Integrated water resources management at the local level : the role of local government (original) (raw)
Related papers
Revista Brasileira de Ciências Ambientais (Online)
Integrated water resources management is advancing in Brazil as decentralized and participatory governance gains more prominence. However, local actions need to be better understood since several public policies are effectively implemented at this level. The present article aims to present the current debate about the local dimension in water resources governance. The paper analyzes empirical cases of water resources management in semi-arid Brazil, based on the performance of inter-municipal consortia and São Francisco’s River Basin Committee. Research shows that municipalities do not ignore the need to adopt new management models in response to their known financial and technical limitations. Cases of inter-municipal consortia and river basin committees have proven to be opportunities for greater visibility and action of local participants. Inter-municipal consortia assist in sanitation management, because they increase the access of municipalities to the services provided. On the ...
Criticality of Institutions in Water Management
2004
Conclusions It is interesting and heartening to see that in spite of the externalities, people have faith in community-based institutions. Significantly, the thought process of addressing water level declines and the associated livelihood issues among the people has taken a big leap in terms of understanding the geological controls as contrasted with blind chasing of groundwater resorted to till recently. The “regional” nature of groundwater is also well appreciated; the need for regional actions, and appropriate regional institutional arrangements that have participation from the bottommost village in a basin or sub-basin context seems to have become very clear. In other words, there is a comprehensive, multidimensional understanding developed among village level communities. However, the basic challenge that remains is to ensure a proper policy and regulatory framework to sustain and encourage community based initiatives so essential to tackle a dispersed, unclear and a common pool resource such as the groundwater. Further, how far and how long such community-based initiatives will survive, especially in view of the external challenges such as globalisation, is a key question; particularly because globalisation has brought in its wake urbanisation which has weakening of collective action as one of its major characteristics.
With increasing orders of water scarcity, the relative value of water creates incentives to transfer water rights from rural areas to higher value sectors such as industry and urban water systems. Yet it is possible to adapt to water scarcity while maintaining access for rural people to the water resources needed to sustain their livelihoods. This paper argues that effective water governance defines the range of acceptable water management practices within a given society through three complementary dimensions: rules, negotiation, and capacity. Governance as rules is an instrumentalist approach that focuses on laws, regulations, legal rights and financial mechanisms. Governance as negotiation is a process-based approach that focuses on social relationships and the distribution of power amongst different stakeholders. Governance as capacity is a learning approach that focuses on stakeholders´ ability to take a role in water management. These three dimensions of water governance are i...