A institucionalização da avaliação ambiental estratégica no Brasil

Abstract

In the 1960s decade discussions about enviromental issues began to emerge, intensifying on the world scenario in 1970. Since then, several tools for integration and compatibilization between the economic and socio-environmental spheres have arisen, such as the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). However, in the 1990s decade there was a need to supress some deficiencies of EIA applied to projects, thus emerging the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), which allows the insertion of socio- environmental issues in strategic projects, plans and programs (PPPs). The present report proposes to analyze the suggestions for the institutionalization of SEA in Brazil, evaluating the elements that shall compose a system of SEA in order to contribute to the effectiveness of this appliance, reducing its voluntary and disarticulated character. For data collection and analysis of regulatory proposals, a qualitative method, based on research in the main academic papers databases and official websites of Brazilian environmental agencies, was employed, resulting in the identification of 14 documents, among bills, laws, ordinances and decrees at the federal and state levels (São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Bahia and Rio de Janeiro). In these texts, the presence or absence of the nine criteria defined on the basis of the literature were evaluated, which are the definitions: of the SEA objectives, of the strategic actions to which the evaluation will be applied, of the evaluation procedures, of the methods to be used, of the validation procedures, of the way in which the SEA should be taken into account in decision making, of the agents involved and their responsibilities, of the guidance mechanisms and of the resources available to enable the implementation of the SEA system. With the analysis of these criteria application, it was possible to verify that despite the existence of ruling legislation and normative projects, since the 1990s decade there is no balance between the federal and state spheres that ensure uniform and high-end practice of SEA in the country. The lack of technical knowledge and familiarity with the subjects related to the relation between productive activities and the environment are evident in all the documents studied, which presented a clear conceptual distancing on the purpose and applicability of SEA as a strategic decisions planning implement and not as a project supporter study.