System of indicators for assessing the environmental sustainability of ribeirin communities

Abstract

The search for balance between socioeconomic development and the conservation of the natural environment is an imperative issue to ensure quality of life to human societies and living conditions on Earth. Systems of sustainability indicators have been developed to assist in decision making towards sustainable development. This article aims to introduce a system of indicators aimed at assessing the environmental sustainability of riverain communities with artisanal fishing, agriculture and tourism as their main economic activities. The instrument was applied to the community of the Surroundings of Lagoa Encantada, located in the municipality of Ilhéus, south of the State of Bahia, Brazil, with results pointing to low environmental sustainability. Methodology is the main issue of this study, by involving the community in the discussion of indicators and data collection instrument, selected from the literature review, making the system of indicators in question sensitive to the variables of the local context, without losing its objectivity and universality.