ENERGY PRODUCTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS: AN EMPHASIS FOR THE SÃO FRANCISCO HYDROGRAPHIC REGION

Abstract

The national economic development is associated with the ability to guarantee the permanent supply of electricity, and discussions about generating matrices are relevant today due to the extent of environmental damage. On that account, this study aims to analyze the importance of hydroelectric plants in the Brazilian scenario, according to the delimitation of hydrographic regions, and to emphasize on issues related to environmental intentions, with emphasis on the São Francisco hydrographic region, which is characterized by the dry climate. The research was based on the analysis of institutional documents, the literature review, the spatialization of data through geotechnologies and field study. The Amazon hydrographic region has a preponderance in the number of hydroelectric plants, with the greatest installed potential ones being found in the south of the country, as in the Paraná hydrographic region. In this infrastructure construction scenario works, almost the total types of dams with reservoirs, the observation of environmental damage is secondary, and attempts to circumvent the problems are carried out through remedial actions. In the São Francisco hydrographic region, the natural alteration of river courses for the formation of dams and hydroelectric plants is a surprising cause of environmental conflicts, due to changes imposed in land use and forced displacement of the needy. They also intensify the factors of environmental degradation, such as the wind risk, very common in areas with resistant soils, vulnerable to desertification.