Coastal governance in Brazilchallenges of pre-salt cycle

Resumen

ABSTRACT With the discovery of huge amount of oil and gas in the oceanic presalt layer, all the Brazilian legal framework related to oil and gas has been modified in basic issues, such as: the exploratory model, removal of two types of income and criteria of royalties distribution. It could be stressed that all the activities of exploitation and supply chain are developed in the Exclusive Economic Zone; with 100% of oil industry installed in the adjacent coastal zones. In this new socio-economic scenario, our study aimed: (i) to introduce the new Brazilian economic cycle started by the recent discoveries of huge amounts of petroleum in the Exclusive Economic Zone (Presalt layer), and to discuss governance processes and public policies in the Brazilian coastal zone in times of petroleum plenty; (ii) to demonstrate that the previous Brazilian experience in oil funds management was not able to produce social equity and environmental conservation in the coastal zone; (iii) to discuss Brazilian and international practices in royalty management in the legal, social and environmental viewpoints, as well as provide a historical summary of the utilization of the oil resources in Brazil, advocating responsible utilization that assumes obligatory compensation for any social, economic and environmental adverse impacts; and (iv) finally, applying the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework, to assess the Baixada Santista Metropolitan Region (BSMR) and the responses that emerge to prevent and mitigate social and environmental impacts related to economic activities, with emphasis in offshore oil & gas exploitation. Our conclusions pointed out that the former Brazilian management model of oil revenues was inefficient and promoted several social and environmental impacts. In addition, the new legal framework regarding oil and gas do not present criteria to link the use of the revenues to offset social and environmental damages in coastal zones. This issue deserves attention because the new supply chain of the Pre-salt exploitation will be established in São Paulo coast, more specifically in the Baixada Santista Metropolitan Region, an already impacted region that requires particular environmental management and social responsibility. Keywords: Pre-Salt oil, Royalties management, coastal zones, social and environmental impacts