region of Brazil and already being influenced by climate changes, the capital depends on water resilience to keep up with its citizen´s quality of life and needs, and its agricultural and industry use. Considering the complexity of the revitalization programs, the large governance network involved, the different spheres of government and directly related institutions, a strategic study was necessary to organize all the information and provide guidelines, reinforcing the need and importance of evaluating the territory to create a resilient future proof plan and strategy to preserve such important natural asset and resource.
The solution
The study was carried out in a participatory manner with the diverse stakeholders, including public and private institutions, and comprehended stages of diagnosis and socioeconomic and environmental characterization of the Itapecuru River basin. It has also included a digital approach: systems were developed to gather geographic information system compiled in a database and to monitoring indicators. Strategic study through the construction and analysis of scenarios from the examination of the current situation, historical series and future perspectives, including a survey on the water usage, considering human, agricultural and industrial water; agenda for the revitalization of the Itapecuru River basin through the elaboration of an action plan with activities to be carried out were also developed. Participatory workshops were held within each stage in order to enable the active and collaborative participation of representatives of invited institutions.
The impact
Working together with the government and stakeholders, the environmental assessment provided the government with strategies to guarantee water security and sustainability for people, municipalities and the territory located in the Itapecuru River basin. The study analyzed future scenarios in order to provide the best action plan for each case, with the elaboration of a Itapecuru Hydrographic Basin Revitalization Agenda. The actions comprising the agenda were ranked following priority levels in order to ensure that priority activities are carried out on an emergency basis, while secondary activities can be carried out later. This project had a positive impact for a community of almost 2 million people, mainly to guarantee a good environmental quality of the hydrographic basin and of this extremely relevant natural resource for the quality of life and health of these people.
Used capabilities
