TERRITORIAL DYNAMICS, ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSFORMATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS IN THE PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY OF THE METROPOLITAN REGION OF BELO HORIZONTE - UPPER RIO DAS VELHAS HYDROGRAPHIC BASIN, MINAS GERAIS
The purpose of this article is to discuss the historical process of land use and occupation of the upper Rio Velhas watershed and its implications for the dynamics of water quality and quantity considering its role as water source of metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte. A historical resumption of the occupation process guided by a bibliographic review and a monitoring analysis of land use change based on geoprocessing and remote sensing techniques is carried out. The article shows that urban expansion and mining are the activities most intensified in the period of analysis, but present different forms and contexts. In the end, considerations are made about the environmental impacts arising from those two main forms identified of anthropic occupation.