Miljöbedömning med dess tillhörande dokument, miljökonsekvensbeskrivning (MKB), genomförs för att minska negativ miljöpåverkan från projekt och används som beslutsunderlag. Trafikverket som statlig myndighet gör MKB:er för många av sina projekt. Om utfallet blir så som det står i MKB:erna eller inte, vad det beror på, samt hur avvikelser påverkar miljön har undersökts i det här examensarbetet. Undersökningen har skett genom fallstudier av fyra olika Trafikverksprojekt. Dessa har varit vägprojekten Västra länken; bro över Umeälven, Östra länken; E4 syd – Östteg och Puckdalen; riskobjekt. Det fjärde fallet är ett järnvägsprojekt, Åmsele station; ny mötesdriftplats. För att kunna besvara frågeställningarna har intervjuer, dokumentgranskning, platsbesök och litteraturstudier genomförts. För varje fall har ett antal påverkanskategorier med betydelse för projektet valts ut för fördjupad granskning. Resultatet visar att avvikelser har förekommit mellan det som stått i MKB:erna och faktiskt resultat i alla fyra fallen, men inte i något fall har avvikelserna varit fler än överensstämmelserna. De flesta kontrollpunkter från MKB:erna har därmed stämt med faktiskt resultat, sammanlagt har 76 % stämt. I ett av fallen, Östra länken, har större andel avvikelser upptäckts än i övriga. Här blev resultatet 63 % överensstämmelse, i jämförelse med Västra länkens 77 %, Puckdalen 88 % och Åmsele stations 73 %. Avvikelserna som har upptäckts har gett både positiv, negativ och insignifikant miljöpåverkan, men majoriteten har varit negativ. Orsakerna till avvikelserna har varierat stort för de olika granskade kontrollpunkterna, men för vissa är otillräcklig uppföljning en möjlig orsak. Som resultat av detta arbete föreslås mer uppföljningsarbete med hjälp av Trafikverkets redan befintliga metoder, för att minska avvikelser mellan MKB och verklighet i framtiden. / Environmental impact assessment, with the document environmental impact statement (EIS), are produced to limit the negative environmental impact of projects, and as a base for decision-making. Trafikverket (Swedish Transport Administration) is a public authority that produce EIS for many of their projects. This study has examined if the statements made in the EIS are actually done in practise or not, why eventual deviations may occur and what effects these deviations gives to the environment. The method used have been case studies of four projects performed by Trafikverket. Those are three road projects, The Western link; bridge over Umeälven, The Eastern Link; E4 south – Östteg and Puckdalen; risk object. The fourth project is a railroad project named Åmsele station, new passing place and service site. To answer the research questions also interviews, document studies, field trips and literature studies have been performed. For each of the cases a number of important categories for the project have been selected for further investigations. The result show that in all cases there have been deviations. In summary of the four cases 76 % of the checkpoints have been congruent. In all cases the congruence has been greater than the deviations. In one case, The Eastern Link, more deviations than in the other projects have been noted. In this case the result showed 63 % congruence, compared to 77 % at The Western Link, 88 % at Puckdalen and 73 % at Åmsele station. The deviations found have both given positive, negative, or insignificant environmental impacts, but the majority have been negative. The causes of the deviations have varied between the different checkpoints examined. One reason that is possible for some of the deviations are lack in follow-up. As a result of this study more extensive follow-up in the future, with use of already existing tools in the organisation of Swedish Transport Administration, are suggested to reduce the deviations between EIS and reality.

In the environmental impact assessment (EIA) field, much attention is paid to the process leading up to the granting of an environmental authorization, but very little is given to what happens after the consent decision is granted. This study aimed to address this lack through the implementation of an EIA follow-up procedure in a region of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Follow-up focused on assessing the amount of non-compliance with EIA consent conditions as well as the overall impact that projects had had on the environment. The results of this follow-up process were then used to develop a risk screening tool that could be used to screen out new EIA applications that were likely to require follow-up to control default or impact. Projects that showed the greatest amount of default were those submitted by local municipal proponents for basic infrastructure type activities such as sewage treatment works and low-income housing developments. Private companies that compete in the open market presented the lowest default risk. Default with consent conditions ranged between 0% and 100% with an average rate of default of 49%. The overall environmental impact for the majority (58%) of projects followed-up on was low (on a 5 point scale of low to high), with only 1% of projects scoring high on impact. The study found a moderate positive correlation between default and impact (rs = 0.48) although a significant percentage (39%) of projects scored high on default but low on impact. Follow-up appears to have had a positive effect on reducing the average amounts of default and to a lesser extent the degree of impact. The risk screening tool developed is promising with statistically significant matches between predicted and actual default and impact scores for three out of the four test samples. / Geography / D. Phil. (Geography)

In the environmental impact assessment (EIA) field, much attention is paid to the process leading up to the granting of an environmental authorization, but very little is given to what happens after the consent decision is granted. This study aimed to address this lack through the implementation of an EIA follow-up procedure in a region of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Follow-up focused on assessing the amount of non-compliance with EIA consent conditions as well as the overall impact that projects had had on the environment. The results of this follow-up process were then used to develop a risk screening tool that could be used to screen out new EIA applications that were likely to require follow-up to control default or impact. Projects that showed the greatest amount of default were those submitted by local municipal proponents for basic infrastructure type activities such as sewage treatment works and low-income housing developments. Private companies that compete in the open market presented the lowest default risk. Default with consent conditions ranged between 0% and 100% with an average rate of default of 49%. The overall environmental impact for the majority (58%) of projects followed-up on was low (on a 5 point scale of low to high), with only 1% of projects scoring high on impact. The study found a moderate positive correlation between default and impact (rs = 0.48) although a significant percentage (39%) of projects scored high on default but low on impact. Follow-up appears to have had a positive effect on reducing the average amounts of default and to a lesser extent the degree of impact. The risk screening tool developed is promising with statistically significant matches between predicted and actual default and impact scores for three out of the four test samples. / Geography / D. Phil. (Geography)

GOMES, Laécia Gretha Amorim. Análise da Efetividade do Estudo de Impacto Ambiental - EIA/RIMA na Carcinicultura: o Caso do Município de Aracati - CE. 2009. 185 f. : Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Ceará, Centro de Ciências e Tecnologias, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Desenvolvimento e Meio Ambiente-PRODEMA, Fortaleza-CE, 2009. / Submitted by guaracy araujo (guaraa3355@gmail.com) on 2016-05-03T14:16:37Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2009_dis_lgagomes.pdf: 6401398 bytes, checksum: 3b508bc926373ba6c3d2911e21a1b964 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by guaracy araujo (guaraa3355@gmail.com) on 2016-05-03T14:17:03Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2009_dis_lgagomes.pdf: 6401398 bytes, checksum: 3b508bc926373ba6c3d2911e21a1b964 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-03T14:17:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2009_dis_lgagomes.pdf: 6401398 bytes, checksum: 3b508bc926373ba6c3d2911e21a1b964 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / This dissertation proposes to examine the effectiveness of the Environmental Impact Assessment - EIA in the creation of captive shrimp from the perspective of the case study of an EIA prepared for the expansion of a shrimp project located on the Jaguaribe river in the city of Aracati. According to Bolea (1984) apud La Rovere (2001, p.11), the AIA can be defined as "studies to identify, predict and interpret, and prevent the consequences or environmental effects that certain actions, plans, programs or projects may cause to our health, to the human welfare and the environment." According to the author, these studies include alternatives to projects subject to licensing and further induce the engagement and participation of the society, representing not a tool of decision in itself but an instrument of knowledge at the service of the general population. Thus, this essay discusses, so qualitatively, the effectiveness of this study as a serious aid tool in decision making and management and environmental monitoring, and verify if it, nowadays, is not being used only as a mere bureaucratic obstacle for the licensing of projects. In order to achieve the objectives, were established in the methodology, some criteria for analysis, which are: analysis of alternative locations, area of direct and indirect influence, coherence and relevance of environmental diagnosis, assessment of environmental impacts, effectiveness of mitigating measures, environmental monitoring and participation of the communities involved. Besides these features, the Environmental Impact Report - RIMA was also considered as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment, which were discussed and analyzed, topic by topic, always comparing them with the due legislation, in particular, the CONAMA Resolution 001 / 86 and other specific resolutions, such as: CONAMA312/02, CONAMA 237/92, CONAMA 09/87. Moreover, these concepts were also discussed in the light of authors who have addressed this issue in the view of its effectiveness. For this, the theoretical tools that have guided this research were made by Sánchez (2006), Agra Son (1993), IBAMA (1995), which explained the initial concepts on Environmental Impact Assessment, and IBAMA (2005) in the Diagnosis of the Cearense shrimp, which presents data for the creation of captive shrimp in the city of Aracati and the theoretical aspects related to this topic. The expected results were not much different from what was originally thought and from the analyzed aspects, very little presented serious and committed information with the real function of this study. Thus, one can say, after reviewing all topics initially proposed, that the EIA regarding the shrimp project examined was not actively effective for not presenting itself as a consistent tool for public consultation, help in decision making, in management and in environmental monitoring. / Esta dissertação se propõe analisar a Efetividade dos Estudos de Impacto Ambiental - EIA na Carcinicultura dentro da perspectiva do estudo de caso de um EIA elaborado para a expansão de um projeto carcinícola localizado as margens do rio Jaguaribe no Município de Aracati. De acordo com Bolea (1984) apud La Rovere (2001, p.11), a AIA pode ser definida como: “estudos realizados para identificar, prever e interpretar assim como prevenir, as conseqüências ou efeitos ambientais que determinadas ações, planos, programas ou projetos podem causar à saúde, ao bem estar humano e ao entorno”. Ainda segundo o autor, esses estudos englobam alternativas a projetos passíveis de licenciamento e ainda induzem o engajamento e a participação da sociedade, representando não um instrumento de decisão em si, mas um instrumento de conhecimento a serviço da população em geral. Dessa maneira, esta dissertação discute, de modo qualitativo, a efetividade desse estudo como expediente sério de ajuda na tomada de decisão e na gestão e monitoramento ambiental, assim como verificar se o mesmo, nos dias atuais, não está sendo utilizado apenas como um mero entrave burocrático para o licenciamento de empreendimentos. Para que os objetivos fossem atingidos, foram estabelecidos, em metodologia própria, alguns critérios de análise, que são: análise das alternativas locacionais, área de influência direta e indireta, coerência e relevância do diagnóstico ambiental, avaliação dos impactos ambientais, efetividade das medidas mitigadoras, monitoramento ambiental e participação das comunidades envolvidas. Além dessas características, também foi analisado o Relatório de Impacto Ambiental – RIMA como parte integrante do Estudo de Impacto Ambiental, aspectos que foram discutidos e analisados, tópico por tópico, sempre os comparando com a legislação competente, em especial, a Resolução CONAMA 001/86 e outras Resoluções específicas, tais como: CONAMA312/02, CONAMA 237/92, CONAMA 09/87. Além disso, esses conceitos também foram discutidos à luz de autores que já abordam esse tema na perspectiva de sua efetividade. Para isso, as ferramentas teóricas que nortearam esta pesquisa foram constituídas por Sánchez (2006), Agra Filho (1993), IBAMA (1995), que esclareceram os conceitos iniciais sobre Avaliação de Impacto Ambiental, e IBAMA (2005), no Diagnóstico da Carcinicultura Cearense, que apresenta os dados referentes à carcinicultura no Município de Aracati e os aspectos teóricos inerentes a esse tema. Os resultados esperados não se mostraram muito diferentes do que inicialmente se havia pensando, e, dos aspectos analisados, poucos foram os que apresentaram informações sérias e comprometidas com a real função deste estudo. Dessa maneira, pode-se afirmar, depois da análise de todos os tópicos inicialmente propostos, que o EIA referente ao projeto de carcinicultura examinado não se mostrou ativamente efetivo por não se apresentar como instrumento consistente de consulta pública, ajuda na tomada de decisão, na gestão e no monitoramento ambiental.

Regulatory Impact Analyses (RIA) are carried out in order to determine how a project or regulation affects the economy, society and environment. Traditionally, RIAs are carried out through cost benefit assessments and by monetizing different variables in order to assist policymakers with their decision. The main disadvantage of it, is that highly relevant social and environmental factors are difficult to quantify, thus providing weak or "incomplete" support to policy-makers in their final decision and enabling long-term consequences. An option to improving RIAs, is by taking into account such factors with the introduction of Sustainable Development (SD) concerns early in the decision making process. This is a trend that has been gaining more momentum and support, especially in OECD and EU members. The shift towards the inclusion of such concerns at a regulatory and legislative level nonetheless still presents itself to be a challenge and has wide room for improvements. On this research, four different countries and the European Union are analyzed and compared, presenting their current RIA practices and how much they take into account sustainability concerns with the intent on showing where can they be improved and better included.

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / China Area Studies / Master / Master of Arts

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Science, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. February 2015. / This study examines the practice of environmental impact assessments (EIAs) by South African mining transnational companies (TNCs) operating some mining projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It analyses whether and how South African mining TNCs carry out EIAs for their mining projects in the DRC, especially whether they follow (1) the DRC EIA policies, (2) the South African EIAs policies (3) international EIA policies, or (4) internal company policies. It also examines what motivates the companies to follow any of the policy path, by assessing whether financial or policy regimes evaluations motivates the TNCs to follow the certain path. Through the case studies of AngloGold Ashanti and Metorex (Pty) Limited, the study demonstrates the complexity involved in making decisions on choosing a policy path to follow which confronts TNCs. The conclusion we draw from this study is that TNCs do not follow a single policy path in carrying out EIAs but integrate a number of policies and standards and the integration of various policies and standards demands highly qualified and well trained staff as well as availability of an enabling scientific and research infrastructure within the host country.

Diante dos compromissos mundiais para redução das emissões atmosféricas, a energia eólica se consolida como uma das principais alternativas à crescente demanda energética. Quando comparada a outras fontes de energia, considera-se que a fonte eólica induz menores perturbações no meio ambiente. Porém, empreendimentos eólicos podem causar impactos significativos, principalmente se instalados em áreas sensíveis e concentrados espacialmente. Assim, tendo em vista o cenário de intenso crescimento do setor eólico, o objetivo principal desta pesquisa foi avaliar a efetividade do sistema de Avaliação de Impacto Ambiental (AIA) aplicado a projetos de geração de energia eólica. Foi utilizado como objeto de estudo o sistema de licenciamento ambiental do estado do Ceará, estado pioneiro no setor eólico e ainda em destaque no cenário nacional. Buscou-se, portanto, identificar evidências de conformidade do sistema de AIA adotado no estado com as boas práticas e princípios internacionais da AIA, assim como eventuais deficiências que possam influenciar o processo decisório. Para tanto, foi avaliada a qualidade das informações apresentadas nos Estudos de Impacto Ambiental (EIA) perante às boas práticas de AIA, diretrizes da literatura científica e elementos contextuais, de modo a avaliar seu potencial de contribuir para a tomada de decisão com vistas à prevenção de impactos socioambientais significativos. Foi escopo deste trabalho a análise de documentos do processo de licenciamento de 3 projetos e a avaliação da qualidade de 31 EIAs, com base em uma lista de verificação elaborada no âmbito da presente pesquisa e no método Environmental Statement Review Package. Com a finalidade de delinear os aspectos relevantes a serem abordados no âmbito da AIA, foi identificado o estado da arte dos potenciais impactos ambientais causados por empreendimentos eólicos e as informações importantes para a correta previsão, caracterização e mitigação dos potenciais impactos dessa tipologia de projeto. Os resultados da pesquisa indicam qualidade insatisfatória dos EIAs, com deficiências significativas em todas as etapas, especialmente na avaliação dos impactos e análise de alternativas locacionais e tecnológicas, e ausência de informações importantes para caracterização da vulnerabilidade do meio ambiente. Foram observadas iniciativas pontuais para alteração do conteúdo mínimo exigido aos EIAs, porém, não se observou indícios de que o órgão ambiental esteja considerando atuar proativamente para promover a melhoria da qualidade dos EIAs. Em linhas gerais, o presente estudo indica que se considerados apenas os EIAs, as decisões estão sendo tomadas com base em informações insuficientes e inadequadas e, portanto, que o sistema de AIA não tem se mostrado efetivo para prevenção de impactos significativos. / In order to meet the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets established during the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, the energy generation using wind sources was greatly encouraged to fulfill the rising energy demand. While wind energy may lead to lower damage to the environment when compared to other energy sources, wind farms still have potential for significant impact. With this in mind and considering the scenario of intense expansion of wind energy generation, the main objective of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) system assigned to wind energy projects. The state of Ceara was the object of study, since it was the pioneer in the wind energy generation and still is relevant in the national context. This research aimed to identify evidences of the EIA system compliance with good practice and international principles of EIA, and possible shortcomings that could influence the decision-making process. Therefore, the quality of the information presented in Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was evaluated in light of AIA best practice, scientific literature and contextual factors. Thus, the objective was to evaluate the potential of EIS to contribute to decision making in order to prevent social and environmental impacts significant. 31 EIS and the licensing process of 3 projects was scope of this research. The EIS\' quality was evaluated through a checklist developed during this project and the method Environmental Statement Review Package. In order to define the relevant aspects that must be addressed during EIA, the potential environmental impacts caused by wind energy projects were identified in literature. The results of the research indicate poor quality of EIS, with significant deficiencies at all phases, especially in the evaluation of impacts and analysis of locational and technological alternatives, and the lack of important information to characterize the vulnerability of the environment. Some occasional measures to improve the minimum content required for EIS was observed. However, the results didn\'t indicate that the environmental agency is willing to act proactively to improve EIS quality. In general, the present work indicates that if the decision-making process is based only in the EIS content, decisions have been made with insufficient and inadequate information. Therefore, the EIA system seems to be not effective to prevent significant environmental and social impacts.

Esta pesquisa analisa o sistema de Avaliação de Impacto Ambiental (AIA) do Estado do Espírito Santo. O objetivo é explorar uma lacuna existente na literatura crítica, chamando a atenção para as evidências empíricas em um estudo de longo prazo sobre a prática da AIA. A efetividade do sistema de AIA foi analisada considerando as dimensões procedimental, substantiva, transativa e normativa e utilizando como métodos: levantamento, pesquisa documental, estudos de caso, consulta a especialistas e entrevistas. Utilizando uma abordagem quali-quantitativa, a pesquisa foi amparada pela análise de 47 processos de tomada de decisão analizando os Estudo de Impacto Ambiental (EIA) e documentos submetidos em um período de dez anos (2007 a 2016). Os resultados indicam que o sistema de AIA se mostrou pontualmente efetivo, ainda que prevaleçam os resultados negativos. Foram identificados elementos de efetividade e evidências de influência da AIA sobre os projetos com resultados favoráveis ao meio ambiente, bem como elementos de aprendizagem a partir da prática da AIA que sinalizam para a perspectiva de aprimoramento do sistema. Como aspectos a serem destacados em busca deste aprimoramento, os resultados alcançados sinalizam para a necessidade de estabelecimento de parâmetros locacionais que possam orientar a triagem dos projetos encaminhados ao processo de AIA; realização de esforços para o aumento da qualidade das informações encaminhadas no EIA à tomada de decisão, sobretudo em relação à identificação e avaliação de impactos relevantes, consideração de impactos cumulativos, previsão de magnitude e avaliação da significância dos impactos. A qualidade dos EIA é apontada como fator que contribui decisivamente para o tempo de tramitação dos processos e custos relacionados à necessidade de reanálise de documentos complementares. Além disso, é importante promover a valorização dos princípios e fundamentos que orientam a AIA, com vistas a corrigir uma perspectiva desfocada quanto à sua prática e ao papel do órgão ambiental identificado no discurso dos atores que integram o órgão de meio ambiente, o que sugere um posicionamento basicamente reativo no âmbito do processo decisório. Embora os resultados indiquem que a prática da AIA ainda tenha um longo caminho para ser considerada efetiva no estado do ES, as evidências pontuais de boas práticas e as lacunas identificadas podem ser utilizadas para orientar ações voltadas para o aprimoramento do sistema de AIA bem como direcionar melhorias dos projetos de desenvolvimento implantados no estado. / This thesis is investigating the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) system which is implemented in Espírito Santo State (Brazil). I aim to fill a gap in existing critical literature, by bringing attention to empirical evidence in a long-term study of EIA practice. The effectiveness of the EIA system was analyzed by applying an analytical framework focusing on four dimensions: procedural, substantive, transitive and normative effectiveness. As for the methods used during the analysis, they are: survey, documentary analysis, case studies, expert consultation and interviews. Using a qualitative-quantitative approach, the research was supported by 47 decision-making processes, analyzing the Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) and documents submitted in a period of ten years (from 2007 to 2016). The results indicate that the EIA system proved to be punctually effective, although the negative results prevail. Elements of effectiveness and evidence of EIA influence on the projects with favorable results to the environment were identified, as well as elements of learning from the EIA practice that signal to the perspective of improvement of the EIA system. However, the results indicate weakness related to the absence of locational parameters for the screening of EIA processes. Regarding the quality analysis of EIS, the results indicate faults in the information presented in the decision-making step. The main fragilities are associated with the identification and evaluation of relevant impacts, consideration of cumulative impacts, the prediction of magnitude and the evaluation of the significance of the impacts. The previously-mentioned deficiencies of the EIS information are the main contributors to a longer processing time and to an increase in the costs which is due to the need for reanalysis of complementary documents. In addition, the environmental agency\'s analysts\' opinion reveals a blurred perspective of EIA practice and regarding the role of the environmental agency. This obscure perspective suggests a passive and reactive positioning of actions and decisions within the environmental agency studied. Therefore, it is important to promote the valorization of the principles and foundations guiding the EIA in order to correct this perspective. Although the research findings suggest that EIA practice still has a long way to go in order to achieve effectiveness in the system studied, I identified evidence of best practice and weaknesses. This which can be used to guide actions aimed at enhancement of the EIA system as well as improvements of the development projects implemented in the State of Espírito Santo.