Perception of Environmental Management Practiced By the Local Administration: The Case of Lagoa Central in the Municipality of Lagoa do Carro-Pe/Brazil

Objective: The general objective of this article is to investigate the compliance of municipal environmental management regarding the sustainable use of the water resource 'central lagoon' in the municipality of Lagoa do Carro – PE / Brazil. Theoretical framework: Three approaches were developed in order to guide the current knowledge on sustainable development in the context of municipal management: a) Water resources management and sustainability; b) Environmental education as an instrument of awareness in the formation of citizens committed to the environment; and, c) Importance of the PEIR Matrix methodology (Pressure, State, Impact and Response) for the analysis of the conformity of environmental management and proposals for improvements to the water resource 'lagoa central. Method: The research can be classified as descriptive, qualitative in nature. The data collection was organized based on the application of a questionnaire and interviews. Data analysis, carried out through descriptive statistics, in the multiple-choice questions carried out with the citizens (residents and merchants). Content analysis was used to interpret the open questions, carried out with the environmental managers. Implications of the Research: 10 actions were proposed in detail, based on the scenario observed from the results that were obtained through the application of questionnaires with the population and interviews with the environmental managers of the municipality with specification on: When, Who, Where, Why and How, each action should be executed. A planning of coordinated actions, of which the central administration was very useful. Originality/Value: The application of the Pressure-State-Impact-Response (PEIR) matrix is an originality emerging as an ordering framework that has been adopted by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) that seeks to identify and create environmental indicators. The results obtained were able to assist the municipal environmental management in decision-making and promotion of public policies aimed at the use and conservation of the water resource 'central lagoon', in favor of sustainability.