O uso de sistemas de suporte à decisão no licenciamento ambiental de empreendimentos hidrelétricos situados na Região do Uruguai, Estado do Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

This article investigates the utilization of decision support tools that are being used for the State of Rio Grande do Sul Environmental Agency as an initial step for the development of hydroelectric environmental process licensing . This study is constituted of an watershed integrated analysis using a methodological approach based in rivers and stretches of river classification which is reasoned on environmental favorability analysis, considering drainage fragmentation potential. The system as a whole generates an environmental zoning, considering the physical, biotic and anthropogenic factors of the watershed, which is used to substantiate the choice of which areas have better potential for projects implementation. The studied area comprises the watersheds of rivers Ijuí, Butuí-Piratinim Icamaquã and Apuaê-Inandava located on the Uruguay River Basin Region, Rio Grande do Sul State. The methodology permitted to indicate the feasibility (or otherwise) of an environmental licensing of a series of hydropower projects. Applying this methodology was possible: i) the articulation of environmental with socio-economic issues; ii) the assessment of cumulative impacts and synergistic effects in the early steps of the projects and iii) to reduce the analysis scope at the enterprise level, when preparing the Environmental Impact Assessment or other simplified environmental assessments. The success of this experience was authenticated the application of this methodology in other subject areas, optimizing the operational procedures in the environmental agency and doing the licensing process more responsive and effective