Port Environmental Management Challenges, Possibilities and Innovations in a Globalization Context

Abstract

Port activity within an overall port environmental system encompassing the whole coastal area in which ports are situated constitutes an important analytical tool. The considerable potential for controlling and influencing activities that occur in the same geographical area means that ports generate significant positive and negative environmental impacts. This importance and the significant expansion of the Brazilian port sector in recent years gave rise to the need for Port Environmental Management (GAP) based on internationally accepted environmental standards. This article discusses nested elements in the concept of port environmental management which take into account new realities of Brazilian ports as well as international standards concerning environmentally appropriate measures for the sector. New international technical proposals are discussed with regard to Brazilian port policy and the port of Rio Grande (Rio Grande do Sul State) is used as a case study, highlighting its structures and the model of port environmental management being implemented.