Manufacturing pre-decisions : a comparative analysis of environmental impact statement (EIS) reviews in Brazil and Portugal.
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Date
2019
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Abstract
The review of environmental impact statements (EIS), despite its relevance to impact
assessment effectiveness, has received scarce scholarly attention. Few studies have gone beyond the
realm of regulatory evaluations to understand the managerial meanders of the review process. This
study evaluated the responsibilities, procedures, information inputs, and scope of EIS reviews within
two environmental authorities: APA (Portuguese Environment Agency), in Portugal, and SEMAD
(State Secretariat for Environment and Sustainable Development), in the Brazilian state of Minas
Gerais. Based on a qualitative multiple-case study methodology informed by participant observation,
unstructured interviews, and content analysis of 12 EIS review reports, the study provided what is
arguably one of the most detailed characterizations of EIS review to date. While following similar
institutional arrangements and broad procedural steps, the EIS review has important differences in
APA and SEMAD. Overall, the Portuguese agency was found to have a more structured, participative,
interdisciplinary, detailed, and grounded review, thus meeting some of the good practices often cited
in the literature. The EIS review reports prepared by APA reviewers were also found to provide
a profoundly more complete and transparent account of the review process. The details of the
review process revealed in the article can affect perceptions around the legitimacy and reliability of
reviewers’ recommendations.
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Keywords
Environmental impact assessment - EIA, Review stage, Public administration
Citation
ROCHA, C. P. F.; RAMOS, T. B.; FONSECA, A. de F. C. Manufacturing pre-decisions: a comparative analysis of environmental impact statement (EIS) reviews in Brazil and Portugal. Sustainability, v. 11, n. 2, p. 3235, 2019. Disponível em: <https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/12/3235>. Acesso em: 10 mar. 2020.