Rosa Maria Formiga-Johnsson

Inclusão, deliberação e controle: três dimensões dedemocracia nos comitês e consórcios de bacias hidrográficas no Brasil

Based on a survey of 626 committee and consortium members in 18 river basins, this study evaluates the democratizing effect of stakeholder governance in water resources management in Brazil. The term democracy is examined according to three ideas: a) participatory arenas should promote political inclusion and combat elite domination; b) participation must involve a dynamic process of interaction that transforms the understandings of those who participate; c) participatory arenas should guarantee a greater control over the state by the society. The paper suggests that the committees and consortia work better as deliberative spaces. Social inequalities among members affect but do not hinder the deliberative process.

Cobrança pelo uso da água no Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil (2004-2013): histórico e desafios atuais

This article aimed to record the process of implementation of the charging system for water use in the territory of Rio de Janeiro State, since the pioneering experience of charging use in federal rivers (ANA-CEIVAP). In the following year, charging in Rio de Janeiro state waters configured a singular experience in the country, especially because it started simultaneously throughout the state. In spite of the claims initially directed to the implantation of the pricing process, in the last years the State has greatly improved in structuring a management model based on the committee-agency-collection tripod. The major challenges today are focused on two key aspects for the management of water resources: (i) to give agility/flexibility in the application of collected funds and (ii) to induce more rational water by public water services use in regions characterized by chronic shortages.

Disaster Risk Management in the State of Rio de Janeiro

This chapter describes and analyzes the recent evolution of disaster risk management in the state of Rio de Janeiro as evidenced through empirical observation, a bibliographic review, and a desk review. Firstly, it describes the two most serious types of hazards – floods and landslides – and shows which territories are more susceptible to risks. Then it introduces the political and institutional context at the state and municipal levels (primarily the civil defense agencies) and details their evolution in reaction to several disasters that have occurred over time. In 2011, the mega disaster in the Serrana region marked an evolution in policies in the state of Rio de Janeiro and Brazil. It triggered a paradigm shift from solely disaster management practices, focused on response and recovery, to broader risk management initiatives focused on risk assessment, prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Several institutions started to concentrate on risk management, especially in risk assessment and preparedness, for the two types of major hazards. The State Civil Defense, the Environmental State Institute, and the State Department of Mineral Resources were particularly relevant institutions in this context.

Water Security in Rio de Janeiro State

Although Rio de Janeiro is considered to be well endowed with renewable water resources, it faces several water challenges. Recurrent floods and landslides and the major drought of 2014–2015 in the Paraiba do Sul river basin, its main source, have given a reality check to the population showing that also water scarcity can be a problem and that water availability is highly dependent on neighboring states. Furthermore, there are still major water quality issues and a relatively high number of people without adequate water supply and sanitation. Overall, it can be stated that the level of water security is considerably far from being at a satisfactory level. The reasons for this situation cannot only be found in the natural variability of natural resources but rather in the prevailing water resources governance system. Even though the Brazilian water laws promote an integrated approach to water management, the practice does not always meet the high aspirations, as observed in Rio de Janeiro state. This chapter analyzes the natural resource base relevant for water resources in the state of Rio de Janeiro and in the interstate Paraiba do Sul basin, its main source. The water resources challenges and the general principles of IWRM and multilevel water governance in Rio de Janeiro are discussed. Furthermore some suggestions on how to assure a higher level of water security in the state are provided.

From Drought to Water Security: Brazilian Experiences and Challenges

Water security is a relevant concept for public well-being and sustainable development. The word ‘security’ often refers to the idea of predictability, control, and assurance. These are relevant concepts in our changing world. Change involves social and natural processes on a planetary scale that shape and transform local realities. In this framework, the concept of water security must be understood as dialectically related to the concept of risk. In the past few years, the concept of water security has been increasingly disseminated in Brazil, owing to severe droughts that have struck several of the country’s regions. Between 2013 and 2015, South-East Brazil experienced the worst drought ever recorded there. In North-East Brazil, a similar episode began in 2011 and still persists in 2017. The impacts of these events, which are associated with climate risk and societal adaptation, have placed the issue of water security on the Brazilian political agenda, but decision makers’ conceptual approach is still fragile. This chapter describes the Brazilian experience with water security that emerged from the water crises in two large metropolitan regions: Sao Paulo, in Sao Paulo State, the economic power of the wet South-East Region; and Fortaleza, in Ceara State, a semi-arid part of the North-East Region that has dealt with the impacts of drought throughout its history. The respective droughts are described, as well as the water security strategies that were adopted during each of those crises, the lessons learned, and challenges for the future.

Technical knowledge and democratic decision-making: Building adaptive capacity of fresh water systems in Brazil

Around the world, the effects of global climate variability and change have steadily risen in both the public and governmental policy agendas. Freshwater basins are among the systems most negatively affected by climate variability and are expected to be under even more stress under climate change. In this context it is important to understand the factors, including governance mechanisms that build water systems adaptive capacity to respond and adapt to climatic change. In principle, the design of governance mechanisms that introduce many of the theorized determinants of adaptive capacity such as democracy (including participation, representation, and accountability), use of knowledge, networks and social capital, and flexibility should increase the adaptability of fresh water systems to climate variability and change. Yet, in the process of water management these determinants are neither discrete nor independent; rather they influence and are influenced by each other and by several other factors at play at the different scales of water governance. And while these determinants have mostly been theorized as varying in the same direction and positively influencing each other, much less attention has been paid to the potential negative feedbacks and synergies between them. This study empirically explores a few of these relationships in the context of water management and reform in Brazil. In particular, it seeks to understand the interaction between knowledge use (especially climate information) and democratization of decisions in building the adaptive capacity of Brazilian water systems to climate variability and change. Figure 1: Relationship between technical knowledge use and democratic decision making with adaptive capacity to climate variability and change