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RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT PLANS AND THEIR CHALLENGES: THE CASE OF THE ALTO-TIETÊ RIVER BASIN - STATE OF SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL1 1 . Acknowledgments to Conselho Nacional de Development Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for the financial support and Ph.D. scholarship to the first author.

PLANOS DE ORDENACIÓN Y MANEJO DE CUENCAS: EL CASO DE LA CUENCA DEL ALTO-TIETÊ - SP

Abstract

The article proposes a set of requirements to be used in assessing the potential of the River Basin Management Plans as instruments: (i) of (vertical) articulation between river basin planning and national and state planning of water resources; (ii) of articulation (horizontal) between water resources planning and other sectorial planning; (iii) of integration between water resources planning and regional and municipal strategies for land use planning and environmental sanitation; (iv) of water safety. These requirements were applied to the Alto-Tietê River Basin Management Plan, which demonstrated low potential for horizontal articulation and water safety planning. To overcome these limitations, it is suggested, in the next plan revisions, the use of planning tools that promote the involvement of society in a complementary way to the discussions in the river basin committee, fostering shared decision-making between the different actors and user sectors.

Keywords:
river basin management plans; integrated water resources management; public participation; user sectors

Resumen

El artículo propone un conjunto de requisitos a ser utilizado en la evaluación de los Planes de Ordenación y Manejo de Cuencas Hidrográficas (POMCA) como instrumentos de: (i) articulación (vertical) entre la planificación de cuencas hidrográficas y la planificación nacional y estatal de los recursos hídricos; (ii) de articulación (horizontal) entre la planificación de los recursos hídricos y otra planificación sectorial; (iii) de integración entre la planificación de los recursos hídricos y las estrategias regionales y municipales para la ordenación del territorio y el saneamiento ambiental y; (iv) de seguridad del agua. Tales requisitos fueron aplicados al POMCA del Alto-Tietê, que demostró bajo potencial para la articulación horizontal y la planificación de la seguridad del agua. Se sugiere que en las próximas revisiones del POMCA, se promuevan la participación pública de manera complementaria a las discusiones dentro del comité de cuenca, fomentando la decisión compartida entre los sectores de usuarios.

Palabras clave:
planes de ordenación y manejo de cuencas hidrográficas; gestión integrada de recursos hídricos; participación pública; sectores usuarios

Resumo

O artigo propõe um conjunto de requisitos a ser utilizado na avaliação do potencial dos Planos de Bacia Hidrográfica como instrumentos de: (i) articulação (vertical) entre o planejamento da bacia hidrográfica e os planejamentos nacional e estadual dos recursos hídricos; (ii) de articulação (horizontal) entre planejamento dos recursos hídricos e outros planejamentos setoriais; (iii) de integração entre o planejamento dos recursos hídricos e as estratégias regionais e municipais de ordenamento territorial e saneamento ambiental e; (iv) de segurança hídrica. Tais requisitos foram aplicados ao Plano da Bacia Hidrográfica do Alto Tietê, que mostrou baixo potencial de articulação horizontal e de planejamento da segurança hídrica. Visando à superação de tais limitações, sugere-se que, nas próximas revisões do Plano, sejam utilizadas ferramentas de planejamento que promovam o envolvimento da sociedade, de forma complementar às discussões no âmbito do comitê de bacia, fomentando a decisão compartilhada entre os diversos atores e setores usuários.

Palavras-chave:
planos de bacia hidrográfica; gestão integrada dos recursos hídricos; participação pública; setores usuários

Introduction

The National Policy for Water Resources (Federal Law 9433 dated January 8th, 1997) has brought to Brazil a new legal and institutional order for water, its uses and management, the fundamentals of common goods and their economic value, the guarantee of multiple use of water resources, the river basin as a territorial unit of planning and resources management, as well as decentralization and social participation in the water management process.

In this context, the role to be played by the River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) becomes relevant and the RBMPs, important planning instruments. By means of pacts and solutions negotiated among several actors, the RBMPs should contemplate both short- and long-term necessities, incorporating environmental and socioeconomic issues in the definition of sustainable guidelines for the use of water resources in the ambit of a river basin. Therefore, the methodology of RBMP elaboration must assume an integrating character, aiming to make explicit the axis of integration of environmental, social, economic and institutional factors (MILARÉ, 2014MILARÉ, E. Direito do ambiente. 9ª ed. São Paulo: Revista dos Tribunais, 2014.).

According to Zuffo and Zuffo (2016ZUFFO, A. C.; ZUFFO, M. S. R. Gerenciamento de Recursos Hídricos: Conceituação e Contextualização. São Paulo: Elsevier, 2016.), an integrative approach in the process of RBMPs elaboration should: (I) facilitate the approval of RBMPs by River Basin Committees (RBCs); (II) implement the RBMP as a guiding instrument for the actions taken in the basin and as the basis for the RBC budgeting, and (III) gather the society around the negotiations and pacts, forcing the constituted (federal, state, municipal) powers and even the private initiative to invest only in the actions prioritized in the RBMP.

It is important to highlight that, despite the adoption of an integrative approach should facilitate the incorporation of environmental, social and economic aspects in the RBMP elaboration, it does not ensure the gathering of the society around the negotiations and pacts, which is essentially a political process. According to Agra Filho and Ramos (2015), the effective incorporation of the sustainability perspective in RBMPs is influenced by the governance-inducing conditions that are available for their implementation. In this sense, one must consider the politicians’ and stakeholders’ degree of awareness and commitment regarding the benefits of the integration, as well the necessity of adjustments in the institutional organizations (which are traditionally fragmented) and of dialogue among conservative sectors that compose such organizations (CAMPOS; FRACALANZA, 2010CAMPOS, V. N. O; FRACALANZA, A. P. Governança das águas no Brasil: conflitos pela apropriação da água e a busca da integração como consenso. Ambiente & Sociedade, Campinas: v. XIII, n.2, p.365-382, 2010.).

Thus, if on one hand, considerable progress has been observed in water management since the promulgation of Law 9433/1997, which instituted a sophisticated system of water resources management in Brazil (SINGREH) based on innovative principles, such as public participation and decentralized decision taking, on the other hand, the concretization of an efficient governance system, able to harmonize conflicting interests in adequate institutional environment, has run into a series of difficulties and refusals (BRAGA et al., 2009BRAGA, B. P. F.; FECHA, R.; THOMAS, P.; CARDOSO, W.; COELHO, A. C. Integrated Water Resources Management in a Federative Country: The Case of Brazil. International Journal of Water Resources Development, v.25, n.4, p.611-628, 2009.), so that the effective Integrated Water Resources Management is still a challenge to Brazilians (VEIGA; MAGRINI, 2013VEIGA, L. B.; MAGRINI, A. The Brazilian Water Resources Management Policy: Fifteen Years of Success and Challenges. Water Resources Management, v.27, n.7, p. 2287-2302, 2013.).

Water Resources Plans as inducers of the Integrated Water Resources Management

Integration, decentralization and participation in the management of resources are the permanent fundamentals of the National Policy for Water Resources and the tripod that supports the Integrated Water Resources Management in Brazil (BORBA et al., 2007), a process that should consider the multiple uses of water and their conflicts and complementarities, integrating economic, social and environmental objectives in planning and management of river basins. However, to elaborate a RBMP taking into account all the technical and political aspects mentioned above is a great challenge, which assumes the use of mechanisms for negotiation, identification of common objectives, political support and articulation among the actors involved in the matter (ANA, 2013).

Thus, despite the strategic importance attributed to RBMPs as inducers of the Integrated Water Resources Management in the country (LANNA; PEREIRA; HUBERT, 2002LANNA, A. E. L.; PEREIRA, J. S.; HUBERT, G. Os Novos Instrumentos de Planejamento do Sistema Francês de Gestão de Recursos Hídricos: II - Reflexões e Propostas para o Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Recursos Hídricos. Porto Alegre, v.7, p.109-120, 2002.; ANA, 2013), technical and political obstacles have hindered the definition of alternatives for development capable of integrating the demands, the objectives and the values of the variety of actors involved in the decision-making process in the context of RBCs, limiting the implementation and adoption of these plans by several users (CAMPOS; SOUSA, 2003CAMPOS, N.; SOUSA R. O. Planos de bacias hidrográficas. In: CAMPOS, N; STUDART, T. (org.) Gestão das Águas: princípios e práticas. 2ª ed. Porto Alegre: ABRH, 2003. p. 57-68.).

In this sense, this study presents a set of methodological requirements to be used as assessment criteria of the approaches employed in the elaboration of RBMPs. By means of the application of such requirements to the Alto-Tietê River Basin Management Plan - State of São Paulo, 2010-2015 horizon, we analyze the potential and extensiveness of such plan as an instrument for integrated planning and management of water resources.

General aspects of the Alto-Tietê River Basin

Since the end of the 1990’s, the Alto-Tietê Basin Committee, by means of its subcommittees (Cotia-Guarapiranga; Billings-Tamanduateí; Pinheiros-Pirapora; Tietê-Cabeceiras, and Juquerí-Cantareira), has sought to increase public participation as a means to support decision making, when it comes to conflicts that involve water resources (ALVIM; RONCA, 2007ALVIM, A. A. T. B; RONCA, J. L. C. Metodologia de avaliação qualitativa das ações dos comitês de bacias com ênfase na gestão integrada: o comitê do Alto-Tietê em São Paulo. Engenharia Sanitária e Ambiental, Rio de Janeiro: v.12, n.1, p. 325-334, 2007.). In this context, the Alto-Tietê Basin Plan (PAT 2010-2015), elaborated by the São Paulo University Foundation (Fundação Universidade de São Paulo - FUSP), is of strategic relevance, given the broad area of influence of its guidelines, which stretches out beyond the Alto-Tietê River Basin physical boundaries, encompassing an expressive population contingent and the largest pole for employment and income in Brazil: the São Paulo Metropolitan Region (RMSP).

Another aspect that adds importance to PAT 2010-2015 is the large amount of works for the use of the existing water resources in the Alto-Tietê basin region and for the supply of water to other basins. Among many others, the main transfers, or transpositions, are: (1) water from the Cantareira System - water from the Piracicaba river basin; (2) the water course reversal of the Tietê and the Pinheiros rivers to the Billings Dam; and (3) the diversion of water from the Upper Tietê river and some of its affluents to the RMSP central region (FUSP, 2009a).

Moreover, because of the increasing risk of water scarcity in RMSP, as studies show the incapacity of the water-producing systems to supply the present and the projected demand, especially concerning public water supply, PAT 2010-2015 must deal with challenges of large magnitude, indicating the necessity of improving the water security, in particular in face of unfavorable climatic conditions (BICUDO et al., 2015BICUDO, C. E. M. et al. Carta de São Paulo - Recursos hídricos no Sudeste: segurança, soluções, impactos e riscos. Revista USP, São Paulo, n.106, p. 11-20, 2015.).

Methodology

Based on a literature survey, a set of ten methodological requirements was defined and checked in the assessing of the River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) elaboration process. When defining such requirements, it was intended to contemplate essential themes to the quality and good performance of the RBMP (i) the (vertical) articulation between the RBMP and the national and state water resources plans; (ii) the (horizontal) articulation between the RBMP and other sectorial strategies; (iii) the integration of water resources planning and regional and municipal strategies of territorial ordering and environmental sanitation, and (iv) water security planning and management.

It is admitted that the approach employed in the RBMP conception can be assessed according to the degree of compliance with the requirements presented in Chart 1.

Chart 1
Methodological requirements for the elaboration of River Basin Management Plans

Thus, after the analysis of the PAT Executive Summary (FUSP, 2009a) and the PAT Final Report (FUSP, 2009 b, c, d), the proposed requirements were applied and the approach used in the elaboration of PAT (2010-2015) was assessed.

The compliance of the requirements was assessed according to the scale presented in Table 1. To the global assessment of the PAT, the scoring presented in Table 2 was used. By the end of the process, it was possible to identify the main fragilities and challenges to be overcome in the next reviews of the PAT, having in mind the encouragement of an effective integrated water resources management.

Table 1
Assessment scale according to levels of compliance with the requirements
Table 2
Scoring for the assessment of the themes

Results and Discussion

According to the methodology presented here, a set of 10 requirements was defined and presented in Chart 1. These requirements should be complied during the elaboration of the River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs), having in mind the strategic importance of these planning instruments in encouraging an effective integrated water resources management in Brazil.

In this context, it is understood that the vertical articulation among the different water resources planning and management scopes (national, state and the river basin) assumes the compatibilization of the demands identified in the river basins and sub-basins, as the national and state water resources plans are elaborated. Thus, these plans should deal with the coordination of the guidelines and integration of the demands identified in the River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs).

On the other hand, issues of local interest, whose consequences and developments do not exceed the limits of a river basin or sub-basin, must be solved in the area of expertise of the respective river basin committees. Therefore, RBMPs should be prepared considering the equilibrium among the geographic ambit, the river basin, and the interests of the involved municipalities, the state and the civil society actors. Thus, even if planning is a gradual and decentralized process, a compromise exists with the compliance of the negotiated dispositions and guidelines - principle of subsidiarity.

Regarding horizontal articulation and considering that the water resources management must always provide the multiple use of water, as stated in the fundamentals of the National Policy for Water Resources (Lei nº 9.433/1997), it is understood that in the very initial stages of the RBMP elaboration, the mobilization of varied water users, of the public power (municipal, state/district and federal), of the water and environmental organizations, as well as of the civil society, is necessary, once the involvement of these actors is related to the wider or narrower range of the guidelines defined in RBMP. Besides, the coordinated effort among the varied user sectors makes the water resources system more efficient and of a more rational use, at the same time as it encourages a better quality of the water and of the environment.

The integration of water resources planning and regional and municipal strategies of territorial ordering and environmental sanitation is advocated by several actors, because many of the problems related to the qualitative and quantitative water resources management result from the incompatibility between water availability in the river basin and the demands identified in the intended regional and municipal strategies. Under this perspective, the River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) must contemplate guidelines that can aid urban expansion and soil use and occupation, in the sense of the preservation of the water resources, when it comes to quality and quantity.

The option for water security requirements is justified because

[...] the evidence of an on-going climatic change is very strong, highlighted by the analysis of historical series of climatic and hydrological data and projections of climatic models, with consequences in water preservation and in the entire planning of water resources management (BICUDO et al., 2014, p. 13).

According to Jacobi; Cibim; Leão (2015JACOBI, P. R.; CIBIM, J.; LEÃO, R. S. Crise hídrica na Macrometrópole Paulista e respostas da sociedade civil. Estudos Avançados, São Paulo, v.29, n. 84, p 27-42, 2015.), in the specific case of RMSP, the lack of a water security strategic planning is evidenced when one notes that water scarcity, intensely discussed from 2013 to 2014, has been announced far back in 1970. Besides, the lack of information that contributes to the commitment of every water user, including the civil society, is an aggravating factor in situations of water scarcity.

Therefore, beyond the analysis of historical series and climatic and hydrologic data, other factors, such as investments in demand management (rational use, reuse and reduction of water losses) and the responsibilities of the institutions regarding planning, transparency and information about water resources management, must be considered when dealing with issues associated with water security.

The Alto-Tietê River Basin Management Plan - PAT (2010-2015)

The aim of the final PAT (2010-2015) report was to establish a set of actions that would allow facing the problems identified in previous studies of the Upper Tietê river basin, mainly the previous version - PAT (2005-2010), approved in January 2004 (FUSP, 2009b). Therefore, corroborating the finding of its previous version, PAT (2010-2015) identifies six water stress factors in the Upper Tietê basin: (i) water scarcity (consumption exceeding production); (ii) committal of the surficial springs because of the disordered urban occupation; (iii) the disorganized exploitation and the menace to underground springs; (iv) committal of the quality of the surficial water; (v) the menace of the solid waste (situation of the municipalities regarding treatment and final disposal of domestic waste), and (vi) the soil impermeabilization and the improper occupation of the floodplains.

Therefore, the PAT (2010-2015) Action Plan contemplated two major components: the first, named Water Resources Management, aimed to aggregate actions whose objectives were the promotion of the Institutional Development (DI) and Planning and Management (PG); the second, named Services and Works, tried to aggregate the interventions relative to Water Resources and Sanitation (RH), Environmental Protection and Conservation (CA), besides actions and projects concerning the Compensation to Municipalities in Areas of Spring Protection (CM). Thus, 46 actions relative to Water Resources Management were defined, being 15 institutional and 31 related to planning and management. Out of 15 Services and Works, seven dealt with Water Resources and Sanitation, four with Environmental Protection and Conservation, and four with the Compensation to the Municipalities.

The PAT (2010-2015) Plan of Investments considered three scenarios for the application of the resources: baseline scenario, recommended scenario and desirable scenario. All first-priority actions were considered in the baseline scenario, whereas the recommended scenario included first- and second-priority actions, and the desirable scenario contemplated all (first, second and third priority) actions. According to the PAT (2010-2015) Executive Summary, the main criterion that guided the construction of scenarios was to prioritize the actions that would permit the formation of a basis for the decision-making process, the cost of these actions not influencing its selection (FUSP, 2009a).

Based on the documental analysis, it was possible to assess the PAT (2010-2015) performance regarding the compliance with the methodological requirements proposed here. A synthesis of this assessment is presented in Chart 2. The results obtained here highlighted the satisfactory PAT (2010-2015) performance regarding the themes Vertical articulation and Integration of the water resources planning to the regional and municipal strategies; in contrast, some inconsistencies related to the approach of the themes Horizontal articulation and Water security were identified.

As a whole, PAT (2010-2015) presents an adequate level of details, discussing the available information in a clear way, constituting a focused and objective plan. Besides, it is committed to the compliance of the dispositions and guidelines negotiated in the State Plan for Water Resources, as well as in the National Policy for Water Resources.

However, PAT (2010-2015) is limited in guidelines to overcome the conflicts originated among the varied water user sectors, only emphasizing the possibilities related to the urban planning and sanitation sectors. Such aspects contributed to its unsatisfactory performance in the theme Horizontal articulation and, conversely, for its satisfactory performance in the theme Integration of the water resources planning to the regional and municipal strategies, with good performance in all assessed requirements.

Although PAT (2010-2015) did not perform satisfactorily in the theme Horizontal articulation, it is important to stress that the approach to the theme is not easy, being one of the factors that limit the quality and implementation of several sector strategies, including those for water resources. Rather, it is a challenge common to several economic and planning sectors, which originates in the inseparable relationship between planning and governmental processes.

The need to deal with the decision-making complexities in operating territories of several economic sectors and social actors, with active but not necessarily convergent interests, demands the use of mechanisms that promote the coordination of objectives and sector actions, so as to overcome the fragmentation in the range of the public policies, which can or cannot be facilitated by the existing planning instruments (BÜHRS, 1991BÜHRS, D. Strategies for Environmental Policy Co-ordination: The New Zealand Experience. Political Science, v. 43, n. 2, p. 1-29, 1991.; BÜHRS; BARTLETT, 1993; MINNERY, 1988MINNERY, J. Modelling Coordination. Australian Journal of Public Administration, v. XLVII, n. 3, p. 253-262, 1988.; MOLNAR; ROGERS, 1982MOLNAR, J. J.; D. L. ROGERS. Interorganizational Coordination in Environmental Management: Process, Strategy and Objective. In: Environmental Policy Implementation, D. E. Mann (ed.), University of California, Lexington Books, 1982.).

Besides, one cannot ignore either the difficulty that the people responsible for the RBMP elaboration have to incorporate decisions of political and institutional order, of the precarity of the legal mechanisms to guarantee the compliance with guidelines and recommendations predicted in these plans (LANNA; PEREIRA; HUBERT, 2000; BARTH, 1999BARTH, F. T. Aspectos Institucionais do Gerenciamento de Recursos Hídricos. In: REBOUÇAS, A. C.; BRAGA, B.; TUNDISI, J. G. (Org.) Águas doces no Brasil: capital ecológico, uso e conservação. 3. ed. São Paulo: Escrituras, 1999. p. 565-99.; SAITO, 2001SAITO, C. H. Gestão de bacias e participação. In: LEITE, A. L. T. de A. e MEDINA N. M. (Cord.). Educação ambiental: curso básico à distância: gestão de recursos hídricos em bacias hidrográficas sob a ótica da educação ambiental. 2 ed. Brasília: MMA, 2001. p. 29-46; BRAGA; LOTUFO, 2008BRAGA, B. P. F.; LOTUFO, J. G. Integrated River Basin Plan in Practice: The São Francisco River Basin. International Journal of Water Resources Development, v.24, n.1, p.37-60, 2008.; CAMPOS; FRACALANZA, 2010CAMPOS, V. N. O; FRACALANZA, A. P. Governança das águas no Brasil: conflitos pela apropriação da água e a busca da integração como consenso. Ambiente & Sociedade, Campinas: v. XIII, n.2, p.365-382, 2010.; PEREIRA, 2003; ANA, 2013a).

Thus, despite the horizontal articulation is necessary and even predicted by PNRH, Agra Filho and Ramos (2015) highlight that the Brazilian water resources system is lacking of means and legal and institutional procedures that promote the strengthening of institutional relationships and decision instances. Moreover, the possibilities of public participation (public power, users and communities) in the process of RBMP elaboration are limited to queries and discussions promoted in the River Basin Committees (RBCs), with minor participation of some sectors in their composition, and devoid of institutional resources that can influence the final definitions.

Campos and Fracalanza (2010CAMPOS, V. N. O; FRACALANZA, A. P. Governança das águas no Brasil: conflitos pela apropriação da água e a busca da integração como consenso. Ambiente & Sociedade, Campinas: v. XIII, n.2, p.365-382, 2010.) stress that, despite the Brazilian and the São Paulo State systems for water resources make the inclusion of several social actors in the management process possible, public participation may not be effective, both as a function of the themes discussed in the committees and councils and recurrence of situations in which there is prioritization of issues and uses related to the economic sectors of greater political and economic influence, such as the hydroelectric, irrigation and industrial sectors.

In face of these considerations, if on one hand the low PAT (2010-2015) performance in requirement 5 - To define compatibilization and articulation guidelines com other policies, plans and sectorial programs - can, in part, be justified by the existing institutional barriers and policies, on the other hand, the low performance in requirement 4 - To mobilize in advance the main political actors and user sectors - highlights the lack of proactivity to overcome the difficulties inherent to the process of RBMP elaboration.

To admit that the participation and representativeness of RBCs are enough to deal with the complexity of water resources planning is a decision that compromises not only the effectiveness of the plan per se, but also water security planning and management that, among others aspects, assumes the transparent operation by means of wide-range strategies of communication and dissemination (JACOBI; CIBIM; LEÃO, 2015JACOBI, P. R.; CIBIM, J.; LEÃO, R. S. Crise hídrica na Macrometrópole Paulista e respostas da sociedade civil. Estudos Avançados, São Paulo, v.29, n. 84, p 27-42, 2015.).

However, it is not in the ambit of the RBCs that the conditions are more favorable to integrated management, being the decentralization of the decisions the driving element for such integration. As mentioned by several actors (MACHADO; MIRANDA; PINHEIRO, 2002MACHADO, C. J. S.; MIRANDA, N. E.; PINHEIRO A. A. S. A Nova Aliança entre Estado e Sociedade na Administração da Coisa Pública: Descentralização e Participação na Política Nacional de Recursos Hídricos. In Machado C. J. S (Org), Gestão de Água Doce: Usos Múltiplos, Políticas Públicas e Exercício da Cidadania no Brasil. Rio de Janeiro: Ed. UERJ, 2002.; BARRAQUÉ, 1995BARRAQUÉ, B. As políticas da água na Europa. Instituto Piaget: Lisboa, 1995.; CARVALHO; MAGRINI, 2006CARVALHO, R. C.; MAGRINI, A. Conflicts over water resource management in Brazil: a case study of interbasin transfers. Water Resource Management, v.20, p. 193-213, 2006.; GUIMARÃES; MAGRINI 2007GUIMARÃES, L.; MAGRINI, A. A proposal of indicators for sustainable development in the management of river basins. Water Resource Management, v. 22, p. 1191-1202, 2007.), RBCs are the deliberation instances that deserve attention, once that, contrarily to the National System for Water Resources Management (SNGRH) entities, their limits do not correspond to the traditional administration divisions (VEIGA; MAGRINI, 2013VEIGA, L. B.; MAGRINI, A. The Brazilian Water Resources Management Policy: Fifteen Years of Success and Challenges. Water Resources Management, v.27, n.7, p. 2287-2302, 2013.).

Chart 2
PAT (2010-2015) performance regarding the compliance with the proposed requirements

Therefore, even if the objective of the decentralized management is greater legitimacy in decision making at the river basin level, taking into account the rights of individuals or groups, organized or not, another challenge is the overcome the political interference from specific sectors and actors. All the difficulties must be observed (access to information, transfer to participate in the activities, address of technical issues, among others) that limit the participation of the civil society (CAMPOS; FRACALANZA, 2010CAMPOS, V. N. O; FRACALANZA, A. P. Governança das águas no Brasil: conflitos pela apropriação da água e a busca da integração como consenso. Ambiente & Sociedade, Campinas: v. XIII, n.2, p.365-382, 2010.; PEREIRA, 2003PEREIRA, D. (Coord.). Governabilidade dos Recursos Hídricos no Brasil: a implementação dos Instrumentos de Gestão na Bacia do Rio Paraíba do Sul. Brasília: Agência Nacional de Águas, 2003.).

In this context, it is worth stressing out the strategic role to be played by transparency and access to information regarding water resources management, which emerge as instruments for the assessment of the effectiveness and legitimacy of the planning and governance practices, in which the public participation is a key factor (JACOBI; CIBIM; LEÃO, 2015JACOBI, P. R.; CIBIM, J.; LEÃO, R. S. Crise hídrica na Macrometrópole Paulista e respostas da sociedade civil. Estudos Avançados, São Paulo, v.29, n. 84, p 27-42, 2015.). Thus, when influencing the mobilization of several actors, transparency constitutes an important part of water security planning and management. However, water resources planning:

[...] is a political decision process that depends on precise information, transparency, ethics, temperance, acceptance of different viewpoints and will to negotiate and search for joint solutions that are acceptable for the whole society and mainly for the parties involved (OLIVEIRA, 2006OLIVEIRA, J. A. P. Desafios do planejamento em políticas públicas: diferentes visões e práticas. Revista de Administração Pública, Rio de Janeiro, v.40, n.2 p. 273-288, 2006., p. 284).

When it comes to PAT (2010-2015), the low performance in requirement 8 - To act transparently by means of broad-spectrum communication and dissemination strategies - is justified by the non-prioritization of the guidelines regarding social communication in its action plan, and also by the lack of mobilization strategies to involve the public in the initial stages of the plan elaboration, as attested in the analysis of requirement 4 - To mobilize in advance the main political actors and user sectors.

Considering water security as a whole, another aspect that contributed to the PAT (2010-2015) unsatisfactory performance was the limited character of the proposed Contingency Plan (PG-13), which emphasizes the role of the water supply dealers in the management of the demands, but does not discuss the other users’ responsibilities in situations of water scarcity. Besides, the joint management plans predicted in the PG-14 guideline were not prioritized in the PAT (2010-2015) action plan, being considered of third priority.

However, the high PAT (2010-2015) performance in requirement 9 - To act both in the supply and demand management, is explained by the fact that a guideline is proposed to encourage studies for the Implantation of Systems to Induce the Reduction of Losses and Consumption, Rational Use and Use of Water (PG-12), and prioritize it in its action plan. Figure 1 presents the PAT (2010-2015) global assessment according to the score obtained in the analyzed themes. It is observed that despite the satisfactory global assessment, the plan presents some important gaps in the approach of horizontal articulation and water security.

Figure 1
PAT (2010-2015) global assessment

Conclusions

Among the factors that contribute to the unsatisfactory scope of the River Basin Plans (RBMPs) elaborated in Brazil, the following are highlighted: (i) the precarious articulation of these plans with the national and state water resources plans, as well as with other sector strategies; (ii) the institutional difficulties for the integration of water resources planning with regional and municipal territorial planning, and (iii) the insufficient approach of issues related to water security.

Therefore, in order to guarantee the RBMP role as instrument that can induce the integrated (participative and shared) water resources management, it is suggested that the set of methodological requirements proposed here be met, thus encouraging the equity of forces between the technical-scientific knowledge and the community wishes, as well as the integration of other sectorial public policies in decision making in the ambit of the River Basin Committees (RBCs).

The application of the proposed requirements to PAT (2010-2015) pointed to the difficulty faced by the water resources managers to overcome the bureaucratic logic of formulation and control, which sees planning as a process of making plans, delegating responsibilities and determining budgets in a sectorized way. Given the strategic and transversal character of water resources planning, it was expected that a process of political construction shared among the varied actors and user sectors should be prioritized in the construction of PAT (2010-2015).

Based on the requirements proposed here, an essentially technical-scientific approach in the elaboration process and in treating issues related to water security is observed in PAT (2010-2015). This approach is at odds with the several actors’ orientations who discuss the water scarcity in the Upper Tietê Basin.

Thus, considering that the sustainable use of water resources depends on interdisciplinary actions and cultural changes that assume mobilization and involvement of the public in decision making, it is understood that, despite the satisfactory global assessment, PAT (2010-2015) presents important challenges for the next reviews, such as: (i) the use of planning strategies that promote the participation and involvement of the society from the initial stages of the plan elaboration, so as to complement the discussions in the ambit of the basin committee, making a greater social engagement and control possible, and (ii) the guiding of efforts to overcome the technicist approach - which does not recognize the planning limitations as a tool capable of predicting and controlling the future - in the prioritization of the measures predicted in its action plan.

In this sense, it is necessary that the water resources managers recognize that the lack of articulation among the varied institutions involved in the planning of the sectorial public policies and the low capacity to organize and mobilize the civil society in the ambit of the RBCs are factors that limit the range and implementation of the measures and actions predicted in the RBMPs.

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  • 1
    . Acknowledgments to Conselho Nacional de Development Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for the financial support and Ph.D. scholarship to the first author.

Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    11 May 2020
  • Date of issue
    2020

History

  • Received
    05 Nov 2017
  • Accepted
    10 Oct 2019
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