A teoria na prática é outra? Estudo de caso de licenciamentos de barragens de abastecimento no Estado da Bahia

Abstract

Dams for water supply are of great importance for society, but can produce significant impacts on key ecosystems associated with watersheds. As activities that generate impacts, they are subject to environmental licensing, however, as being conducted the dam licensing process here in the state? What is being considered in environmental studies and the conditions of their licenses? What does the literature and the works that deal with the topic of impacts on biota due to the implementation of supply dams? What are the "noise" generated midway between what the theory brings to the final outcome in the licensed conditions? Trying to answer any of these questions, this paper describes and analyzes the losses that occur from what is advocated by the dam ecology theory, to the construction of the environmental conditions in the licensing process dams for human consumption in the state of Bahia. Therefore, there was a survey of the major impacts on biota indicated by the scientific literature in the implementation of dams and compared with the environmental studies and licenses for the six licensing procedures pleaded by the Bahian Company for Water and Sanitation (Embasa) next the environmental agency of the state. The results show several omissions and subjectivities by both studies preceding the license as the permits themselves, causing significant loss of information and treatment with the impacts and their recommendations for mitigating and / or compensatory measures. It was also a direct correlation between the quality of Environmental Studies and their licenses, since in many cases there was an equivalence between them. The survey also brings a particular case of the requirement for an integrated environmental assessment, although not yet complete all propounded requirements for theory and the current rules, already shows the possibility of a practice by the executing agency of the environmental policy of the state that can contribute for an improvement in the structure and quality of the licensing process.