Análise da qualidade de relatórios de impacto ambiental de usinas de cana e açúcar localizadas no estado de Minas Gerais.

Abstract

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a decision support tool that aims to assess, in a preliminary manner, the potential environmental impacts and alternatives for proposed actions. In Brazil, EIA was regulated in association with Environmental Licensing, both instruments of the National Environmental Policy. In this context, the Environmental Impact Study and its respective Environmental Impact Report (EIA/Rima) were regulated as the study that supports the decision-making process for licensing enterprises or activities that cause significant environmental impacts. However, the effectiveness of these studies in informing decision-makers and society throughout the environmental licensing process is closely related to their quality. Knowing the quality of these studies, therefore, is an important aspect in order to advance the practice of these instruments. Despite this, there is still a lack of research focused on the analysis of the quality of the Rimas. It is in this scenario that this research aimed at analyzing the quality of the Rimas prepared for enterprises of the sugar and ethanol sector located in the state of Minas Gerais, a sector of great importance for the economic development of the state. The methodology for selecting the analyzed Rima consisted of two stages, the first being the identification of the sugar and ethanol enterprises, and the second, access to the Rima. The analysis criteria, on the other hand, were based on bibliographic review and legal provisions that deal with the contents of the Rima. From the analysis of the contents of the Rima evaluated in this research, some deficiencies were identified, such as: inaccessible language, lack of definition of technical terms, lack of description of technological and locational alternatives, and deficiencies in the description of the magnitude and significance of the probable environmental impacts, of the foreseen mitigating measures, and in the description of the techniques and methodologies used for the environmental diagnosis. The strong points were in relation to the well organized structure of the Rima and in the way the impacts were described by brief descriptions and tables.