ID: 2206
Presenting Author: Moara Giasson
Session: 520 - Connecting infrastructure and IA – Assessing impacts in contested planning
Status: pending
Addressing one of Brazil’s most complex infrastructure challenges, this paper proposes a Strategic Environmental Assessment for BR-319 to promote sustainable governance and prevent cumulative environm
The paving of Highway BR-319, connecting Porto Velho (RO) to Manaus (AM), represents one of the greatest challenges in Brazilian environmental policy. Crossing a territory of high ecological and social sensitivity, the road passes through vast areas of undesignated public forests, protected areas, Indigenous lands, and rural settlements. Given the cumulative risks associated with the project — such as land grabbing, deforestation, and the opening of new frontiers of occupation — the adoption of a strategic and preventive approach is essential. This paper presents the rationale for conducting a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for the BR-319 corridor and its area of influence, guiding regional development in parallel with the implementation of the pavimentation. The SEA should propose sustainability indicators that ensure no further deforestation, the implementation of new protected areas, and the allocation of public forests. The process must also promote free, prior, and informed consultations with Indigenous peoples and traditional communities, ensuring transparency and shared responsibility in decision-making. Implementing a SEA for BR-319 represents an opportunity to align infrastructure and territorial governance in the Amazon, ensuring that regional development occurs in a planned, integrated, and environmentally responsible manner.
Biologist (UFRGS, 2002) and MSc in Environment and Development (2015), directs the Department of Environmental Impact Assessment Policies at MMA, focusing on governance, conservation, and sustaina
Coauthor 1: Ana Luisa Brito