Avaliação crítica do licenciamento ambiental: estudo de caso da duplicação da rodovia CE-025 (Fortaleza–Porto das Dunas)

Abstract

The urban and tourism expansion of the Metropolitan Region of Fortaleza has intensified the demand for road infrastructure projects, making the adoption of instruments capable of reconciling economic development with environmental protection essential. In this context, environmental licensing plays a fundamental role in the prevention, mitigation, and monitoring of environmental impacts resulting from highway projects. This study aimed to analyze the environmental licensing process for the duplication of the CE-025 highway, emphasizing the assessment of the quality of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and the Environmental Impact Report (RIMA), as well as the environmental impacts, mitigation measures, and conditions established in the Installation License. This study is justified by the importance of evaluating the quality of environmental studies used in the licensing process of road infrastructure projects, contributing to the improvement of environmental management. The research adopted a qualitative approach based on bibliographic and documentary analysis, supported by current environmental legislation and the assessment of the EIA/RIMA prepared for the duplication of the CE-025 highway. The quality assessment was conducted using the checklist proposed by Sánchez (2008), applying the Lee and Colley review package to classify the evaluated criteria. The results showed that the EIA presents satisfactory quality in its structural aspects; however, significant weaknesses were identified in the analysis of locational and technological alternatives, the assessment of cumulative impacts, the characterization of environmentally sensitive areas, and the level of detail of the environmental monitoring programs. Furthermore, limitations were identified in the risk assessment and in the communication of the results in the RIMA, highlighting the need to improve the technical quality of environmental studies. It is concluded that, although the environmental licensing process for the duplication of the CE-025 highway generally complied with legal requirements, improving the quality of environmental studies and the monitoring of licensing conditions is essential to strengthen the effectiveness of environmental licensing and support more robust decision-making in road infrastructure projects.