Avaliação da compreensão e aplicabilidade do conceito de sustentabilidade em empreendimentos hidrelétricos na Amazônia

Abstract

Hydroelectric plants started to be built in Brazil at the end of the 19th century. During the military regime, almost all of these constructions were carried out under the responsibility of the State, through Eletrobrás and, currently, many private investments have been destined to the energy sector, mainly in the Brazilian Amazon. The Amazon region represents great ecological and economic importance due to its forest stock, composition and structure, as well as, due to the dynamics of growth and restoration of the forest. In this scenario, the Amazon and its immense hydrographic network, which holds 15% of the volume of surface fresh water in the world, has immense hydroelectric potential, having the status of current Brazilian energy frontier. However, the exploration of the Amazon is part of the global debate on sustainable development, as it represents a dynamic territory, whose rhythms, frequency and characteristics of demographic, economic and cultural transformations demand great efforts by the social sciences. The country's economic development needs to be linked to the concepts of sustainability, respecting environmental, social and economic issues. Concerns about environmental issues in the business sector have been increasing, whether due to a change in environmental awareness by corporations, legal requirements or a mere marketing strategy. Therefore, there are some gaps left by these ventures that deserve further study. Thus, this research evaluated the discussions on the evolution of the application of sustainability indicators in three corporations that have hydroelectric projects in the Amazon, as well as, evaluated the changes due to the installation of a hydroelectric project in the North of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Therefore, this research is structured in two manuscripts: the first entitled “Evaluation of the sustainability indicators of corporations in the energy sector in Brazilian companies” and the second “Socioeconomic changes in the area of direct influence of a hydroelectric enterprise in the north of Mato Grosso: from planning to implantation”, seeking to understand how these ventures are associated with sustainability, as well as socioeconomic changes in the regions in which they operate.