Volume de informa??o em estudos de impacto ambiental : caracteriza??o e implica??es.

Programa de P?s-Gradua??o em Engenharia Ambiental. N?cleo de Pesquisas e P?s-Gradua??o em Recursos H?dricos, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto.Os Estudos de Impacto Ambiental (EIAs) que subsidiam as avalia??es de impacto mudaram muito desde que surgiram no in?cio da d?cada de 1970. Devido a diversos fatores, esses documentos tornaram-se mais longos. Portanto, no come?o de 1978, surgiram os primeiros regulamentos tentando limitar o n?mero de p?ginas nos EIAs e seus respectivos sum?rios n?o t?cnicos, conhecidos, no Brasil, como Relat?rios de Impacto Ambiental (RIMAs). Todavia, esses documentos continuaram crescendo em algumas jurisdi??es. O volume informacional em EIAs afeta as tomadas de decis?o relacionadas a centenas de milh?es de d?lares anualmente. Apesar da import?ncia desse tema, poucos estudos cient?ficos avaliaram em detalhes essa quest?o. Assim, o objetivo desta tese foi analisar sistematicamente o volume de informa??es inseridas nos estudos ambientais, utilizando o Brasil como contexto emp?rico. E, especificamente, entender como esse volume pode afetar as tomadas de decis?o das autoridades competentes. O estudo adotou uma metodologia mista sequencial. Os dados foram coletados e analisados em tr?s etapas: 1) revis?o da literatura; 2) an?lise documental quantitativa do volume e da propor??o de informa??o em uma amostra de 49 EIAs submetidos ao licenciamento ambiental federal brasileiro; e 3) pesquisa de opini?o quali-quantitativa com analistas p?blicos brasileiros que trabalham ou j? trabalharam na constru??o de pareceres t?cnicos e/ou jur?dicos sobre EIAs. A revis?o da literatura corroborou que a quest?o do volume de informa??o tem sido um tema marginal nos estudos cient?ficos sobre qualidade documental dos EIAs. As an?lises emp?ricas dos 49 EIAs brasileiros e suas 146 mil p?ginas de conte?do confirmam o fato de que os EIAs e RIMAs s?o agora mais longos do que antigamente, e muito carregados com informa??es de diagn?sticos. O n?mero m?dio de p?ginas em EIAs e em RIMAs encontrados na amostra foi de 2993 e 94, respectivamente. Testes de Kruskal-Wallis e de regress?o linear indicaram que o tamanho dos EIAs ? provavelmente afetado por uma combina??o de vari?veis, tais como tamanho do projeto e caracter?sticas territoriais e setoriais. Os 115 question?rios de percep??o coletados, embora confirmem a exist?ncia de uma preocupa??o em rela??o ? tend?ncia de crescimento documental dos EIAs, revelaram que esse fen?meno tem que ser tratado com muito cuidado. Os respondentes deixaram claro que o crescente volume de informa??o impacta de maneira negativa e, ao mesmo tempo, positiva a tomada de decis?o, sendo necess?rio atentar para o contexto de cada projeto. Nesse sentido, os respondentes destacaram a import?ncia do aperfei?oamento da etapa de escopo e seu respectivo Termo de Refer?ncia, bem como do aperfei?oamento dos sistemas de gera??o e processamento de informa??o socioambiental. Tais resultados sugerem que a abordagem hist?rica de estabelecer limites gen?ricos de p?ginas para EIAs n?o ? muito apropriada quando se trata de grandes projetos no Brasil, e muito provavelmente, em outros lugares. A tese conclui com sugest?es de estudos futuros.The Environmental Impact Studies (EISs) that subsidize impact assessments have changed a lot since they emerged in the early 1970s. Due to a number of factors, these documents have become longer. Therefore, early in 1978, the first regulations attempted to limit the number of pages in the EIAs and their respective non-technical summaries, known in Brazil as Environmental Impact Reports (RIMAs). However, these documents continued to grow in some jurisdictions. The informational volume in EIAs affects decision-making related to hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Despite the importance of this topic, few scientific studies have evaluated this issue in detail. Thus, the objective of this thesis was to systematically analyze the volume of information presented in environmental studies, using Brazil as an empirical context. And specifically understand how such a volume can affect the decision making of the competent authorities. The study adopted a mixed sequential methodology. Data were collected and analyzed in three stages: 1) literature review; 2) quantitative documentary analysis of the volume and proportion of information in a sample of 49 EISs submitted to Brazilian federal environmental licensing; and 3) qualitative-quantitative opinion research with Brazilian public analysts who work or have already worked on the construction of technical and/or legal opinions on EISs. The review of the literature corroborated that the issue of the volume of information has been a marginal theme in scientific studies on the documentary quality of EIAs. The empirical analyzes of the 49 Brazilian EIAs and their 146,000 pages of content confirm the fact that EIS e RIMAs are now longer than they used to be and are very loaded with diagnostic information. The mean number of pages in EISs and RIMAs found in the sample was 2993 and 94, respectively. Kruskal-Wallis and linear regression tests indicated that the size of EISs is probably affected by a combination of variables such as project size and territorial and sectoral characteristics. The 115 perception questionnaires collected, while confirming the existence of a concern regarding the documentary growth trend of EIAs, revealed that this phenomenon have to be treated with great care. The respondents made it clear that the growing volume of information impacts negatively and, at the same time, positive decision making, and it is necessary to pay attention to the context of each project. In this sense, the respondents highlighted the importance of improving the scope stage and its respective Terms of Reference, as well as improving the systems for generating and processing social and environmental information. These results suggest that the historical approach of establishing generic page boundaries for EISs is no longer appropriate when it comes to large projects in Brazil, and most likely elsewhere. The thesis concludes with suggestions for future studies

Reviewers? perceptions of the volume of information provided in environmental impact statements : the case for refocusing attention on what is relevant.

Environmental impact statements (EISs), the main source of information used by reviewers and decisionmakers in the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process, are becoming increasingly lengthy. The implications of this phenomenon for decision-making have been mostly anecdotal. The objective of this article is twofold: first, it seeks to identify the main consequences of the growing volume of information provided in EISs for reviewing and decision-making; second, it aims at establishing how to better address the challenges of reviewing lengthy EISs. The perceptions of EIS reviewers were surveyed through an online questionnaire in Brazil. The 115 responses reveal that the growing volume of information provided in EISs has both positive and negative consequences. The majority of respondents perceived information needs to be context-dependent. Findings indicate that the challenges of reviewing lengthy EISs stem not so much from too much information, but rather from irrelevant information, as well as from weak capacity to process information. Therefore, enhancing the assessment scope and strengthening capacitybuilding are key steps in improving decision-making. The survey also revealed specific problems in Brazil?s environmental agencies, such as lack of staff and agencies? growing dependence on information systems and repositories. The article highlights practical implications and suggests future avenues of research

Does size matter? An evaluation of length and proportion of information in environmental impact statements.

For decades, authors and institutions have argued that the quality of Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) is somehow affected by the volume of information they contain. Both too little and too much information can be a problem. However, very few academic studies have addressed the issue of EIS length in detail. The objective of this article was to systematically analyze the volume of information presented in EISs, using Brazil as the empirical context. More specifically, this study evaluated the volume and proportion of information disclosed in 49 Brazilian EISs. This study also tried to identify sectorial variations and whether variables such as project size and number of pages in Terms of References are likely determinants of information volume.>146 thousand pages of EIS information were scrutinized in two rounds of content analysis. Data were organized in spreadsheets and then coded and analyzed through various descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. Overall, findings corroborate the fact that EISs are now significantly longer than the early ones, and still heavily loaded with baseline information. The average number of pages in EISs and in Non-technical Summaries was found to be 2993 and 94, respectively. Kruskal-Wallis and linear regression tests indicated that EIS length is likely affected by a combination of variables, including project size, territorial and sectorial characteristics. Such findings suggest that the historical approach of setting page limits to EISs through regulations and Terms of References is no longer appropriate for EIA practice in connection with large enterprises in Brazil, and arguably elsewhere. The article discusses its practical and academic implications, and highlights the need to further investigate the actual impacts of EIS length on decision-making