Wagner Costa Ribeiro

The Agreement on the Guarani Aquifer: a new paradigm for transboundary groundwater management?

Transboundary water-resources management is usually characterized by prior existence of conflicts. The Agreement on Guarani Aquifer, signed by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, is one of the few treaties signed in a precautionary context. Although the Plata Basin has faced many conflicts regarding surface waters, there are no conflicts in the use of shared groundwater. This paper focuses on analyzing the structure of this agreement and its capacity to prevent future conflicts and deepen the cooperation between the states.

Geografia política e gestão internacional dos recursos naturais

The combination of classical and contemporaneous authors of political geography allow us to analiser an international scale. International Conventions on Environment were created to regulate the different interests at stake. They offer new forms of interchange, commerce and cooperation among countries. However the asymmetric relationship among the parties exposes the need to discuss sovereignty, sustainability and environmental security, central concepts that maintain the international environmental order, the set of multilateral agreements on environment. For this reason, it is instrumental to examine the theoretical matrix of the above mentioned concepts in combination with the international conventions elaborated in Summits, such as the ones held in Stockholm, Rio de Janeiro and Johannesburg, to reinforce the dialogue in the resolution of international problems.

Patrimônio cultural: a percepção da natureza como um bem não renovável

In this article we aim to present some thoughts regarding cultural heritage focusing on the different linguistic meanings historically built around this category. From then on we focus on the legal discussions which involve and once involved preservation policy for patrimonial matters; specially those which dealt with nature as a patrimony, thus showing that the emergency of the natural patrimony is directly linked to the redirection of world concerning about the natural resources of the planet.

Aqüífero Guarani: gestão compartilhada e soberania

Este trabalho analisa a situacao institucional do Mercosul em relacao a gestao compartilhada dos recursos hidricos a partir do Sistema Aquifero Guarani, importante reservatorio de aguas subterrâneas que ocorre no territorio da Argentina, do Brasil, Paraguai e Uruguai. Inicialmente e apresentado o quadro fisico do aquifero. Em seguida, sao expostos os instrumentos de gestao ambiental do Mercosul e a pertinencia em deslocar para esse bloco de paises a coordenacao do uso do Sistema Aquifero Guarani - SAG. Ele teve como base uma pesquisa documental e a literatura sobre o tema.

O Brasil e a Rio+10

A realizacao de grandes eventos internacionais reunindo representantes de diversos paises ampliou a institucionalizacao dos assuntos referentes ao ambiente. A Conferencia Mundial para o Desenvolvimento Sustentavel manteve o movimento que pretende regulara acao humana em escala internacional, reforcando a ordem ambiental internacional, e, uma serie de acordos entre paises que buscamregular as acoes humanas sobre o ambiente. Neste trabalho, analisa-se o Plano de Implementacao aprovado em Johannesburgo e suaspossiveis aplicacoes no Brasil. Alem disso, discutem-se propostas defendidas pelo pais na referida conferencia.

Sociedade e gestão do risco: o aquífero Guarani em Ribeirão Preto-SP, Brasil

Contemporary society creates risks of all kinds, changing the meaning of this term. Although it may be associated with natural hazards, it gradually assumes a stronger relation with human actions, especially due to the use of technology. The use of land for agricultural and urban activities creates the possibility of contamination in the recharge area of the Guarani aquifer in the municipality of Ribeirao Preto, state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. This city is one of the most important in the state with high economic development. Besides this, it is located in the recharge area of the main reservoir of underground water of South Cone. This paper aims to discuss the management of groundwater use in Ribeirao Preto and reflects the risk that contamination and overexploitation might cause to the main city’s water supply.

The agreement on the Guarani Aquifer: Cooperation without conflict

The Agreement on the Guarani Aquifer is unique in many ways: (i) it was the first signed under the influence of the United Nations (UN) Resolution 63/124: the Law of Transboundary Aquifers; (ii) there are no regional conflicts over the use of its waters because the aquifer has been the subject of many cooperation initiatives since the 1990s; and, (iii) a range of actors have participated in these initiatives, including regional academic research networks, governments, international organizations, and private companies.

Trabalho e ambiente: novos profissionais ou nova demanda?

Ao longo da historia do Ocidente pode-se definir varias etapas em que o ambientalismo emergiu como teoria e adquiriu um sentido pratico. Do movimento pelos parques naturais nos Estados Unidos, no final do seculo XIX, passando pela luta contra a poluicao e as armas nucleares na decada de 1960, ate meados da decada de 1980, quando a visao de um desenvolvimento economico que gere menos impactos ambientais foi vulgarizada, assistiu-se uma institucionalizacao da tematica ambiental. Nas ultimas decadas, diversos organismos nacionais e internacionais passaram a exigir profissionais habilitados a trabalhar com questoes envolvidas com o ambiente. Alem disso, surgiram leis ambientais que ampararam sancoes e obrigacoes a empresarios e demais atores sociais. Por fim, a sociedade civil passou a pressionar por melhores condicoes de vida e de producao, empregando tecnicos especialistas no ambiente. Nesse trabalho (1), busca-se apreender estas questoes, apresentando a diversidade de perspectivas de trabalho engendradas por meio do ambientalismo a luz da periodizacao proposta.

Transboundary governance in the La Plata River basin: status and prospects

ABSTRACT The La Plata River Basin’s transboundary institutional arrangement is a complex system with different geographical bases and scopes, including 14 international organizations, four technical committees and one groundwater commission (not yet implemented). This article examines this institutional architecture by outlining the characteristics of cooperative arrangements established under treaties as a way of analyzing how the process of water governance takes place between riparian states. The large number of institutions contrasts with the modest number of joint actions and projects, which prompts questions about their role in the governance process, especially considering the lack of transparency and information about their performance.

Gás "de xisto" no Brasil: uma necessidade?

In recent years increased the number of supporters use of shale gas as the best alternative to cheapen the production of energy in Brazil. This paper presents a non-conventional natural gas formation in sedimentary rocks in Brazil, as well as hydraulic fracturing and its environmental impacts. Finally, ponders the need to use these reserves in Brazil, since the central issue is to discuss the use of energy in the country.