GEO Brasil - UNEP

protozoans and helminths that can be transmitted to
humans through water or aquatic organisms and may
become a great danger for public health
Despite the great number of comparative and competitive
advantages found in this chain related to the cultivation of
bivalve clams, this sector needs actions aimed at solving
some of the following problems:
variations in production techniques and ignorance of
production costs;
lack of sanitation certification (necessary for marketing
the production around the state);
producers’ low management capacity to operate the
processing units;
absence of a co-operative mentality;
lack of an agile distribution scheme;
visual pollution caused by the lack of standardisation
of structures, hindering the tourism industry on the
coast; and
absence of studies determining the capacity of the
culture areas, leading to environmental damages,
illnesses, increase of culture time and mortality
(Ostrensky, 2001)
the state of environment in Brazil
On the other hand, although marine carcinocultivation is
technologically viable today, it runs the risk of not being
sustainable due to the fast degradation produced during
the implantation and functioning of the projects So, in
order to evaluate the problems of coastal aquaculture, one
must consider the nature of the multiple uses of mangrove
swamps and the need to preserve them (Lisboa, 1999)
In this context, it is always worth remembering that the fast
growth of marine carcinocultivation over the last years has
been criticised by representative segments of society due
to the destruction of mangrove areas, pollution of the water,
salinisation of fresh water and other environmental impacts
These undeniable impacts are mainly the result of bad
planning and bad management by some producers and
governmental institutions, rather than natural consequences
of this activity As has been seen in other countries, if
managed properly, marine carcinocultivation is not harmful
to the environment (Queiroz & Kitamura, 2001) As Lisbon
says (1999), while evaluating coastal aquacultivation
problems, one must consider the nature of the multiple
uses of mangrove swamps and the need to preserve them,
for, although marine carcinocultivation is technologically
viable today, it runs the risk of not being sustainable due to
the fast degradation produced during the implantation and
functioning of the projects
Aquatic ecosystems are the most difficult to manage
properly and protect from degradation Water is a
fundamental natural resource in these ecosystems, which
may reach extensive areas spread over several countries
However, water may be subject to different policies: it allows
various uses, and therefore takes on different degrees of
importance, and shelters numerous aquatic species, many
of which are not even known The use of this resource for
food production, as in the case of agricultural systems,
invariably leads to alterations in the stability of ecosystems
Actually, as a food producing culture, the environmental
impacts caused by aquaculture are closely related to the
management and production models adopted in that area
Aquacultivation, as other farming activities, is developed in
areas that were originally part of a natural ecosystem With
the implantation of aquicolous projects and their
management and raising practices, including the
demarcation of their establishments, these parts of
ecosystems started functioning as agroecosystems, ie,
fractions of the ecosystem that have their biogeochemical
cycles intentionally modified with the objective of increasing
the productivity of some organisms
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