Environmental Licensing: Regulation and Credit Granting as Drivers of Sustainability in the Agro-industry of the Semiarid Region of Paraíba

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes how the requirement for environmental licenses as a prerequisite for bank financing serves as a tool to promote sustainable development in the agro-industrial sector of Paraíba’s semi-arid region. The study is grounded in the Brazilian legal framework for environmental licensing—specifically Law No. 6.938/1981 (establishing the National Environmental Policy), CONAMA Resolution No. 237/1997, Supplementary Law No. 140/2011, Law No. 15.190/25, and SUDEMA’s Administrative Standard NA 101 (5th edition)—as well as the internal socio-environmental risk policies of Banco do Brasil and Banco do Nordeste do Brasil. The research employed a qualitative approach, utilizing bibliographic and document analysis as primary methods. Public operational documents, socio-environmental policies, and National Monetary Council resolutions (particularly Resolutions No. 3.545/2008 and No. 4.945/2021), along with related regulatory instruments, were analyzed. The results indicate that both financial institutions incorporate the requirement for environmental compliance as a condition for contracting and disbursing rural and agro-industrial credit operations, though they differ in their levels of detail, geographic scope, and operational instruments. It was found that, in practice, environmental licensing acts as a credit eligibility filter, steering the agro-industrial sector in Paraíba’s semi-arid region toward formalization and the adoption of best practices, even though discrepancies in information and technical approaches persist, hindering access for small and medium-sized rural agro-industries. The study concludes that coordination between development banks and SUDEMA is strategic for transforming environmental licensing from a perceived bureaucratic obstacle into an effective instrument for regional sustainable development.