Empreendimentos hidrelétricos no estado do Tocantins e a qualidade dos estudos de licenciamento ambiental

Abstract

The development of hydropower projects, and the implementation of projects with the permission of the competent bodies, taking place in Brazil in order to harness the hydroelectric potential that each region has. The state of Tocantins River System due to Araguaia / Tocantins, presents and a vast hydroelectric potential has been the subject of great entrepreneurs of the electricity sector, with projects from small to large, deployed in various regions of the state. As each passing year new buses are made, usually forming large artificial reservoirs. Regardless of the impacts caused by the construction of these great works, these developments are supported by documents that give them the right to achieve their goals, to produce electricity. To generate electricity, several steps are taken, since the environmental feasibility studies, known as environmental impact studies, through execution of basic environmental programs aimed at minimizing the negative impacts caused by the project. A major problem in proposing new projects is the lack of quality in environmental studies, where the main objective would be to develop a more realistic possible scenario for environmental authorities to make decisions on the possible implementation of the projects. In this sense, the problems can range from teams that run the study by structural deficiencies in those analyzes filed studies. Environmental studies should understand biological, physical and socioeconomic variables, which from consistent analysis should provide appropriate for correct decision making results. Allied to this, few Brazilian states, has integrated and updated information on the actual situation of environmental licensing these businesses, and quality employed in the implementation of environmental studies used in the process of licensing. The objective of this research was to characterize and evaluate the current situation of hydroelectricity in the state of Tocantins, checking how the projects are distributed in the state, over time and space, considering the quality of studies of environmental licensing of each development phase and are (prior, installation or operation). Environmental studies presente in the licensing process for the Small Hydropower identified for the state of Tocantins, which were evaluated with the variable used as na indicator for assessing the quality of environmental studies were to information on the fauna of wild (mammals) presente in chapters on the biological environment.