With this publication, IBGE, in partnership with the Ministry of Environment, releases information about the Survey of Basic Municipal Information conducted in city halls of the 5,560 Brazilian municipalities, on the theme environment.

The present results are grouped by population size of municipalities, Major Regions, and Federation Units, and comprise the two thematic axes of the survey. The first deals with the institutionalization of environment in municipal administrations, by investigating the existence of administrative structure and institutional articulation mechanisms, the ongoing Agenda 21, as well as the availability of financial resources and specific environmental legislation. The second determines the environment manager perception of the municipal environmental status, and exploits the relation between infant mortality and a group of relevant environmental changes. For this purpose, the local environmental status, harmful pressures on environment, and municipal programs and actions taken in response were investigated.

Survey results, organized in analytical texts about the addressed themes, illustrated with tables, graphs and maps, help build a profile of Brazilian municipalities in relation to management and local environmental status, aiding the design of public policies aimed at a new pattern of sustainable development.

The publication contains technical notes on the survey; a glossary of the terms considered essential for the understanding of the results; and a CD-ROM that accompanies it, with the information presented in the printed volume, and the complete survey database