PERMANENT PRESERVATION AREAS AROUND RIVER’S SPRINGS: CONFLICTS, GAPS AND ALTERNATIVES IN THE BRAZILIAN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

Abstract

This article discusses the implications of the Brazilian legislation about the permanent preservation areas (Áreas de Preservação Permanente – APP) around river’s springs. Thereby, this work aims to point and discuss the difficulties in the identification and mapping of springs’ APP, due to the weakness of the law and the complexity of these environmental systems. It was proposed some guidelines for mapping the APP of springs characterized by intermittence, mobility or diffuse exfiltration. Nevertheless, one typical spring with punctual and perennial exfiltration, that represents the idealistic model present on the legislation, was included in the study. These springs are located on central portion of Minas Gerais state, in the municipalities Belo Horizonte and Jaboticatubas. The results demonstrate the necessity of dialog between the scientific knowledge, the technical methods and the environmental law to improve the protection of springs in Brazil.

Key words: spring, permanent preservation areas, exfiltration water, environmental law.