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Copyright of Revista Foco (Interdisciplinary Studies Journal) is the property of Revista Foco and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Foco (Interdisciplinary Studies Journal) is the property of Revista Foco and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In many Latin American countries, the state is to inform communities about proposed large-scale development that affects them, often in a public hearing on the environmental impact study (estudio de impacto ambiental, EIA). This article explores the role of the EIA public hearing in environmental governance, specifically in terms of local community participation in extractives. Analysis of nine mining and hydrocarbon conflicts in Colombia and Peru reveals that sometimes the public hearing is a space for project opponents alone to participate intensively, with a focus on altering development outcomes; in other cases, activists and project supporters compete at hearings; and, finally, some communities eschew the hearing entirely. The study points to two factors to explain this variation: first, whether the public hearing is a mandatory stage in environmental licensing, and second, the cohesion of impacted communities. Running counter to existing criticisms of the structures that govern public hearings in Colombian environmental licensing, the article finds that the hurdle for Colombian communities of requesting the hearing has contributed to effective organizing by movements opposed to large-scale development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Purpose] Environmental licensing is a procedure through which the environmental regulator allows economic activities when they are potentially hazardous to the environment. The environmental license is a fundamental instrument to evaluate and enforce minimal standards to reduce ecological damage in Brazil. This essay analyzes how Neil Gunningham's proposal of responsive regulation could advance the existing framework for environmental licensing, dissociating this improvement from changes in legislation. Therefore, it points to regulatory policies that are more responsive driven than the current environmentalist regulation. [Methodology] Our approach is the comparison between the principles for smart regulation as described by Neil Gunningham and the Brazilian legal design for environmental licensing. [Findings] Our main findings report the possibility of expansion of the discretion entitled to the environmental agencies around environmental licenses to use them as instruments of regulation. In this regard, agencies should establish clear standards for granting and revising licenses. Additionally, the empowerment of social groups and NGOs in the regulatory process may contribute to this result. Moreover, we argue that a command and control regime approximates to a mixed instruments regulation, whenever it incorporates those principles. [Practical implications] The essay proposes solutions that shift our current social licensing regulation to a more responsive model, without changing laws. Hence, our proposal relies only on Executive initiative, and that condition favors the implementation at any time.

Copyright of Revista Brasileira de Estudos Urbanos e Regionais is the property of Associacao Nacional de Pos-Graduacao e Pesquisa em Planejamento Urbano e Regional and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Jurídica (0103-3506) is the property of Revista Juridica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Foco (Interdisciplinary Studies Journal) is the property of Revista Foco and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Foco (Interdisciplinary Studies Journal) is the property of Revista Foco and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista ION is the property of Universidad Industrial de Santander and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Canga, or ironstone, ecosystems are hotspots of old-growth plant diversity and highly specialized cave invertebrates. These ancient metalliferous habitats are amongst the most threatened ecosystems because of the destruction caused by large-scale iron ore mining. International debate on biodiversity offsets is increasing because these mechanisms are seen as tools for potentially balancing economic development with conservation biodiversity. Leading mining companies worldwide, including some of the largest iron ore producers in Brazil, are signatories to offset principles and best practices that aim to achieve no net loss of habitats, species or ecosystem functions. We aimed to analyse whether Brazilian legal requirements for biodiversity offsets result in the achievement of conservation outcomes or in elevated threat of extinction in canga ecosystems. We evaluated technical reports that support decision-making related to environmental licensing for iron ore mining and specific offset proposals linked to the Atlantic Forest Act. We found a relevant net loss in canga ecosystems and observed shortcomings related to the equivalency and transparency of offset principles. These deficiencies are mainly related to lax norms and regulations and the absence of an integrated database for accessing information on environmental licensing processes. We argue that both policy flaws and low engagement by the Brazilian mining industry in implementing offset principles have increased the threat of extinction in canga ecosystems.

Copyright of Desenvolvimento e Meio Ambiente is the property of Universidade Federal do Parana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Geologia USP: Série Científica is the property of Geologia USP and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article scrutinizes oil companies’ ability to manage risks through the prism of the economic, sociological, and Political Science literature, notably the concept of Risk Society. It focuses on the example of environmental risks in light of the ongoing sustainable energy transition’s deep decarbonization goal, whose success hinges on shifting oil companies’ risk-reward relationship to a less favorable terrain. It is shown that, while oil companies could actively shape the risk-management institutions they interacted with throughout much of the 20th century, shipping accidents and society’s perception of the activity’s risk forced oil companies to growingly comply with rules that are set exogenously. The rest of the article is illustrated by two examples from Brazil’s E&P sector environmental management rules: first, the adoption of SEA practices, and second, a 2013 Cooperation Agreement between the Brazilian Petroleum Institute and IBAMA. It is argued that as Ecomodernism’s stance growingly moved to a “weak” form, oil companies were reinvited as deliberating parties or had their demands attended by the public hand. During the 2010s, as hybrid governance mechanisms came into the fold in the environmental realm, oil companies had the possibility of reinventing their stance towards actively shaping the risk-management institutions, which they now frame in more environmentally cooperative terms. It is suggested that a renewed risk-managing ability on behalf of oil companies retards the pace of the ongoing sustainable energy transition because it does not occur at the same pace in every country of the world. Hence, the ability to manage risks in a growingly risk-prone world for oil companies not only ensures profitability during oil's phasing out but also aids these companies in repositioning themselves as carbon-neutral players in a world that growingly marches towards renewable energy.

Public participation is a fundamental democratic mechanism to evaluate the quality of the decision-making process involving environmental licensing. The operation of public participation in environmental licensing may occur through direct or indirect means, indicating greater or less capacity for social accountability in the relationship between communities and enterprises that will produce environmental impacts that will affect these communities to a greater or lesser extent and scope. The institutional and political viability of paralyzing the voice of those affected by entrepreneurship in the environmental licensing process thus becomes much more than a democratic procedure, but a form of bioethical exercise in the relationship between social actors, the State and economic agents. The purpose of this proposal is to evaluate the extent to which public participation in environmental licensing regarding the Environmental Study of Sedimentary Area (EAAS) of the Sergipe-Alagoas/Jacuípe sea basin. The public consultation is a democratic mechanism for conflict environmental resolution, and it should be understood as an applied ethical bet on political action by recognizing that rights incorporated as human rights. For our eminently interdisciplinary aim, Political Science, Environmental Impact Assessment and Bioethics are fields that mediate this reflection and allow us to reflect the necessary procedural adjustments to an imperfect democratic mechanism.

Copyright of Direito e Práxis is the property of Editora da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (EdUERJ) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Direito e Práxis is the property of Editora da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (EdUERJ) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article presents a critical analysis of the tools to ensure the greening of economic activity of Russian companies. The effective scheme of interaction between state and industrial entities in the environmental-oriented production has been approved. Described in detail each of the tools to ensure and promote the process of ecological and economic activity of enterprises. The conclusion about the possibility of effective implementation of environmental-oriented management in Russia.

This article aims to conduct a case study of Belo Monte considering environmental licensing for 2000 to 2015, seeking to analyze environmental policy challenges regarding the State/energy/social and environmental conflicts. This research presents methodological foundations of an exploratory, descriptive, and analytical nature, with bibliographic and document review procedures and data analysis from the period of implementation of the hydroelectric project. The main conclusions of the work point out that, in its historical process, the construction of the Hydro Power Plant (HPP) in Amazon is characterized as a work of economic risk and qualifies as construction with several social and environmental conflicts, far from being environmentally clean and sustainable technology.

Copyright of Revista de la Universidad del Valle de Guatemala is the property of Universidad del Valle de Guatemala and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Canga, or ironstone, ecosystems are hotspots of old-growth plant diversity and highly specialized cave invertebrates. These ancient metalliferous habitats are amongst the most threatened ecosystems because of the destruction caused by large-scale iron ore mining. International debate on biodiversity offsets is increasing because these mechanisms are seen as tools for potentially balancing economic development with conservation biodiversity. Leading mining companies worldwide, including some of the largest iron ore producers in Brazil, are signatories to offset principles and best practices that aim to achieve no net loss of habitats, species or ecosystem functions. We aimed to analyse whether Brazilian legal requirements for biodiversity offsets result in the achievement of conservation outcomes or in elevated threat of extinction in canga ecosystems. We evaluated technical reports that support decision-making related to environmental licensing for iron ore mining and specific offset proposals linked to the Atlantic Forest Act. We found a relevant net loss in canga ecosystems and observed shortcomings related to the equivalency and transparency of offset principles. These deficiencies are mainly related to lax norms and regulations and the absence of an integrated database for accessing information on environmental licensing processes. We argue that both policy flaws and low engagement by the Brazilian mining industry in implementing offset principles have increased the threat of extinction in canga ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Gestão e Regionalidade is the property of Universidade Municipal de Sao Caetano do Sul and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this article, the project and implementation of the sewer system in the Paquiçamba Village, as a condition for environmental licensing, was investigated. This village is surrounded by the influence of the Belo Monte Hydroelectric Plant (Brazil). This research aimed to characterize the context of ethnodevelopment, thus recognizing the social participation of the indigenous people. The research within a qualitative approach between 2009 and 2018 was based on primary data sources (through structured interviews) and secondary data (electronic files related to the environmental licensing). Data were analysed according to descriptive, focused and selective observations until reaching theoretical saturation. The organization of the data was followed by the organization of the themes, which formed a spiral of interconnected activities based on Creswell's proposal. It was detected that indigenous involvement occurred at some moments in the elaboration of the sewage system project. The maintenance of ancestral habits in the disposal of excreta by a portion of the indigenous people, even with the sewage system in place, makes it essential to broaden the debate on the projects proposed on the environmental licensing processes. The Indigenous can not only have a consultative role, but assume a deliberative participation, being protagonists in conducting their own development. HIGHLIGHTS The implementation of the sewage system in an indigenous village was investigated as a condition for environmental licensing.; The Indigenous continue to transform some habits to resist the negative impacts arising from the construction of the large engineering project.; The maintenance of ancestral habits by a portion of the indigenous people makes it essential to broaden the debate on environmental licensing processes.;

One of the main command and control mechanisms for the environment is the environmental licensing process. However, the isolated adoption of this mechanism has not satisfactorily ensured the environmental quality of natural resources. On the other hand, an increasing number of organizations are voluntarily adhering to good environmental practices. As a result, approximating the relationship between command and control instruments (state regulation) and good practices becomes increasingly important for improving the environmental performance of organizations. Within this context, the present work proposes to evaluate how good environmental practices can strengthen and advance current environmental licensing models adopted in South America. This research consists of an exploratory case study, conducted with a qualitative approach. Several countries in South America were evaluated because of the great natural resources that the region has, as well as the European Economic Community, due to their adoption of the so-called "best available techniques" of environmental management since 1996. The results of the study indicated that voluntary adherence to international environmental management standards has evolved in the analyzed countries and that environmental agencies in South American countries could establish legal bases to consolidate the inclusion of good environmental practices in environmental licensing processes. It was also observed that some benefits could be given to organizations that implement good environmental practices, such as granting of licenses with extended terms; debureaucratization (with time gain) of administrative procedures; exemption or reduction of fees; and facilitation of financing. This study could thus support debates for the effective advancement of the current environmental licensing model. However, this hypothesis must be evaluated and consolidated through further research, carried out individually for each country analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Customizing environmental assessments to the particularities of the type of environment is crucial for implementing the precautionary principle. This paper uses the SHIELD model (Susceptibility to Human Interventions for Environmental Licensing Determination) in the context of geomorphology for the effective management of coastal environments. This paper describes the customization of the SHIELD model for tropical coastal environments as a way of validating a specific kind of environment. The assessment translates expert knowledge into technical criteria for the environmental control of human interventions through fuzzy logic computations. This assessment identified 21 geomorphological processes across six categories. Moreover, computation of the parameters resulted in a database of susceptibility measures for 4524 interactions. These quantitative results could guide future environmental impact studies of coastal environments, considering licensing instrument requirements. The SHIELD model approach, illustrated here on tropical coastal environments, offers a technical alternative for improving the environmental control of anthropogenic impacts from a geomorphological perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the demand for clean water has been growing all over the world despite the different threats posed, including increasing pollution, increasing deforestation and climate change. Industrial activity is the second largest consumer of water, so highly industrialized regions are more susceptible to water stress. In this sense, reuse strategies have been progressively discussed and used around the world; however, in Brazil there is still place for many advances, whether due to lack of incentives, cultural issues in society, or poor regulation of the subject. The objective of this work was to carry out a diagnosis of raw water uptake by industries in one Hydrographic Region of the state of Rio de Janeiro and to propose a discussion on the adoption of water reuse practices for non-potable purposes from the use of treated effluents. A survey of the theoretical framework on the subject was carried out, as well as an analysis of sustainability indicators and reports of the companies, including the current licensing processes of large undertakings consuming water resources. With this study, it was possible to obtain the average cost of implementing a water reuse unit for an industry in the state of Rio de Janeiro-Brazil, which, despite still being expensive, has a strong tendency to use due to world water shortages. Finally, it was concluded that the state of Rio de Janeiro has a threat of water scarcity that could be aggravated in the coming years, if measures and investments in supply alternatives are not adopted (water reuse), and improvement in all stages of water management water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Retratos de Assentamentos is the property of Revista Retratos de Assentamentos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The expansion of mining activities, through large enterprises, has occurred with intensity in the State of Minas Gerais, in recent decades. The extraction of iron ore to the north of the Iron Quadrangle, along the Espinhaço mountain range, stands out. The Minas-Rio project, in a project of a large mine inside (MG AConceição), resulted in communities of permanent and profound transformations in life in the municipality. This article analyzes the treatment of environmental licensing of mine operations in the municipalities of Conceição Mato Dentro, Dom Joaquim and Alvorada de Minas. To this end, qualitative research was carried out with observation, in a direct research notebook, of a registration document within the scope of the enterprise's environmental licensing process. The universes point out as highlights of the strategies of use of a reduction of results, or non-recognition of the reduction of results, the maintenance on neighboring groups and families, weakening and use of companies, sometimes denial of the traditional forms of appropriation of the territory generating a wide-ranging conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Teaching Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is fundamental for EIA effective practice. Nevertheless, this topic has not been addressed sufficiently, yet. In this context, this paper analyzes EIA teaching in Brazil based on the curriculum of EIA courses within Environmental Engineering programs, considering best practice principles. In addition, we proposed an analytical framework that categorizes nine EIA teaching profiles. The results show that EIA teaching is present in all the programs assessed. However, the prevailing teaching profiles reveal a limited perspective of EIA, not addressing the minimum necessary for understanding EIA as an environmental policy instrument. The weaknesses highlighted indicate that EIA teaching may be negatively influencing EIA practice and vice versa, creating a vicious cycle. Thus, this highlights the urgency for improving EIA teaching in Brazil, which should contribute to Brazilian EIA practice.

Copyright of Revista de Direito Internacional is the property of Revista de Direito Internacional and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The growing demand for electricity in large Brazilian cities and the distance to the region with the largest energy production have encouraged the construction of transmission lines thousands of kilometers long, crossing several states of the federation. Therefore, the heterogeneity of requirements in federal, state and district environmental laws tend to lead to uncertainty for the investor regarding procedures and investments necessary for the completion of the project, as well as the time that the requirements will take to be fulfilled. In the present study, we identify and compare the criteria used by the various environmental licensing agencies for classifying transmission system projects in the different procedures (simplified and ordinary) of environmental licensing. It was possible to expose the differences and demonstrate some inconsistencies in the legislation of some Brazilian states. In particular, we note an absence of proportionality between the licensing requirements and the expected environmental impacts for projects on the physical, biological and social environments. Additionally, it was identified subjectivity in the requirement for social participation through public hearings, demanded by the legislation for the projects classified in the ordinary procedure.

In Brazil, constructions under water courses such as dams, rectifications and dredging when considered activities of significant environmental impact, have as a condition for the submission of their environmental licensing, the elaboration of Environmental Studies (EA) considering the complexity of the factors involved in these types of projects so that the technical team of the environmental agency can judge the feasibility of its application. In this way, this article presents, through qualitative analysis through the application of a technical-document analysis protocol, the technical coherence of the EAs of intervention projects in water courses. For this, the exploratory research has as documental support, the use of 10 (ten) projects of dam works, dredging and rectification of rivers, which were submitted to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of state environmental agencies of the country , between the years 2010 to 2017.

In the context of Environmental Licensing (EL), project screening is an essential process that establishes whether Environmental Impact Assessment is needed or not. This paper analyzes the EL screening of a type of Small Hydroelectric Power Plants (less than 3 MW) in Espírito Santo state and compares it with other states in Brazil. The methodological process involved document analysis, good practices criteria application, and comparative analyses of the case study. The document analysis allowed us to understand how EL procedures in Espírito Santo have changed over time. The good practices criteria application allowed us to discuss how well processes aligned with outlined objectives. Finally, the comparative analysis between Espírito Santo and other Brazilian states allowed us to identify possible improvements for Espírito Santo's EL system. For example, screening could be improved by considering environmental sensitivity metrics for project classification and establishing guidelines for case-by-case analyses.

Wind energy is an important electricity source. Even though it is cleaner than other energy sources in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, gathering energy from the wind has impact on organisms that fly, including bats. Understanding whether and how bat activity patterns are affected by environmental variables may be useful when trying to mitigate these impacts, for example bat mortality from collisions with wind turbines. Northeastern Brazil concentrates one of the world's largest wind potentials and has thousands of wind turbines in operation. In spite of this scenario, there is a lack of basic information, such as the presence of bat species and their activity patterns in those wind farms. We used passive acoustic monitoring to assess species richness and species composition and obtain data on activity patterns of insectivorous bats in four wind farm complexes in northeastern Brazil. We also investigated the possible correlation between environmental variables (wind speed and direction, air temperature and humidity, and percentage of moon illumination) and bat activity. The acoustic monitoring carried out for 30 nights produced approximately 120,000 bat passes of 29 sonotypes and four families. Environmental variables may influence bat activity, but in a site-specific way, i.e., although the environmental conditions of wind-energy complexes were similar, there was not an activity pattern common to all. Considering such specificities, we strongly recommend long-term specific on-site monitoring in each wind complex, avoiding generalizations for the environmental licensing of wind energy in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Arqueologia Pública is the property of Universidade Estadual de Campinas - Portal de Periodicos Eletronicos Cientificos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Sustainability in Debate / Sustentabilidade em Debate is the property of University of Brasilia, Center for Sustainable Development and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Sustainability in Debate / Sustentabilidade em Debate is the property of University of Brasilia, Center for Sustainable Development and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Arqueologia Pública is the property of Universidade Estadual de Campinas - Portal de Periodicos Eletronicos Cientificos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Desenvolvimento e Meio Ambiente is the property of Universidade Federal do Parana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Several initiatives emerged to deal with environmental problems, such as Protected Areas and Environmental Impact Assessment, spread worldwide. The coast of Paraná State, southern Brazil, is 82.6% covered by protected areas to conserve the remnants of the Atlantic Forest and its associated ecosystems, whereas port activities date back to the colonial period and remain important, demanding expansions. The present study evaluated the Protected Areas' approach given by environmental licensing processes of port and industrial projects surrounding the Paranaguá Estuarine Complex. To this end, two checklists assessed the Terms of Reference (TR) and the Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) to classify them. EIS turned out to be of average quality, although they fulfilled about 70% of the Terms of Reference requirements. The point is that the TR are indeed poor.

Abstract Socio-environmental conflicts have been intensifying in the 21st century, which has prompted new approaches seeking to identify the origin of these conflicts and enrich their analyses. This study monitored the environmental licensing of the Campo Grande Logistic Center, in Paranapiacaba, a district in Santo André (SP), in order to identify the social representations of the environment for different actors involved in the licensing process and discuss the interference of the social representations in the established conflict. The case study employed multiple methods of data collection, including participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis. A prototypical analysis was carried out in line with the theory of social representations by Moscovici, Abric, and Reigota’s environment classification. The social representations found were globalizing for civil society and anthropocentric for the entrepreneur, relating the origin of the conflict to different material and symbolic appropriations of environmental resources, in this case, the territory itself.

Anthropogenic noise can impact cetaceans, leading to masking, stress, and auditory damage, among other effects. Recent studies have emphasized the need to understand these impacts on marine organisms, for which cetaceans may be used as ecological models. However, it is unclear whether public policy-making in the countries that present the same concern. We used the Brazilian environmental licensing legislation as a case study to investigate whether governments have addressed the scientific advances on the effects of anthropogenic noise on cetaceans. The study was based on a systematic review of the literature on the impacts of anthropogenic noise on cetaceans, and a survey of the environmental licensing reports related to the construction of shipping facilities and seismic activity. None of these reports evaluated the potential impacts on cetacean acoustics, and 59.6% were based solely on a review of the literature. Our results highlight the importance of measuring the acoustic variables of the noise produced by human activities. We conclude that governments should include the recent scientific advances on the effects of anthropogenic noise on cetaceans in their environmental legislation and licensing requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a policy tool used all around the world to predict, mitigate, and manage the impacts and risks of development proposals. This tool, if well implemented and articulated with licensing procedures, can result in improvements of project design and in the prevention and mitigation of environmental and social harms. But sometimes EIA can fail, as illustrated the collapse of the Brazilian tailings dams Fundão and B1, in 2015 and 2019 respectively. Despite having gone through licensing and EIA procedures, the two dams collapsed, killing almost 300 people. This study set out to understand how the vulnerability of downstream communities to dam breaks were predicted and managed in the dams' EIA processes. This study also tried to understand whether the EIA process of a newly approved tailings dam in Brazil (Maravilhas Dam III) improved the prediction of safety risks to downstream communities. The study was based on literature reviews and a content analysis of eighty-four (84) key documents related to the dams' licensing and EIA procedures. The study found that the risk-related studies of the dams were based on a variety of methods (e.g., Preliminary Hazard Analysis, Failure Mode and Effects Analysis, Dam Break simulations, Contingency Plans) that were implemented in different phases of the licensing procedures. It was possible to identify several flaws and limitations in these methods, such as vagueness, late implementation, fragmented reviews of interdependent risks, and low influence on decision-making. Both the Fundão and B1 dams were approved despite the lack of in-depth and up-to-date risk assessments. Public consultations were generally weak and plagued by tokenism. Post-approval procedures, while informed by monitoring, audits and inspections that confirmed problems in the dams, were unable to educate developers and State authorities about the likelihood of failures and the safety risks to communities. Overall, the Fundão and B1 cases show the importance of not only predicting but also managing risks in a timely, transparent and articulated manner. The Maravilhas III Dam, compared to Fundão and B1, was found to have sounder evaluations of safety risks and stronger public participation. The regulatory and voluntary frameworks concerning tailings dams have improved in recent years. The projects of Fundão and B1 could not receive an environmental license had they been subject to the current Brazilian legislation, because they proposed a now-banned technology (upstream dams) and had vulnerable communities located in self-rescue zones, which is now legally unacceptable. Despite these regulatory changes, there is still room to improve regulations, guidelines and Terms of References for risk analysis and its articulation with impact assessment and public participation. The article discusses the academic implications of the cases to international audiences and put forward several practical recommendations. • This study evaluated the integration of risk analysis and EIA. • The prediction and management of risks to downstream communities are explained. • The EIAs of two of the world's most catastrophic tailings dam failures were investigated. • Risks to downstream communities were repeatedly underestimated. • The study provides several entry points to improve risk analysis in the EIAs of dams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Worldwide, important biodiversity hotspots have been threatened by land use change, placing several species at risk. Some gaps in environmental licensing system represent challenges for the nature conservation and should be further investigated. Far beyond conservation strategies, the process of legalizing land use of some countries urgently needs to be reviewed, especially in places that host biological megadiversity, such as the Atlantic Forest, southeastern Brazil. This is the first multiple case study that evaluates the use of ecological descriptors in environmental impact assessment involving vegetation in different successional stages of the Atlantic Forest. The methodology was divided into two steps, i) the selection of the reports in a public environmental agency of São Paulo State and ii) the assessment of ecological criteria inherent to the vegetation survey. This study verified a scarcity of reports presenting adequate ecological descriptors according to the law in their reports, which would improve the assessment of the natural environmental framework. Although ecological parameters appear in some reports, they do not show relevant information, even though for the characterization of the succession stages of the forest fragments, thus hiding important information and leaving aside a parameter that should be essential in the approval/disapproval of reports. Thus, we suggest that the data presented and accepted by the Public Environmental Agency of São Paulo, Brazil, did not adequately characterize the stages of ecological succession in the studied areas, thus putting some ecological patterns and processes at risk. This issue must be urgently reviewed so reports should show the real threats for biodiversity. • Ecological descriptors are underutilized in EIA in Brazil • Biodiversity is threatened by the lack of rigor in EIS and EIR • Environmental agencies must be more rigorous in the ecological criteria presented in EIA • Ecological succession must be carefully evaluated in EIA [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the main command and control mechanisms for the environment is the environmental licensing process. However, the isolated adoption of this mechanism has not satisfactorily ensured the environmental quality of natural resources. On the other hand, an increasing number of organizations are voluntarily adhering to good environmental practices. As a result, approximating the relationship between command and control instruments (state regulation) and good practices becomes increasingly important for improving the environmental performance of organizations. Within this context, the present work proposes to evaluate how good environmental practices can strengthen and advance current environmental licensing models adopted in South America. This research consists of an exploratory case study, conducted with a qualitative approach. Several countries in South America were evaluated because of the great natural resources that the region has, as well as the European Economic Community, due to their adoption of the so-called “best available techniques” of environmental management since 1996. The results of the study indicated that voluntary adherence to international environmental management standards has evolved in the analyzed countries and that environmental agencies in South American countries could establish legal bases to consolidate the inclusion of good environmental practices in environmental licensing processes. It was also observed that some benefits could be given to organizations that implement good environmental practices, such as granting of licenses with extended terms; debureaucratization (with time gain) of administrative procedures; exemption or reduction of fees; and facilitation of financing. This study could thus support debates for the effective advancement of the current environmental licensing model. However, this hypothesis must be evaluated and consolidated through further research, carried out individually for each country analyzed.

This paper aims to explore part of the existing legal toolkit-of legislation, case law, and doctrine-that is already consolidated in the Environmental Law field and should be explored for litigating the climate crisis in Brazil. The article makes the case that Brazil is a fertile ground for climate litigation by articulating already established and successfully tested legal avenues for preventing, mitigating, and compensating adverse environmental impacts caused by the private sector or by the State, and that can be brought before national courts as strong legal arguments. Like a frame of glasses, the legal framework that underpins environmental licensing and civil environmental liability in Brazil needs to receive the "lenses" of climate change in order to be transformed into an effective climate litigation tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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