Environmental impact is a change in the environment caused by human activity. Depending on the type of activity, the impact can be positive (beneficial) or negative (adverse).
If a logging company illegally deforests an area of forest, the impact is negative, as it damages the environment. If a group of people makes a collective effort to clean a beach, the impact of this action is positive, as it contributes to rebuilding the affected environment.
Examples of negative environmental impacts
- Soil erosion caused by agricultural activity
- Soil pollution from irregular waste disposal
- Pollution of rivers by toxic materials from industries
- Logging
- Burning fossil fuels responsible for the greenhouse effect (such as oil)
- burns
- Disposal of agricultural waste in rivers and lakes
- Biome degradation due to population growth
- Spillage of chemicals into water or soil
- Domestic sewage in rivers and tributaries that reach the oceans and seas
Causes of Environmental Impacts
Most economic activities have an environmental impact. Energy and mining industries (a hydroelectric or mining plant, for example) have severe environmental impacts.
The oil industry can have a very negative impact on the health of its workers (through explosions and chemical accidents), but also on fauna, when leaks occur.
In addition, on many occasions, environmental pollution causes food contamination, posing a serious risk to the health of populations. As the exploitation of this resource is of high risk and creates environmental impacts, an environmental license is required, which imposes some measures to reduce these impacts.
The environmental impact is a consequence of our attitudes, and for this reason it is crucial to educate the society so that people can have responsible attitudes that cause less negative impacts on the environment. environment.
Main types of Environmental Impacts
In addition to being divided into positive and negative, environmental impacts are also classified by criteria such as their form, scope or period of occurrence.
- Direct: are the direct result of an action. Eg: an oil company spills oil into the ocean.
- Indirect: are the result of a secondary reaction to the activity. Eg: negative consequences of population growth.
- Locations: when impacts are restricted to the place where the action took place. E.g.: waste disposal in an inappropriate place.
- Regional: when impacts reach more places in the region. E.g.: water pollution of a river that passes through several locations.
- Strategic: impacts of collective or national relevance. Eg: deforestation of tropical forests.
- Temporary: when impacts occur for a specified period of time. E.g.: disturbance in the quality of life due to a work (generation of dust and noise).
- Permanent: when the effects are prolonged in time. E.g.: global warming.
- Immediate: when the effect is instantaneous to action. Eg: forest fire.
- Medium and Long Term: when they do not happen immediately and take a while (short or long) to impact. E.g.: any substance that was spilled in a permitted dose and that, after a while, starts to pollute the environment.
- Reversible: when the affected environment, after the interruption of the transforming activity, returns to its original condition. Eg: pollution of a river.
- Irreversible: when the affected environment, after the action, does not return to its original condition within a predictable period. E.g.: siltation of rivers due to mining.
Environmental impacts in Brazil
One of the biggest environmental impacts in Brazil is the deforestation in the Amazon and the Atlantic Forest, as a result of activities such as logging and the expansion of urban territories, respectively.
In Brazil, the destruction and alteration of mangroves and dunes can also be seen, as well as damage to the cerrado and northeastern hinterland, which caused drought and migration of part of the fauna.
In 2015, the biggest Brazilian socio-environmental disaster: the rupture of the dam in Mariana, in Minas Gerais. It was an iron ore tailings dam that, when it burst, reached the Doce River hydrographic basin, which extends over 230 municipalities in the states of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo.
In Brazil, the body responsible for legislation and issuing measures related to the environment is the Conama (National Council for the Environment).
In the federal context, the IBAMA (Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) is responsible for complying with the legal norms established by the Government for the environment.
According to Conama, environmental impacts are biological, chemical and physical interferences in the environment caused by the human productive system, with consequences on the biomes, health, safety and well-being of the population.
The measurement of environmental impact is carried out by professionals in the areas of environmental management, geology, among other related fields of study. The precision of an environmental impact is not possible to be made, as the environment is a complex system. It is possible to make some estimates, through the EIA (environmental impact study) and RIMA (environmental impact report).
Social and environmental impacts
Social and environmental impacts are the effects on the health, quality of life and economy of the population caused by human interference in the environment.
The environment is formed by the physical environment (soil, oceans, rivers, etc.), the biotic environment (animals, plants and microorganisms) and the anthropic environment (environment where human beings live).
Thus, when we talk about negative impacts on the environment, we are referring to a set of conditions that shelter and allow life, including our own. Social and environmental impacts are those related to changes in the environment where human beings live.
A very clear example of a human activity that generates social and environmental impact is the dam construction for the creation of hydroelectric plants. The environmental and social damages are usually immense.
Among the socio-environmental damage caused by hydroelectric plants, we highlight deforestation and the displacement of populations. In addition, fishing, a vital activity for riverside populations, is usually quite affected.
As an example, the construction of the Itaipu hydroelectric plant, on the Paraná River, resulted in the loss of 70% of biodiversity. As a result, the populations that make a living from fishing activities are greatly harmed.
Let's look at other examples of social and environmental impacts:
- Air pollution, especially in big cities.
- Pollution of waters that supply populations.
- Soil and food contamination.
- Climate change, especially rising temperatures across the planet.
- Floods, often caused by poor urban planning and the impermeability of cities.
- Accidents in tailings dams resulting from ore extraction.
positive environmental impact
A positive or beneficial environmental impact is the result of a standard or measure that is better for the environment. The restoration of rivers and forests has a positive environmental impact.
Examples of positive environmental impact:
- Recovery of rivers, lakes and streams.
- Mutirão to clean beaches.
- Creation of environmental preservation areas.
- Recovery of degraded forest areas.
- Protection of endangered species.
negative environmental impact
The negative or adverse environmental impact is the best known and is the one we should be concerned about. Negative impacts are damage to the environment due to human activity, and not a simple change that can be compensated for later.
See also these meanings:
- environmental licensing
- Environmental Disasters
- Electronic Waste