Adaptação à variabilidade climática e a eventos extremos de precipitação no meio rural amazônico: Alenquer, estado do Pará

Abstract

The meteorological phenomena that affect local populations, such as floods and droughts have always struck large areas of agricultural production. In 2005, Amazon suffered one of its worst droughts ever recorded, and in 2009, the town of Alenquer, located in the Lower Amazon, suffered from the flooding of the rivers that surround its territory. There is a tendency for increased frequency and severity of occurrence of these extreme phenomena, leading to growing concerns about exposure and vulnerability of populations. The intensity and frequency of extreme events - floods and droughts, possibly associated with climate change, have had many repercussions in contemporary societies, becoming increasingly crucial to prevent and mitigate their effects. In this vein, the mitigation of risk associated with floods have favored the use of technical measures of a corrective nature rather than preventive measures, usually not structural in nature, such as regulation of land use or the adoption of mitigation / prevention by populations. Since the exclusion, or at least the low adoption of non-structural mitigation measures, has been one of the causes for the failure to combat the effects of floods. To evaluate people’s perception and knowledge face the risk of flooding and its worsening by the influence of climate change can contribute to adaptation strategies to the local context. On the basis of a questionnaire and open interviews, this paper discusses the importance of knowing the population’s perception in face of climate change risk and occurrence of extreme events like floods and droughts, aimed at effective implementation of measures and regulations of soil use, against the persistent tendency to occupy hazardous areas.