Mangrove Park of Recife: A century of extreme uses and abuses (?)

Recife, in Northeast Brazil, was surrounded by the Atlantic Rainforest and its associated ecosystems (e.g., flooded mangrove forests and vegetated dune), intertwined with numerous channels and other naturally occurring water features, until the mid-1800s. Today, it is the core of a metropolitan area with the usual urban problems that affect all coastal cities, including conflicts with the remaining mangrove forest. It is possible to analyse the conflicts between the urban growth of coastal cities and their environment and ecosystems through three dimensions: urban–physical, socio-demographic, and socio-environmental. We present an analysis of the urban area expansion density variation in Recife over nearly a century (1951–2014) in terms of its conflicts with the remaining mangrove forest patch. Improved GIS data (compilation of orbital images, aerial photography, aerial mapping, and vector data) and qualitative analysis of the master plan were used. The results indicate an unexpected expansion (in area) of flooded mangrove forests, with the replacement of other wetland areas or channels with urban growth. The fact that the mangrove park is surrounded by urban areas represent an increasing risk of being occupied. There is a great real estate interest on the edge of the park facing the neighbourhoods of Boa Viagem and Imbiribeira. Knowing how urban development interfered with natural areas to provide space for coastal cities can help researchers understand how ecosystems are characterised by different growth models. Thus, it will be possible to contribute to the development of new approaches to coastal development that include the better use of ecosystem services that guarantee better living conditions in cities by reducing conflicts and increasing the exploitation of flow control, thermal regulation and the possibility of co-existing with a flooded urban forest and all its associated biodiversity.