Environmental Viability of Land Transport Infrastructure in the Amazon

An analysis of 14 federal land transport infrastructure projects in the Legal Amazon reveals critical flaws in the viability phase, including a lack of clear procedural rules, a missing logical sequence between viability studies (EVTEA) and environmental impact studies (EIA), and a severe lack of transparency, with 57% of essential documents missing. The report recommends mandating that EVTEA precede EIA and creating a centralized database for all concession documents to reduce environmental risks and attract ethical investors.

• There is a significant lack of transparency regarding federal highway and railroad concessions in the Amazon, with 57% of the main documents and information across fourteen essential stages of the process being unavailable. This includes a lack of access to engineering studies, draft notices, concession contracts, and the criteria used to approve Technical, Economic and Environmental Viability Studies (EVTEA).
• The viability phase of federal land transport infrastructure projects lacks clear procedural rules and a defined sequence. Specifically, there is no legal requirement for the Technical, Economic and Environmental Viability Study (EVTEA) to be conducted before the Environmental Impact Study (EIA), which can lead to environmental licenses (Preliminary Licenses) being issued before the EVTEA is completed.
• Information regarding infrastructure concessions is often fragmented and contradictory across different government entities. For example, the National Land Transport Agency (ANTT), VALEC, EPL, and PPI maintain independent websites for the same concessions, and agencies have provided conflicting data on the starting points of specific segments, such as the FICO segment.
• CPI/PUC-Rio recommends making it mandatory for the EVTEA to be conducted before the EIA to ensure socio-environmental risk assessments occur at the earliest possible stage. This sequence is intended to improve the bidding process, increase the likelihood of licenses being granted, and prevent project abandonment.
• To improve monitoring and risk assessment, the document recommends that all information and documents related to federal railroad and highway concessions be systematically stored in a centralized database.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2021). Environmental Viability of Land Transport Infrastructure in the Amazon. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/environmental-viability-of-land-transport-infrastructure-in-the-amazon/

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. Environmental Viability of Land Transport Infrastructure in the Amazon. 2021. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/environmental-viability-of-land-transport-infrastructure-in-the-amazon/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=Environmental Viability of Land Transport Infrastructure in the Amazon |date=10 June 2021 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/environmental-viability-of-land-transport-infrastructure-in-the-amazon/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2021environmental, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{Environmental Viability of Land Transport Infrastructure in the Amazon}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2021}, month = jun, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/environmental-viability-of-land-transport-infrastructure-in-the-amazon/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }