A eficácia da avaliação de impactos ambientais no Brasil

Abstract

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was established by the National Environmental Policy (Brazilian Federal Act 6938/1981) as one of the environmental management instruments for the preservation, improvement and maintenance of the environmental quality in Brazil. After more than 30 years of its prediction in the Brazilian legal system it is necessary to evaluate the results. This study examined the effectiveness of the EIA, i.e. if the instrument has reached the goal for which it was created. The research was exploratory outlined by bibliographic and documentary methods and based on the triangulation of three analytic dimensions: 1) primary objectives of the EIA; 2) implementation and execution of the instrument; and 3) its current situation and prospects in Brazil. It was concluded that although it has provided positive effects the instrument has not adequately avoided the environmental damage arising from any developmental proposals that have the potential to do so as it was the primary goal. The reasons for this reduced effectiveness are explained by the lack of a legal and institutional framework to enable analyses of the environmental feasibility of proposals that are independent of the environmental licensing process and the weaknesses in current procedures that carry out the EIA in this licensing process.