Uso de geotecnologias como ferramentas na identificação de atividades econômicas aplicadas a área de influência do reservatório da usina hidrelétrica de Balbina no estado do Amazonas

Abstract

The Amazon region has a great potential for hydroelectric development and, conse-quently, arouses attention for the construction of hydroelectric dams, because the reser-voirs of the rest of the country are within the limits of their generation capacities and because they face water problems. Thus, the formation of artificial lakes destined to the generation of electric energy, is responsible for significant environmental and social changes. In this context, this dissertation consists of a diagnosis of the economic activities in the surroundings of the Balbina Hydroelectric Power Plant Reservoir, state of Amazonas, with the purpose of acquiring information and providing methodologies that assist in the integrated management of reservoirs of hydroelectric power plants in the re-gion Amazon. For the research, geotechnologies such as remote sensing and its main product, medium resolution satellite images, the Global Positioning System-GPS, Digital Cartography and the Geographic Information System-GIS were used. In order to verify the information generated with the use of geotechnologies, fieldwork was also carried out for the validation and collection of complementary information. Through the research it was possible to identify four classes of land use that have greater spatial represen-tation, which were agricultural areas, non-agricultural areas, natural areas and hydrography. The land use activities with the most prominence in the region were agriculture and cattle raising. Tourism, fishing and electricity generation are the economic activities that contribute to the dynamics of the local economy. The results showed that the use of geotechnologies can contribute significantly to the acquisition and representation of spatial information, useful for territorial planning and for socioeconomic analysis.