Biodiversity monitoring in the environmental impact assessment ofmining projects : a (persistent) waste of time and money?

Abstract

Environmental impact assessments, not only in Brazil, but also globally, have long had their effectivenessquestioned. Among the most frequently debated problems are: low quality of the impact assessmentstatements, weak public participation, project delays, increased costs for proponents, amongst others.The ineffectiveness of the environmental impact assessment system is corroborated by recent schol-arly articles that argue that poor follow-up is one of the key elements behind the worst environmentaldisaster in Brazil, the Fundão Dam failure. The quality of monitoring programs has long been criticizedin Brazil for being partially implemented and for failing to clearly translate into better environmentaldecision-making. This paper discusses the state of environmental impact assessment related to biodi-versity monitoring programs in Brazil’s mining regions, highlighting the political interference aroundthis practice. Biodiversity monitoring programs should set a collection protocol, using a robust samp-ling design, with sufficient survey effort, spatial replication, methodological consistency and time todetect eventual ecological alterations. Without scientific rigor, collected data may have no value fordecision-making, representing a complete waste of time and money.