Environmental Perception of Residents of the Córrego do Paraíso Watershed in São Carlos / SP and Categorization of their Social and Environmental Demands

Abstract

The great exploitation of natural resources is closely related to urbanization and environmental degradation, also resulting in a distancing of people from natural environments, which can be understood through environmental perception. . Thus, the objective of the study was to analyze the environmental perception of the inhabitants of the Paraíso stream microbasin, located in the city of São Carlos-SP, in order to identify their relationships with urban streams and natural spaces, in order to propose social and environmental guidelines based on existing environmental problems. For this, interviews were conducted through random sampling, using standardization and data analysis based on the Collective Subject Discourse. Thirty people were interviewed, among which only three were able to explain the meaning of a hydrographic basin and none of them could say in which basin it was located. Only one person said he did not like nature, 28 attributed only utilitarian functions to a stream and 22 people pointed out the existence of solid waste in natural urban areas adjacent to the water body. Regarding what people want, activities in the environments surrounding the stream were identified, such as walking, playing sports, contemplating, picking fruit and planting gardens. Therefore, guidelines were proposed for leisure (revitalization of the health trail), environmental management (tree planting, cleaning effort and structuring of a vegetable garden/garden) and environmental education (selective collection, events, dissemination). In general, it can be concluded that it is necessary to have initiatives and actions of communication and environmental awareness, in addition to the viability of places and activities that promote the valorization of the urban stream and the adjacent environment.