In Brazil, recent investments on dredging projects have focused on the improvement of logistic efficiency of harbors, including dredging works to deepen, to recuperate and to improve of access ways, being indispensable to consider positive and negative impacts from that active over environment. The latter players object to make a revision about the principal impacts, treatments and benefic uses of the sediments derived of harbor dredging' works or services, as well as the classification of their degree of contamination, which are in the inner of conflicts and can impact or eliminate irreversibly coastal aquatic ecosystems. Environmental conflicts are being associated with dredging works, in harbors classified as classic and modern, pointing out the necessity to implement a harbor environmental agenda which considers these questions and the participation of relevant social groups on the elaboration of the strategic planning of actions for the harbor sector.
Harbors; Harbor dredging; Environmental conflicts
