Hydropower projects and environmental licensing process: how different countries manages the problem

This research seeks to establish a comparative study among selected countries (Brazil, United States, Canada, Chile and Portugal), regarding aspects of the environmental licensing process for hydroelectric projects. The previous studies consider the Brazilian environmental licensing process to be ve...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Santos, Marco Aurélio dos, Andrade, Andre Lima, Silva Junior, Orleno Marques da, Marins, Gloria Maria dos Santos, Ribeiro, Paulo Eduardo Aragon Marçal, Boité, Patricia Schumer Nunes, Moraes, Vanessa Riccioppo de
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2022
Country:Brasil
Institution:Universidade Federal de Itajubá (UNIFEI)
Repository:Research, Society and Development
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/26408
Online Access:https://rsdjournal.org/index.php/rsd/article/view/26408
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Energia hidrelétrica
Licenciamento ambiental
Regulação ambiental.
Energía hidroeléctrica
Licenciamiento ambiental
Regulación ambiental.
Hydroelectric Power
Environmental Licensing
Environmental regulation.
Description
Summary:This research seeks to establish a comparative study among selected countries (Brazil, United States, Canada, Chile and Portugal), regarding aspects of the environmental licensing process for hydroelectric projects. The previous studies consider the Brazilian environmental licensing process to be very complex and differentiated from the other selected countries. There is also a lack of homogeneity among the countries surveyed. In general, environmental licensing is considered a "bottleneck" for the Brazilian electricity sector. With this analysis, it was intended to verify what types of procedures exist in other countries and that could be adopted by Brazil, in order to improve the environmental licensing process of hydroelectric plants. Thus, according to the experience of the countries analyzed, Brazil could improve relations with indigenous peoples and establish a maximum period for finalizing the licensing of hydroelectric plants. Comparative international experiences are important for possible adjustments in the Brazilian licensing process, however, one must not confuse the bureaucracy of the process with excessive simplification.