CVRD: Eco-permitting needs to be speeded up

The operations of Brazil's environmental agencies need to be made more efficient, Mauricio Reis, head of environmental issues at Rio de Janeiro-based mining and logistics company CVRD (NYSE: RIO), told BNamericas. "We have to improve the processing of environmental licenses so that economic growth can be obtained with environmental quality," he said. The bases of the country's environmental legislation are well founded, the executive said. "The problem is that there are some conflicts in the law that have led to operational and bureaucratic difficulties," according to Reis. "We have no idea how long it will take to obtain an environmental license. And that is the principal problem we have for planning investments," he said. The official would not say what CVRD plans are being delayed but added that the company has a list of projects in mining, energy and railroads currently in the permitting process. "We are not suggesting that licenses be awarded immediately. Rather we are proposing ways for the [federal environmental watchdog] Ibama to streamline the process," he said. The problem of awarding environmental licenses is not due to the administration of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who take office at the beginning of this year, but have been accumulating as a result of legislation that goes back to the 1960s, Reis said. "Each case has its own criteria. A hydroelectric plant built in the Amazon will not have the same requirements as a hydro plant built in the southeast region," he said. Reis denied reports in which he is quoted as blaming Ibama's problems on the appointment of agency officials with ties to environmental NGOs. CVRD, the world's largest iron ore producer, plans to invest some US$7bn over the next six years in diverse areas.