PATHWAYS TO REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT: THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE SÃO FRANCISCO RIVER INTEGRATION PROJECT TO THE SEMI-ARID PERNAMBUCO, BRAZIL

Abstract

Water unsustainability is a challenge drought-prone areas, such as the São Francisco River Integration Project (PISF) were implemented in order to address water scarcity and its impacts. Therefore, the objective of this study is to analyze how the implementation of the reservoir in the Riacho dos Milagres sub-basin. The mapping of land use by Mapbiomas for the years 2009-2022 and of precipitation using CHIRPS data between the years 1981-2022, obtained by the GEE cloud geoprocessing platform. The years are below average and extreme years stand out: 1985 as having the highest rainfall exceeding 1,000 mm and 2012 as having the lowest rainfall (309 mm), coinciding with the beginning of the longest and most severe drought in this century The rainiest months corresponded to the period from January to April, referring to the summer-autumn seasons. Significant transformations in the increase in water surface and the increase in land use, in agricultural activities in the direction of the transposition channel and close to the Milagres reservoir. Even though the implementation of the reservoir is recent, its impacts have already promoted agricultural activities in which precipitation analysis proved to be fundamental in evaluating the development of PISF in the region.