Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has shown a progressive improvement in addressing environmental impacts worldwide. However, EIA practice in Brazil and in other developing countries has been recognized as insuffi...Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has shown a progressive improvement in addressing environmental impacts worldwide. However, EIA practice in Brazil and in other developing countries has been recognized as insufficient to deal with relevant issues related to the implementation of projects. One of the reasons found in the literature is related to the difficulties to integrate the biophysical environment and social issues within the decision-making process. In this paper, the practice of EIA in Brazil is analyzed in order to verify the relevance that social, cultural and economic impacts have been given for the acceptability of development projects. Firstly, a quality review of 23 randomly selected Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) from federal and state levels were checked in order to verify the range of social issues that have been encompassed. Secondly, seven EIS were scrutinized to check the adherence to international principles of Social Impact Assessment (SIA) best practices and guidelines applied to this instrument. The outcomes reveal a gap between the legal and empirical frameworks that describe the practice of SIA in Brazil and the main principles and guidelines for best practice in SIA. The paper concludes for the need to improve the effectiveness in the assessment of the social dimensions of environmental impacts in order to better inform the decisions. Also, the practice of EIA Brazil would benefit from guidelines for SIA and its integration to the EIA process.展开更多
The wider consideration of environmental effects and alternatives in early stages of decision-making has been pointed as one of the major benefits of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). Adopted by virtually all ...The wider consideration of environmental effects and alternatives in early stages of decision-making has been pointed as one of the major benefits of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). Adopted by virtually all of developed countries and sprawling around emergent and developing ones, it is recognized that SEA effectiveness is attached to its systematic application in development plans and programmes. Brazil and many developing countries have different experiences with this instrument and lacks of definition of a procedural framework to promote the use of SEA in strategic levels of decision. As a consequence development projects are frequently “threatened” by impact assessment outcomes, especially when a mandatory project-EIA has to inform decisions. In order to contribute to the implementation of SEA in developing countries, the present paper discusses the potential benefits of using SEA in transport infrastructure plans and programmes, through a case study applied to transport plans in the state of Sao Paulo (south-eastern Brazil). The outcomes indicate that SEA could contribute to improve infrastructure impact assessments, minimizing social and environmental conflicts, augmenting the acceptability of projects and decisions, reinforcing the need for SEA to be systematically implemented in Brazil.展开更多
文摘Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has shown a progressive improvement in addressing environmental impacts worldwide. However, EIA practice in Brazil and in other developing countries has been recognized as insufficient to deal with relevant issues related to the implementation of projects. One of the reasons found in the literature is related to the difficulties to integrate the biophysical environment and social issues within the decision-making process. In this paper, the practice of EIA in Brazil is analyzed in order to verify the relevance that social, cultural and economic impacts have been given for the acceptability of development projects. Firstly, a quality review of 23 randomly selected Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) from federal and state levels were checked in order to verify the range of social issues that have been encompassed. Secondly, seven EIS were scrutinized to check the adherence to international principles of Social Impact Assessment (SIA) best practices and guidelines applied to this instrument. The outcomes reveal a gap between the legal and empirical frameworks that describe the practice of SIA in Brazil and the main principles and guidelines for best practice in SIA. The paper concludes for the need to improve the effectiveness in the assessment of the social dimensions of environmental impacts in order to better inform the decisions. Also, the practice of EIA Brazil would benefit from guidelines for SIA and its integration to the EIA process.
文摘The wider consideration of environmental effects and alternatives in early stages of decision-making has been pointed as one of the major benefits of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). Adopted by virtually all of developed countries and sprawling around emergent and developing ones, it is recognized that SEA effectiveness is attached to its systematic application in development plans and programmes. Brazil and many developing countries have different experiences with this instrument and lacks of definition of a procedural framework to promote the use of SEA in strategic levels of decision. As a consequence development projects are frequently “threatened” by impact assessment outcomes, especially when a mandatory project-EIA has to inform decisions. In order to contribute to the implementation of SEA in developing countries, the present paper discusses the potential benefits of using SEA in transport infrastructure plans and programmes, through a case study applied to transport plans in the state of Sao Paulo (south-eastern Brazil). The outcomes indicate that SEA could contribute to improve infrastructure impact assessments, minimizing social and environmental conflicts, augmenting the acceptability of projects and decisions, reinforcing the need for SEA to be systematically implemented in Brazil.
