Cluster analysis as a tool to assess the public perception of social and environmental impacts of hydropower

Abstract

This study presents the results of an ex-post assessment of economic, social, and environmental impacts of the construction of the Itapebi hydropower station, in Brazil. The methodology was based on the application of cluster analysis, a statistical tool to organize data in groups of similar characteristics, to identify the different perceptions about the consequences of the dam, based on interviews carried out among the affected population seven years after its conclusion. The main objective was to identify how differently the affected people in the sample perceived the long-term impacts of the project, according to geographical and socioeconomic characteristics. Indeed, the results show that interviewees presented a significant differentiation in their answers: the ones who identified more negative aspects were those who lived upstream of the dam or had their economic activities damaged by it. The main conclusion is that, during the ex-ante impact assessment required for the environmental licensing, cluster analysis based on interviews of the many diverse groups affected could be a very helpful tool to identify how differently the long-term impacts are perceived, and more robust and less conflictive mitigation proposals can improve the social acceptance of the project.