The research takes an analysis of the environmental license process. Particularly, it deals with the superposition of actions for environmental license between the three levels of government entities. This is because superposition of actions generates conflict between the three levels of government entities in the environmental license process. In this study, conflict means a disagreement between the government entities to carry out the environment license process. Methodologically, the research takes a case study of two projects that have been involved in the environmental license process carried out by different entities. The study analysis is centered into three main issues. Firstly, it deals with the national environmental policy; the regional (Estado) structure and policy; the município autonomy; and, the legal background for environmental licensing and decentralization policy. Secondly, the study tries to understand the meaning of conflict to the government entities that belong to SISNAMA. Thirdly, the study focuses on the forms of management and conciliation to overcome the conflicts. The second and thirdly issues were examined from semi-structures interviews with government staff members. The study identified two kinds of conflict: (a) a horizontal kind of conflict which is stressed by a disagreement between government entities and (b) a vertical kind of conflict that involves government entities and civil society organizations. The research concludes that conflicts are generated by lack of definition of the licensing entity in the legal structure that in its turn impacts on the licensing process and on the environmental management. However, the research identified that conflict is part of the social dynamics that involves opposing (political, social and economical) interests.
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