Abstract:
The water deficit observed in the State of Minas Gerais between 2013 and 2015 years promoted a discussion about the existing environmental/water management models. The Taquaraçu River Hydrographic Basin - BHRT, the study area of the present work, is composed of the Caeté, Jaboticatubas, Nova União, Santa Luzia and Taquaraçu de Minas municipalities. Even located in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte, BHRT presents in a large part of its territory the development of rural activities, such as banana plantations, horticulture and pastures for cattle raising. In order to maintain the activities already developed and the continuity of urban supply actions, the importance of knowing, discussing and proposing instruments that enhance the mobilization and social participation, for the generation of ecosystem services, such as the generation of water, is visualized. A survey of socio-environmental information was carried out, which were compiled into maps, graphs on the water network, water consumption, geological domains, population profile based on data from the E-Sus platform, information on the main projects already developed in the basin, the types of biomes, conservation units of the Taquaraçu River basin and the survey of projects in execution to pay for environmental services in the Rio das Velhas basin, which enabled an integrated analysis of information on the territory. A total of 19 interviews were carried out with institutions linked to the socio-environmental area in the basin, where the main projects developed in the basin were indicated: the fencing and planting of app areas, the production of native seedlings and the Manuelzão project. As a success factor, the interviewees brought up the various points such as: social mobilization, participatory management and the continuity of actions. Regarding the factors that affect the results of the projects, examples such as non-compliance with agreements, the lack of local people participation and inefficient management, were highlighted in the survey. After the research notes with the local institutions, 6 visits were made to the areas linked to the projects, and it was possible to verify the positive results obtained, which were indicated by the research. As a result of the compilation of the collected data, secondary data, interviews and field visits, 3 socio-environmental instruments are proposed aiming at strengthening the local governance network and generating ecosystem services, which are: the implementation of the Payment Program for Environmental Services and Ecosystems; social mobilization and strengthening of the strategies of watershed councils, committees and subcommittees, linking them to the agendas and strategies of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the implementation of ecological corridors for the connectivity of forest fragments. The feasibility of implementing these proposals must be built through local articulation between providers and beneficiaries, using resources already included in public policies, such as the charge for water use already established in the study area.