Practitioners' perceptions of the Brazilian environmental impact assessment system: results from a survey

Practitioners play a key role in implementing environmental impact assessment (EIA) policies. Gauging their perception can help in designing legislation or regulation reforms and signals what needs more attention in research. The Brazilian EIA system is under review by lawmakers, but there is scant...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Impact assessment and project appraisal 2017-10, Vol.35 (4), p.293-309
Main Authors: Duarte, Carla Grigoletto, Dibo, Ana Paula Alves, Siqueira-Gay, Juliana, Sánchez, Luis Enrique
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brazil
effectiveness
EIA system
EIS quality
Environmental assessment
Environmental impact
Environmental impact assessment
environmental policy
Environmental studies
Gaging
Impact assessment
Legislation
Perception
Perceptions
Polls & surveys
Professional attitudes
Proposals
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Summary:Practitioners play a key role in implementing environmental impact assessment (EIA) policies. Gauging their perception can help in designing legislation or regulation reforms and signals what needs more attention in research. The Brazilian EIA system is under review by lawmakers, but there is scant information about the views of professionals. A survey was conducted to inquiry on practitioners' perception of the Brazilian EIA system regarding: (1) quality of the process, (2) quality of the environmental impact studies (EIS), and (3) proposals to change the system. Four hundred and fourteen professionals participated in an online survey responding to 44 questions. Results show positive perceptions about some aspects of current practice, but there is a clear predominance of negative appraisal both about the quality of the process and the quality of EIS. The poorest practices are the consideration of cumulative impacts and determination of impact significance. As for proposals to change the system, respondents defend the continuity of specific characteristics of the Brazilian system. Essentially, practitioners are calling for incremental changes that do not require any modification in the legislation.
ISSN:1461-5517
1471-5465
DOI:10.1080/14615517.2017.1322813