Contribuições da teoria ecológica para a avaliação de impactos ecológicos de portos marítimos em ecossistemas marinhos

Abstract

Predicting impact comprises a fundamental step in Environmental Impact Assessments. This type of study provides subsidies for decision making regarding the environmental viability of the project and establishes the foundation and conditions for the next steps in the environmental licensing. The ecological science plays a key role to support these assessments. First, the present study reviewed the scientific literature in order to identified key interventions associated ports and their potential ecological impacts on marine ecosystems. Based on this review, a comparative analysis and critical assessment of the environmental impacts identified in the EIA of Porto Sul, was carried out. The work focused on ecological impacts in coastal systems, with emphasis on marine ecosystems, without, however, disregarding the connectivity between terrestrial and marine systems. The evaluated EIA did not consider important ecological aspects of the creation of new habitats (e.g. artificial reefs), the introduction and spread of exotic species, the risk of contamination of the aquatic biota and some important ecological processes responsible for connectivity between terrestrial, marine and estuarine ecosystems. Some shortcomings of the EIA made difficult to assess the effect of the development in the coastal zone and may not provide appropriate subsidies for proper decision-making on environmental viability of the port. This analysis revealed a significant gap in between the scientific literature and the environmental licensing process of ports.