THE NEED TO BETTER DEFINE AND DELIMIT AREA OF INFLUENCE FOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

The document analyzes the current lack of consensus and transparency in how Brazilian government agencies and environmental assessments delimit the 'area of influence' for infrastructure projects. It highlights the risks of relying solely on distance-based radii, which may overlook indirect economic impacts, and proposes a 'market access' methodology to more accurately identify affected regions. The authors recommend separating the conceptual definition of the area of influence from its physical delimitation and integrating environmental parameters earlier in the project cycle, specifically within Feasibility Studies (EVTEA).

• There is currently no clear, consensus-based definition for the 'area of influence' in Brazilian infrastructure projects, leading to confusion between the conceptual definition and the parameters used for its physical delimitation.
• Proposed legislative changes in Brazil (PL 3,729/2004 and PLS 168/2018) seek to restrict the area of influence to only 'Areas of Direct Influence' (AID), which would exclude the assessment of indirect effects and remove them from future mitigation and compensation programs.
• Different Brazilian agencies use inconsistent definitions: ANTT focuses on where transport offering effects are perceived, VALEC emphasizes loading/passing hubs and load flow diversion, and CONAMA provides a general definition of areas 'directly or indirectly affected by the impacts'.
• Current practices for delimiting areas of influence often rely on arbitrary distance radii (e.g., 5km or 50km), which lack transparent technical rationale and may fail to capture the actual geography of economic impacts.
• The 'market access' methodology developed by CPI/PUC-Rio demonstrates that infrastructure projects, such as the EF-170 (Ferrogrão) railroad, can significantly impact municipalities located hundreds of kilometers away from the project's physical trajectory due to reduced transport costs for agricultural goods.
• The document recommends that environmental parameters be incorporated into the area of influence delimitation during the Feasibility Study (EVTEA) phase, rather than waiting for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), to better inform economic feasibility.

APA

Barros, A. C., Antonaccio, L., Chiavari, J., & Bragança, A. (2020). THE NEED TO BETTER DEFINE AND DELIMIT AREA OF INFLUENCE FOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Technical-Note-The-Need-to-Better-Define-and-Delimit-Area-of-Influence-for-Infrastructure-Projects.pdf

Chicago

Barros, Ana Cristina, Luiza Antonaccio, Joana Chiavari, and Arthur Bragança. THE NEED TO BETTER DEFINE AND DELIMIT AREA OF INFLUENCE FOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS. Climate Policy Initiative, 2020. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Technical-Note-The-Need-to-Better-Define-and-Delimit-Area-of-Influence-for-Infrastructure-Projects.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Barros |first1=Ana Cristina |last2=Antonaccio |first2=Luiza |last3=Chiavari |first3=Joana |last4=Bragança |first4=Arthur |title=THE NEED TO BETTER DEFINE AND DELIMIT AREA OF INFLUENCE FOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=August 2020 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Technical-Note-The-Need-to-Better-Define-and-Delimit-Area-of-Influence-for-Infrastructure-Projects.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{barros2020need, author = {Barros, Ana Cristina and Antonaccio, Luiza and Chiavari, Joana and Bragança, Arthur}, title = {{THE NEED TO BETTER DEFINE AND DELIMIT AREA OF INFLUENCE FOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2020}, month = aug, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Technical-Note-The-Need-to-Better-Define-and-Delimit-Area-of-Influence-for-Infrastructure-Projects.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }