Geodiversidade e patrimônio hídrico no Rio das Pedras – Pirenópolis/GO : ameaças e potencialidades

Abstract

The aim of this research project was to inventory geodiversity along the Rio das Pedras - Pirenópolis/GO. It identified and analyzed the vulnerabilities and threats facing the Rio das Pedras, seeing it as a heritage of the rural communities that have lived with it for generations. It also mapped, analyzed and discussed the potential of the geodiversity present in the Rio das Pedras watershed for the development of Geotourism, as a tool to stimulate Geoconservation and the preservation of water heritage. From a methodological perspective, the initial focus of the work was on the Rio das Pedras and then extended to the whole of its watershed, broadening the spatial scope and scale of analysis of the object of study. Geodiversity was thus taken as the physical basis of the study, on which the watershed is sculpted and shaped by the exogenous forces of water and wind. Allied to the shaping of the relief by natural forces, the multiple and different forms of human intervention were also taken into account, constituting the landscapes present along the watershed. Thus, it was through the geographical category of analysis 'landscape' that the work studied the Rio das Pedras watershed, in the light of Geodiversity. The research identified a level of deforestation in the Rio das Pedras watershed 4.16% higher than the average for deforestation in the Cerrado in Brazil, generated mainly by livestock farming, the predominant land use in the watershed. As the main threats to the watershed's water heritage, the research listed: deforestation, which illegally encroaches on the Permanent Protection Areas (APPs) provided for in environmental legislation; the loss of springs; the increase in erosion in the watershed; and the significant number of artificial dams. With regard to the potential for Geodiversity, the following were identified: two 'Geodiversity sites' used by rural communities in the middle/lower part of the watershed; tourist attractions such as the Cora Coralina Long Course Trail and the Assunção Winery; as well as the prospect of connecting the watershed with the area proposed for the Pyrenees Geopark project. With the prospect of implementing the Pyrenees Geopark project in the medium term, the region has the potential to become a hub for Geotourism and Geoeducation in the cerrado of Goiás, improving the quality of life of the population through the generation of work and income, boosting the Geo-conservation of the Rio das Pedras.