Evapotranspiration Ponds: Ecological Aspects and Environmental Services

Basic sanitation in the world is still extremely poor, causing serious problems for public health and claiming the lives of millions of children every year. The construction of Evapotranspiration Tanks (TEvap), a decentralised environmental technology that is easy to apply and low cost, provides important local ecosystem services. This study looks at the implementation of 80 TEvap units in the Batoque Extractive Reserve in terms of environmental services and ecological aspects, related to the actions of the "Recovery of the Batoque Lagoon" project. 74 of the 80 planned units were implemented, with an approximate reduction of 88.8 tonnes of waste from the treatment of 11,444.4 kl of sewage and carbon sequestration of approximately 0.05 tC/ha.year-¹ during the period 03/2011 to 12/2012. This generated savings of R$50,620.18 for the public purse. The implementation of the TEvap demonstrated considerable environmental services for the residents of the Batoque Extractive Reserve, especially in the treatment of residential sewage and the reduction of local rubbish.