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Potential vulnerability of the Brazilian coastal zone193a low population density, except near Fortaleza,where this density is higher, and the vulnerabilitylevel is also high. In the Aracati area, wherevulnerability is medium to high, the factors affectingthis ranking are related to the significant shortage ofbasic sanitation, the accelerated manufacturingdevelopment, and the increase of shrimp farmingactivities and tourism.Another especially vulnerable area is thevicinity of Mossoró, in the innermost portions of thecoastal region. This situation occurs due to a numberof factors, including the existing low-lying areas thattend to flood owing to the drainage of Apodi andMossoró rivers, an acute shortage in the provision ofbasic services, and an intricate logistic oil and gasnetwork, which extends all the way to the area nearMacau, where the Guamaré Natural Gas Plant islocated. In this section, the highlight is the coastalerosion, which is so strong, that it is alreadyaffecting oil industry equipment installed in the area(Muehe 2006).When analyzing this region’s social risk, onecan see that the situation is critical in large centers,particularly in Natal, João Pessoa, and Fortaleza.The lack of sanitation in these areas issignificantly greater than the lack of garbagecollection services. In Fortaleza, the data on theshortage of garbage collection services show atendency toward solving the problem, while thesewerage situation is of extreme concern in almostall municipalities and districts. This same situation,although less severe, can be noticed in Maceió,Aracaju, and nearby areas (Astolpho & Gusmão2008).In the Northeast, the population exposed tosocial risk is 25.71% of the total population, which,in absolute numbers, may be translated into12.286,455 inhabitants potentially more vulnerableto the effects of climate changes.In the central part of the Northeast, themain areas of higher vulnerability includethe metropolitan areas of Natal, João Pessoa, andRecife (Fig. 7). According to Neves et al. (2006)about 42% the coast of Paraíba is exposed to theeffects of erosion. Similar geomorphologiccharacteristics extend to the coast of Pernambuco,which has a higher population density, comparedwith the coast of Paraíba and Alagoas. Along thisentire segment, low to medium natural riskspredominate, with the exception of the areas with thehighest urban concentration (João Pessoa andRecife) and deeply eroded segments (Paulista,Itapojuca, Suape, Cabo de Santo Agostinho, andRecife).Another factor that adds to the region’s highvulnerability is the displacement of the chemicalscomplex to the Northeast coast along Salvador,Aracaju, and Maceió, due to the expansion of theenergy boundary on the coast. This fact has broughta massive concentration of pipelines, terminals, andplants. The surroundings of the Recôncavo Baianoarea and the cities of Aracaju (SE), Maceió (AL)Recife-Cabo (PE), and Macau-Guamaré (RN) arehighlights in this process, where the energyproduction equipment increases the exposure toenvironmental hazards (Egler 2008).In the southern portion of the NortheastRegion, the most outstanding morphological featureis the São Francisco River delta, site of the country’sworst coastal erosion. Bittencourt et al. (2006)indicate as likely causes the embankmentinterventions to contain the river flow upstream fromits mouth, mainly those related to the construction ofhydroelectric plants, which implies great potentialinundation of inner drainage areas, which rates thissection as of high risk.From the São Francisco River to theCaravelas River plain, there is a general tendency forthe coastline to prograde and stretches with sea cliffsof the Barreiras Group to erode. Dune fields appearnear the mouth of the São Francisco and on thenorthern coast of Bahia. Near Salvador, the BarreirasRiver is replaced by outcrops of Pre-Cambrian andCretaceous crystalline basement.Higher-than-average coastal sections,coupled with a low density population, have amedium to low vulnerability. At some places, thislevel is high only where population density is higherand basic sanitation is deficient, i.e., at Valença,Ilhéus, and Porto Seguro - urban centers combinedwith river mouths (Fig. 8).In the Salvador metropolitan area, the highvulnerability levels are not only related to thesefactors, but also to high technological risk posed bythe Camaçari manufacturing complex, namely theoil industry, and particularly the Landulpho AlvesRefinery, the Candeias Natural Gas Production Unit,and the Termobahia, Rômulo Almeida, andCamaçari thermal plants (Fig. 9).Southeast RegionThe coast of Espírito Santo state and thenorth coast of Rio de Janeiro state are geomorphologicalboundaries of the Northeast coast. Thisstretch is dominated by Tertiary terraces and the seacliffs (Barreiras), Pre-Cambrian crystalline promontoriesand Quaternary plains of river and sea origin.Between the mouths of São Mateus and Itabapoanarivers, the Barreiras terraces and sea cliffs extendalong the entire coast, displaying live and deadPan-American Journal of Aquatic Sciences (2010), 5(2): 184-204