GEO Brasil - UNEP

environmental management
with nuclear plant construction on the Southern Coastline
of Rio de Janeiro, as well as investments of Sepetiba Port
construction - in the same of Sepetiba Bay, transformed
this part of the coastline into a major environmental risk
area in Brazil.
In the Southern-Southeastern part of the Atlantic Forest
biome, the recent and increasing activity of agribusiness is
found. Production of soybean, sugarcane, oranges, coffee,
maize, and the poultry and swine industries, figure among
the most expressive activities in the urban-industrial
expansion process, due to changes caused in the
agricultural landscape. This is true because of the extreme
dependence on chemical, mechanical and genetic products,
as well as the industrial destination of the major part of
such production. These agribusiness “giants” figure among
the biggest “consumers” of natural resources of the
ecosystem of both regions often causing environmental
damage of huge proportions. (MMA - Ministry of
Environment, Agenda 21, Sustainable Agriculture).
Resulting from population concentration, and industrial and
agro-industrial activities in the region, water pollution directly
affects population health, causing diseases such as
diarrhoea, hepatitis, typhoid fever, mycoses, ear infections,
conjunctivitis, allergies and intestinal parasites. Children,
old people and low immunity patients are the most
vulnerable to developing diseases or infections after having
used the contaminated water, for example. Although there
has been a 32% decrease between 1995 and 1999 (DATASUS,
2002) of hospitalised children - up to one year old from
diarrhea in the public health system, we must take into
consideration access restrictions to public health
institutions for the populations in risky areas. Releasing
untreated sewage directly into rivers, sea, lakes and
swamps, polluting and contaminating the water resource
system highly increases the risk of infectious-contagious
diseases.
In the Amazon Biome, expansion of urban areas is still
affecting only the regional capitals, with the towns of Belém
and Manaus as metropolitan agglomerations largely
expanding between 1991 and 2000. This shows how the
process of metropolisation has surpassed the limits of
resources. Besides these metropolises, special stress
should be given to expansion of the urban area of Imperatriz,
located in the state of Maranhão. This area plays an
important role in Oriental Amazon polarisation. This is the
area where the logistic network is intensifying, increasing
the changing process in soil use and use of green cover on
the borders of the meridian Amazon. In addition, we should
consider the number of medium and small capacity towns
that have grown constantly in recent years. This expansion
is not followed by infrastructural growth of water and
sewerage systems. Also, the relatively high percentage of
social contact rates without the necessary infrastructure
increased considerably the possibility of diffusion of various
pathogenic agents. These are mainly those transmitted
from person to person such as flu agents, Hansen’s Disease,
tuberculosis and meningitis. These are reasons of the major
causes of badly defined death cases, approximately 27%
(DATASUS, 2002). This is also one of the indicators that
existing medical assistance is insufficient for an extensive
number of regions.
Internal occupation differences put pressure on the
vegetation cover, contributing to deforestation. An
increasing tendency towards cattle raising establishments
is observed in the expansion of occupied areas, specially in
the States of Rondônia and Pará, part of the belt that in
encroaching on the Amazon area.
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