Adaptation of the TIMBRE methodology for brownfields gully erosion analysis in urban areas.

Soil erosion is a concern in many parts of the world, causing environmental and social impacts. Aiming at obtaining indicators of the recovery of brownfields created by gullies in urban areas, this study adapts the Tailored Improvement of Brownfield Regeneration in Europe (TIMBRE) for the analysis and classification of areas affected by gullies in the city of Bauru, Brazil. The TIMBRE methodology assists in the decision-making of priority areas for remediation and their reinsertion in urban spaces. The inventory of areas affected by gullies was compiled based on the analysis of two image sets (2004 and 2020) available on Google Earth. For the classification of brownfields, three classes were considered: Class 1 - local potential for business development, Class 2 - attractiveness and marketing, and Class 3 - environmental risks. These results demonstrate a correlation between gullies and urban expansion. The inventory identified 175 gullies in the municipality's urban perimeter in 2004, which affected an area of over 64 ha. In 2020, the number of gullies increased to 189, but the affected area decreased to 62 ha due to the recovery of some large gullies. The proposed methodology identified the area of Quinta da Bela Olinda as the one with the highest scores in all three classifications. Quinta da Bela Olinda is the location that has a local potential for business development, as it is the most attractive brownfield, as well as the area with the highest environmental risk. This area should, thus, be prioritized by public management for remediation. In conclusion, the proposed method of analysis can be transferred to other areas with adaptations in the criteria used and, therefore, may facilitate the management of urban areas affected by gullies in other places around the world.

Challenges and perspectives in applying the environmental sensitivity index to pipelines: a review on the prevention and management of oil spills disasters.

The oil spill environmental sensitivity index is a key tool for preventing and dealing with environmental disasters caused by oil spills. This study aims to review the available literature on the subject and highlight the importance of methodological advances to improve how the index is applied in continental areas, especially in regions crossed by pipelines. Most current mapping techniques focus on coastal areas and fail to consider the stretches of land that are vulnerable to geodynamic natural disasters. In this context, the need to implement environmental sensitivity indices specific for pipelines has become urgent. This study also presents an overview of the main accidents around the world and a detailed analysis of the history of Brazilian disasters related to oil spills along continental stretches, with a focus on pipelines and natural disasters. In addition, this work highlights the importance of carrying out new research in mountainous areas of Brazil and is aimed at preventing Natechs (natural hazard triggering technological disasters) and improving contingency plans. As a result, several pathways have been identified, which involves the necessity of resolving gaps in terrestrial environmental sensitivity mapping methodologies, particularly as applied to pipelines. Furthermore, solutions must be capable of integrating terrestrial, fluvial, coastal, and maritime environmental sensitivity mapping techniques. Moreover, the need to implement dynamic risk monitoring systems in real time is critical to help manage such a complex problem.

Construção de um índice global de impacto para análise ambiental comparativa aplicada à adequação de empreendimentos irregulares / Construction of an impact global index for comparative environmental analysis applied to the settlement of irregular activities

RESUMO Por muito tempo o exercício de atividades econômicas ocorreu na ausência de normas reguladoras. Com a normatização, muitos empreendimentos enquadraram-se em situação de irregularidade, sobretudo por ocuparem obras situadas em áreas especialmente protegidas. Nessa condição, a manutenção ou o desfazimento dessas obras deve se basear em uma análise comparativa dos impactos decorrentes de ambas as alternativas, entretanto a falta de critérios e de padronização nos procedimentos tem prejudicado o adequado tratamento e respectiva tomada de decisões. Assim, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo apresentar uma proposta metodológica para análise ambiental comparativa aplicada à adequação de empreendimentos irregulares. Para tanto, foi construído um índice global de impacto, mediante revisão bibliográfica, que possibilitou identificar os parâmetros envolvidos e o seu equacionamento com o uso de matrizes de interação. O método foi aplicado em um empreendimento que realizou intervenção em uma Área de Preservação Permanente, no limite urbano consolidado sem prévia autorização do órgão licenciador. Como resultado, alcançou-se um índice capaz de subsidiar tomadas de decisão quanto à manutenção ou ao desfazimento de empreendimentos irregulares, levando em consideração atributos como duração, extensão e intensidade no equacionamento da magnitude do impacto, bem como os parâmetros de acumulação, reversibilidade e sensibilidade para avaliar sua importância. Embora o método proposto não elimine a subjetividade da avaliação ambiental, contribui para sua padronização por meio de um procedimento lógico e organizado que propicia comparação fundamentada em parâmetros quantitativos, de maneira especial para empreendimentos de menor porte, em geral avaliados de acordo com atributos unicamente qualitativos.

ABSTRACT For a long time, economic activities occurred in the lack of legal rules. Due to advancement of legislation, many activities became in situation of irregularity, mainly by occupying buildings in protected areas. In this condition, the maintenance or destruction of these buildings should be based on an impact comparative analysis of both alternatives. However, a lack of criteria and standardization of procedures has undermined the proper treatment and decision making. Thus, the purpose of this paper was to introduce a methodological proposal for comparative environmental analysis applied to the settlement of irregular activities. For that, an impact global index was constructed, by means of literature review to identify the parameters involved, as well as to its formulation with use of interaction matrices. The method was applied for assessing an activity that made intervention in permanent preservation area, within consolidated urban area without authorization of competent agency. As a result, an index able to support making-decision about maintenance or destruction of irregular buildings was obtained, considering attributes as duration, extension and intensity in the formulation of magnitude of the impact, as well as the parameters of accumulation, reversibility and sensibility to evaluate its importance. Although the proposed method does not eliminate the subjectivity of the environmental assessment, it contributes to standardization through a logical and organized procedure that allows a comparison based on quantitative parameters, especially for smaller projects, usually assessed only according to qualitative attributes.