Biodiversity and Energy Generation and Transmission
Periodically, Copel GeT carries out an assessment of its operational areas in relation to biodiversity.
In the most recent update, the locations of all the Company’s Hydroelectric Power Plants, Transmission Lines and 5 Wind Complexes were analyzed in relation to the list of all categories of Brazilian Conservation Units registered in the official databases, as well as the Priority Areas and for Biodiversity Conservation (APCBs) determined by the Ministry of Environment.
Thus, Copel GeT evaluated almost 220,000 ha in relation to their proximity to critical areas for the conservation of biodiversity throughout the national territory.
It is important to highlight that this analysis considers not only the areas built and effectively used by the operational units, but also their surroundings, according to the following assumptions:
- Operational units located within protected areas;
- Operational units located adjacent to protected areas: in this case, a buffer of 3 km is considered for all categories of conservation units; and
- Operational units located outside protected areas, however, in areas of high value for biodiversity: for this analysis, the Priority Areas for Biodiversity Conservation (APCBs) defined by the Ministry of the Environment are considered.
The projects implemented by Copel GeT follow environmental licensing, and several programs were carried out with the objective of evaluating the impact on biodiversity and proposing actions to avoid, minimize, mitigate or compensate for negative impacts, and enhance positive impacts.
In addition, Copel GeT maintains structured management of several environmental subprograms in the form of Management Plans, specifically intended for projects in operation. These Plans are composed of the actions that must be carried out by the Company in order to guarantee the environmental quality of its operational areas and guide the management actions of the physical environment, fauna and flora present in all its units.
Considering the Subprogram Management Plans that Copel GeT has, as well as the structured environmental programs for monitoring fauna, mapping Permanent Preservation Areas (APPs), and the relationship between the units and the priority Ecosystem Services, the Company has consolidated actions in the most expressive part of their ventures and has already identified the improvement opportunities to be implemented in the coming years in order to cover all its units.
| Enterprise type | Number of projects considered | Number of projects analyzed | Type of area analyzed | Total | Assessment in relation to biodiversity in the last 5 years¹ | Area in the vicinity or interior of areas relevant to biodiversity (ha)² | Areas that have a management plan or environmental programs5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Transmission lines |
60 |
60 |
Right-of-way Area (ha) |
14,300 |
14,300 |
32,553.88 |
14,300 |
|
HPPs and SHPs |
20 |
20 |
Area of plants (ha)3 |
197,000 |
197,000 |
133,503.37 |
197,000 |
|
Wind Complexes |
5 |
5 |
Area of Wind Complexes (ha)4 |
8,000 |
8,000 |
1,169.49 |
8,000 |
|
|
|
|
Total in area |
219,300 |
219,300 |
167,227 |
219,300 |
¹ All Copel GeT projects are subject to environmental licensing and are covered by specific and targeted analyzes in relation to local biodiversity. The numbers presented here refer to the periodic verification that the company additionally carries out, verifying the official databases in relation to Integral Protection Conservation Units (which are equivalent to categories I to IV of the IUCN protected areas) and Sustainable Use and Areas Priorities for Biodiversity Conservation (APCBs), for all your ventures, even those that have been in operation for decades.
² For the analysis of areas located within or near areas relevant to biodiversity, it is important to note that the values reported by category did not exclude areas where there was overlap between different environmental classifications. Thus, the same physical area may have multiple classifications (for example, a Conservation Unit that is also identified as an APCB) and, therefore, be counted more than once when reported by area type. This methodology reflects different applicable legal and conservation frameworks, but does not represent an actual increase in the physical area potentially affected. The actual single area value is therefore less than the sum of the areas reported by category.
³ The amount presented includes the reservoir area, properties acquired and permanent preservation area, and of this amount, more than 22,000 ha are maintained by Copel GeT and destined exclusively for the conservation of biodiversity.
4 The present analysis was carried out with a focus on 20 hydroelectric plants, a range of 60 transmission lines and 5 wind farms, according to a survey carried out in that year. The next review will include the refinement of information and will include all Copel GeT undertakings, expanding the database in relation to areas relevant to the conservation of biodiversity.
5 All areas affected by developments have regularized environmental licensing and some type of management, program or specific actions that contribute to environmental and biodiversity conservation. For this reason, in this column the total area of the projects was considered and not only the hectares referring to areas close to or located within areas of relevant interest for biodiversity.
