A participa o da sociedade civil em instrumentos da política ambiental brasileira

This paper focuses on the evaluation of the civil society participation in the decision-making process of a number of instruments of the Brazilian environmental policy, such as: environmental zoning, environmental impact evaluation, environmental licensing. The current relevance of the matter is emphasized. A brief literature review of the issue is done in order to establish a conceptual theoretical framework about the opportunities for public participation in environmental decision-making process. The need to improve the instruments, techniques and communicative processes is emphasized through documental analysis, in order to encourage a wide and unrestricted participation of the civil society in decision--making of the environmental processes.