Table 2 Variables analyzed
Variables | Description | |
|---|---|---|
1 | Accumulated deforestation in the vicinity of the HPP up to 2015 | Considering a surrounding region of 150 km, forest loss was estimated up to the year 2015. |
2 | Percentage of protected areas surrounding the HPP up to 2015 | One of the hypotheses of the article is that the protected areas help to preserve the forest—so the percentage of this typology area of restricted use around the HPP, which existed until 2015, was calculated. |
3 | Percentage of indigenous lands surrounding the HPP up to 2015 | The hypothesis that indigenous lands help to preserve the vegetation cover was accepted—so the percentage of this typology area of restricted use around the HPP, which existed until 2015, was calculated. |
4 | Percentage of agrarian settlement projects surrounding the HPP up to 2015 | Differently from the PAs and ILs, settlement projects do not have as a main goal the preservation of vegetation cover. These areas have as the main objective the colonization of areas by small farmers. So, it is important to know the influence of these areas near the HPP until 2015. |
5 | Percentage of deforestation accumulated in protected areas up to 2015 | To analyze how much deforestation existed within the PAs, and to verify forest preservation in these areas, the percentage of deforestation within this typology was calculated up to 2015. |
6 | Percentage of deforestation accumulated in indigenous lands up to 2015 | In order to analyze how much deforestation existed within the ILs, and to verify forest preservation in these areas, the percentage of deforestation within this typology was calculated up to 2015. |
7 | Percentage of deforestation accumulated in agrarian settlement projects up to 2015 | In order to analyze how much deforestation existed within the SPs, and to verify forest preservation in these areas, the percentage of deforestation within this typology was calculated up to 2015. |
8 | Creation of protected areas directly related to the construction work | It has been found in the case studies analyzed that many PAs created around HPPs were unrelated to the enterprise. So, we opted to analyze only those that somehow had their creation related to HPP. |
9 | Extension of roads surrounding the hydroelectric up to 2015 | Roads are related to the occupation of areas and to the access to forested areas, so it was important to know the extent of the roads around each HPPs analyzed until 2015. |
10 | Time (years) between the beginning of the construction and the creation of the first protected areas | The time of creation of the PAs around HPPs could be related to greater maintenance of forest cover. |
11 | Number of registered indigenous lands directly related to the project | With a protection status granted to the environment, the creation of indigenous lands has importance in the maintenance of forest cover. |
12 | Time (years) between the beginning of the construction and the approval of the first indigenous land | The time between the beginning of the construction of the HPP and the registration of the first ILs can be an important variable in the preservation of the forest. |