Proposals for cumulative impact assessment in the Xingu: recommendations for project planning and permitting

• Grant number: 24/15143-6
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Research in Public Policies
• Start date: June 01, 2025
• End date: May 31, 2029
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Principal Investigator: Juliana Siqueira Gay
• Grantee: Juliana Siqueira Gay
• Host Institution: Escola Politécnica (EP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Amarilis Lucia Casteli Figueiredo Gallardo ; Luis Enrique Sánchez

Abstract

Highways and local roads in tropical regions are known as significant drivers of deforestation, and their effects on the conservation of socio-biodiversity are extensively discussed in the literature. However, current planning, licensing, and environmental monitoring decisions for projects do not systematically and comprehensively consider the impacts resulting from the progressive loss of forests around these projects, which are known in the environmental impact assessments field as cumulative impacts. This research aims to support planning and environmental licensing decisions by proposing ways to account for cumulative impacts at a regional scale resulting from deforestation around roads and railways. The project seeks, through scientific investigations of significance thresholds and areas of influence of cumulative impacts, to better inform decisions on new infrastructure projects in tropical regions. To achieve this, the impacts of existing and proposed railways and highways crossing the Xingu River basin in the Brazilian Amazon will be modeled. This region is sensitive and of high conservation importance due to its significant mosaic of indigenous lands and conservation units. Using a review of best practices in cumulative impact assessment, spatial data modeling, and scenario development, recommendations will be proposed for the preparation of Technical, Economic, and Environmental Feasibility Studies (EVTEA) and terms of reference for Environmental Impact Studies (EIAs), as well as to support technical analysis and project monitoring stages. This research has two main areas of contribution to public policy: (i) recommendations for planning new projects, including discussions on the impacts of new railways and highways in the region; (ii) recommendations for environmental licensing, including monitoring of already licensed projects. Support is provided by the Instituto Socioambiental, a civil society organization, as a partner institution, with the Ministry of Transport, FUNAI, Ibama, and Rede XinguMais as associated institutions in the co-production of knowledge. (AU)