ID: 2083
Presenting Author: Isroberta Rosa Araujo
Session: 725 - After the Assessment – Where’s the Value and What Happened in the End?
Status: pending
Participatory governance and inclusive public engagement through education, dialogue, and community empowerment in Brazil’s oil-producing territories
The Núcleo de Educação Ambiental da Bacia de Campos (NEA-BC) is a consolidated socio-environmental project within Brazil’s Federal Environmental Licensing System for oil and gas, coordinated by IBAMA. As a mitigation measure by Petrobras and implemented by Associação Raízes, NEA-BC operates across 17 oil-producing coastal municipalities in the states of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo, promoting critical environmental education, inclusive public engagement, and community empowerment in territories historically dependent on oil revenues.
Grounded in popular education, dialogic communication, and action research, the program develops participatory processes that connect communities and governmental institutions, strengthening dialogue and collective solution-building. Through community nuclei, participatory diagnostics, social monitoring systems, and participation in public oversight spaces, NEA-BC contributes to political advocacy and reinforces mechanisms of transparency and social control.
Over its five phases (2009–2026), NEA-BC has contributed to transforming environmental assessment into a space of collective learning and shared decision-making, enabling communities to influence territorial planning and environmental management. The presentation highlights how the project’s inclusive methodologies foster social capacities, reduce environmental vulnerabilities, and provide references for participatory approaches to environmental assessment in Latin America.
Social scientist, with a master's and doctorate in Social Policy, and experience in public policy evaluation and public budgeting.
Coauthor 1: Sandra Rangel de Souza Miscali