Antonio A. R. Ioris
University of Edinburgh
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Review of Radical Political Economics | 2010
Antonio A. R. Ioris
The reform of water policies in Brazil has involved a combination of regulatory norms and economic-incentive instruments. Nonetheless, contrary to its formal objectives, the process has largely failed to prevent widespread environmental impacts and growing spatial and sectoral conflicts. The main reason for such failures is the perverse influence of market rationality, which is particularly evident in the reorganization of the public sector, the quantification of the monetary value of water, and the payment for environmental services. JEL codes: Q25, Q28, Q, 56
Journal of Environmental Planning and Management | 2009
Antonio A. R. Ioris
The last decade saw repeated attempts to adopt and implement an integrated management of water in Brazil. Internationally established principles, such as water economics and public participation, have influenced the development of a novel regulatory framework for water use and conservation in the country. However, despite changes in policies and in the legislation, the opportunity to address old and new management problems has been largely frustrated by the internal contradictions of the ongoing institutional reforms. A case study of the Paraíba do Sul River Basin demonstrates the distance between, on the one hand, calls for decentralisation and responsibility sharing and, on the other hand, the persistence of bureaucratised and exclusionary practices. The main distortion is the excessive effort expended on the introduction of water pricing and environmental charges, a controversial policy instrument that has dominated the agenda of the new river basin committee, at the expense of addressing river restoration, public mobilisation and environmental justice.
Capitalism Nature Socialism | 2007
Antonio A. R. Ioris
Since the beginning of the 20 century, control over water resources and transformation of the waterscape have been integral to the expansion of industrial and commercial activities in Brazil. Through the construction of many and varied engineering schemes, the provision of electricity, supply of freshwater, and introduction of irrigation, water was progressively transformed into a commodity that could be labeled, quantified, transported, priced and, ultimately, traded.
Water International | 2001
Antonio A. R. Ioris
Abstract Water scarcity is matter of growing concern in Brazil, especially in the semi-arid, inland area of the Northeast, where the São Francisco River flows. This paper concentrates on the relations between the concrete experience of water resources development and the remaining demands for efficient water management in that river basin. The emphasis is on its Sub-Middle section, which since 1948 has been the preferential area for irrigation projects and hydropower generation. Recent modifications in the Brazilian legislation provide for a new approach to water resources policy, which is in favor of more decentralized and proactive forms of water management. In spite of such institutional evolution, conservative political groups in the SãTo Francisco River Basin have put obstacles before the transformation of established practices. In addition, there are other structural limitations contributing to hinder the adoption of a more comprehensive framework of water management. Resulting water conflicts have raised increasing demands for proper attention to the social, economic and environmental requirements of the sustainable management of water. The requisites for that go beyond the water question itself because they involve broader political and socio-economic controversies. At the local level, priority must be given to measures aimed at achieving water efficiency and conservation. It is fundamental to address the reduction of human vulnerability to climatic risks and to adopt alternatives of better utilization of water resources
New Political Economy | 2013
Antonio A. R. Ioris
The neoliberalisation of water constitutes an emblematic illustration of the enduring encroachment of neoliberalism upon nature. Previous studies in Latin America have examined the transition from Keynesian water utilities to the neoliberal provisions of water services, but paid less attention to the adaptability of the state apparatus and the systematic adjustments required to sustain neoliberalising strategies. Addressing this gap in the literature, this paper examines two decades of change in the public water services of Lima, Peru, as one of the Latin American countries where neoliberal reforms have been more comprehensive and resilient. The analysis focuses on the water policies advanced by the national state and with the reconfiguration of the state apparatus as a result of extra-economic factors. The neoliberalisation of water may have improved the situation at the aggregate level, but inequalities, scarcities and vulnerabilities have been maintained and even reinforced. The achievements and failures of the neoliberalisation of water have ultimately depended on a range of politico-economic and socioecological interactions creatively mediated by the state apparatus. In the end, however, the neoliberal adjustments in the structure and operation of the state have replicated the double exploitation of nature and society that has long shaped Peruvian economic history.
Progress in Human Geography | 2015
Antonio A. R. Ioris
Scholarly work in geography has often fallen short of establishing the politicized connections between socio-ecological pressures, spatial dynamics and the changing patterns of the state apparatus. It is still necessary to better examine the failures of the responses to ecological problems in relation to the underlying politico-ideological factors that constrain state interventions. Environmental governance has been particularly influenced by Hegelian political theories about flexibility and legitimacy. The persistence of problems largely derives from the idealism of the Hegelian constitutional plan, which has facilitated the advance of capitalism over the more-than-human spheres of socionature mediated and promoted by the contemporary state.
The Journal of Environment & Development | 2013
Antonio A. R. Ioris
The present study analyzes the challenges related to the conservation of the South American Pantanal. It is focused on one of its most impacted areas, the Cuiabá River Basin. The research findings show a clear disconnect between the official assessment and the wider public perception of the processes that drive ecohydrological change. This partially explains the difficulty to implement environmental regulatory tools that conflict with the preexisting foundations of conservation strategies promoted by public agencies. The most significant result of the research shows a lack of a shared understanding about who is responsible for environmental problems. The responsibility is largely obscure, indeterminate, it is typically related to someone else, the “vague other” who hijacks the river from the rest of society, but can’t be properly identified. This perception helps to conceal the underlying causes of environmental degradation and is limiting the possibilities for resolution. The present article highlights the importance of accounting for a range of highly politicized issues at the intersection between interpersonal relations and broader socioeconomic pressures in a way that goes beyond the narrowly framed development and conservation debate.
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment | 2011
Stephen Whitfield; Helmut J. Geist; Antonio A. R. Ioris
Desertification is a complex process, characterised not only by a damaged ecology but also by conflict over access to scarce resources and trade-offs between the needs of multiple stakeholders at multiple scales. As such, orthodox approaches to environmental assessment in drylands, which rely solely on ecological expertise, are gradually losing legitimacy and greater attention is being given to integrated and participatory assessment approaches, which draw on multiple sources of knowledge in order to accurately describe complex socioecological processes. Moreover, there is growing recognition that successful management of desertification requires a strategy that can accommodate the multiple and often competing needs of contemporary and future stakeholders. In light of these conceptual advances, this paper highlights seven key criteria that dryland environmental assessments must meet: (1) accurately understand complex socioecological system processes, (2) focus on slow variables, (3) integrate multiple scales of analysis, (4) integrate multiple stakeholder perspectives and values, (5) ensure that future generations are fairly represented, (6) ensure that less powerful stakeholders are fairly represented and (7) integrate local and scientific knowledge. The virtues and challenges of deliberative environmental assessments, a novel subset of participatory environmental assessment approaches which places emphasis on social learning, argumentation and critical reflection, are considered in relation to each of these requirements. We argue that deliberative approaches have the potential to achieve accurate, progressive and integrated assessment of dryland environments.
Environment and Planning C-government and Policy | 2011
Antonio A. R. Ioris
Water is not only a valuable substance, but is also valued in different ways dependent on substantive social, ecological, and historical conditions. The concept of water value positionality is introduced to describe the dynamic ensemble of meanings forged from cooperation and competition in the allocation, use, and conservation of water. Positionality helps us to understand water conflicts as individuals and groups struggling to legitimise their valuation of water. The explanatory function of positionality is demonstrated with an empirical case study in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro. Hegemonic positionality depicts water as an economic resource required for regional development and urban growth. This has been increasingly challenged by sectors of the state apparatus who call for the monetary valuation of water. Beyond these two perspectives, there exists a vast range of water values articulated by the local communities in their struggle for survival and political affirmation. The conclusion is that, in the process of constantly revaluing water, there are temporary ‘positions of value’ that last and change with sociocultural and politicoecological experiences.
Water International | 2016
Antonio A. R. Ioris
ABSTRACT Water management dilemmas represent a unique entry point into the challenging management of metropolitan areas, as in the case of Lima (Peru). A condition of water scarcity goes beyond the mere physical insufficiency of resources, but vividly contains the inadequacy of social relations responsible for the allocation, use and conservation of water. Lima’s experience demonstrates the association between investment priorities, political agendas and corruption scandals leading to selective abundances and persistent scarcities that are perpetuated in a hydrosocial territory. The production of water scarcity has been predicated upon discriminatory practices associated with the reinforcement of uneven development and environmental injustices.