Rural Water Access Index (RWAI) for Brazilian Amazon Communities

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5902/2236499485097

Keywords:

Water supply, Multicriteria decision analysis, Geographic Information System

Abstract

The aim of this article was to propose a water access decision support tool for rural communities in the Brazilian Amazon, called the rural water access index (RWAI), enabling policymakers to identify and prioritize areas that require state intervention to guarantee access to water. The proposed tool was applied and tested in sixteen rural communities in a municipality in the Amazon region of Brazil. The RWAT is based on a participatory approach, combining multi-criteria decision analysis (MCA) and the Geographic Information System (GIS), which integrates different indicators in the evaluation and generates maps showing the spatial levels of access to water in the communities. The Delphi methodology was used to calculate the IRAA. The results showed heterogeneous spatial behavior among the rural communities in the municipality of Santa Luzia do Pará, with similarities and differences based on the general condition of access to water. Half of the communities had 'critical' or 'alert' access to water. It was also found that the communities furthest from surface water sources had difficulty accessing water. Thus, the IRAA method can estimate water access situations and generate maps anywhere in the world, aiding water management.

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Author Biographies

Diêgo Lima Crispim, Universidade Federal do Pará

PhD student in Civil Engineering at the Federal University of Pará, Master in Agro-industrial Systems at the Federal University of Campina Grande, Specialist in Environmental Education and Geography of the Semi-Arid at the Federal Institute of Rio Grande do Norte and Bachelor in Environmental Engineering at the Federal University of Campina Grande.

Lindemberg Lima Fernandes, Universidade Federal do Pará

He has a degree in Civil Engineering from the Federal University of Pará (1995), a master's degree in Geophysics from the Federal University of Pará (2000) and a PhD in Sustainable Development of the Humid Tropics from the Federal University of Pará (2005). Tutor of the Tutorial Education Program - Secretariat of Higher Education - MEC, PET Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, having created the group in 2013. He is currently an Associate Professor at the Federal University of Pará. He has experience in the area of Civil Engineering and the Environment, working mainly in the following lines of research: Water Resources, Hydraulics, Hydrology, Socio-environmental Development and Environmental Sanitation.

Luiza Carla Girard Mendes Teixeira, Universidade Federal do Pará

He has a degree in Civil Engineering from the Federal University of Pará (1993), a master's degree in Civil Engineering (Sanitation option) from the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo (1999), a doctorate in Sustainable Development of the Humid Tropics from the Federal University of Pará (2003) and post-doctorate in Advanced Domestic Sewage Treatment at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology at the University of Valladolid-Spain (2010). She was a professor at CEFET / PA of the technical course in Sanitation between 1998 and 2003, having served as coordinator of the course between 1998 and 2002. She was president of the Brazilian Association of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering (ABES)-Section Pará in the years 2008- 2009. She was coordinator of the specialization course in Water Management in Industry and vice-coordinator of the Sanitation Systems Management in Urban Areas course at the Environment Center (NUMA-UFPA). Since 2003, she has been a full professor at the Federal University of Pará, having taught undergraduate courses in Civil Engineering, Architecture and Sanitary and Environmental Engineering; in the postgraduate programs in Civil Engineering-PPGEC and in Natural Resources Management and Local Development? PPGEDAM. She is currently a full professor at UFPA and has published more than 30 articles in international and national journals, in addition to several works in event annals and book chapters.

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Published

2025-03-10

How to Cite

Crispim, D. L., Fernandes, L. L., & Teixeira, L. C. G. M. (2025). Rural Water Access Index (RWAI) for Brazilian Amazon Communities. Geografia Ensino & Pesquisa, 29, e85097. https://doi.org/10.5902/2236499485097

Issue

Vol. 29 (2025): Publicação Contínua

Section

Meio Ambiente, Paisagem e Qualidade Ambiental

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