We investigated the changes in the municipality’s landscape, from the 1970s to the present day
The fixed and floating population of the municipality of Ubatuba, on the north coast of São Paulo (SP), is exposed to a series of environmental vulnerabilities. The conclusion is part of a master's study conducted by geographer Camila Fabiana da Silva. In her work, she investigated changes in the municipality's landscape from the 1970s to the present day, mapping the most vulnerable areas of the coastal municipality of SP.
The author of the study states that, in a municipality like Ubatuba, which has approximately 80% of its territory as a conservation area, the pressure on natural resources becomes increasingly intense. Furthermore, the territory is characterized by a narrow coastal plain and the Serra do Mar escarpments, a region with high slopes belonging to an integral protection area.
“In Ubatuba we have a situation in which the population without financial resources ends up living in regions with steep slopes. There are also cases of high-end residences in inappropriate locations. Considering that landslides are part of the natural dynamics of the Serra do Mar escarpments, great care is needed with these occupations. They can expose the population to a level of vulnerability even higher than the natural vulnerability of the location”, he warns.
In relation to the floating population, especially tourists, Camila da Silva reports the existence of hotels, inns and vacation homes exposed to mass movements, such as landslides and landslides. “In addition, in certain periods of peak movement, there is a shortage of water supply and intense vehicle congestion on the highways,” she adds.
Camila da Silva's master's degree was defended at the Postgraduate Program in Geography at the Institute of Geosciences (IG) at Unicamp. It was up to the teacher Regina Célia de Oliveira provided guidance on the work.
Most vulnerable regions
From the mapping of areas vulnerable to mass movements, the study author highlights that the northern portion of the municipality deserves special attention from public authorities. The main risk areas in Ubatuba are concentrated there, she points out. “Real estate expansion can exacerbate problems of degradation of natural resources and affect the traditional communities that inhabit the region, giving way to real estate developments and other structures aimed at the mass tourism sector.”
The researcher also discusses in her work the possibility of privatizing part of the Picinguaba nucleus, a conservation area located in the northern portion of the municipality. Inhabited by traditional fishing communities and quilombolas, the nucleus covers 80% of the total territory of Ubatuba. It is among the forest parks and permanent preservation areas in SP that can be handed over, for 30 years, to private sector exploration. The proposal has been in progress since 2013 in the Legislative Assembly of the State of São Paulo through a state government bill.
“The way in which the process was carried out, in a hurry and without proper consultation with local populations, who were most impacted by the changes, is worrying. Another concern is the inclusion of public visitation activities in a park that is currently considered fully protected, that is, it should not undergo any type of intervention, except for scientific and educational research. In the case of Ubatuba, the initial project for listing the Serra do Mar escarpments, which included the contribution of geographer Aziz Nacib Ab'Saber, envisaged an area considerably larger than the official listing area.”
Still according to the geographer, in the southern and central portions of Ubatuba urbanization patterns related to the sprawl of the urban area were reproduced, with the consequent peripheralization of the lower-income population to areas without infrastructure and environmentally fragile.
Urbanization
The 1970s marked the construction of the main highways that connected the coastal area of the State of São Paulo with the rest of the country. Inserted in this dynamic, Ubatuba had its local landscape changed. New traffic roads were built, expanded and paved. The edges of the beaches had all or part of their vegetation removed. The coastal plains were covered with businesses linked to tourism and services.
“Coastal areas are already naturally fragile areas from an environmental point of view. The construction or expansion of a highway in a coastal city causes significant impacts. And the issue of urbanization is directly linked to the expansion of the urban area. It is possible to observe on one of the maps that the coastal plain is practically completely occupied. The trend, therefore, is growth towards the cliffs.”
