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What Governance Failures Reveal about Water Resources Management in a Municipality of Brazil

Author

Listed:
  • Valérie Nicollier

    (Pró-reitoria de Extensão e Cultura (PROEX), Universidade Federal do Sul da Bahia (UFSB), Itabuna 45613-240, BA, Brazil)

  • Marcos Eduardo Cordeiro Bernardes

    (Instituto de Humanidades, Artes e Ciências (IHAC), Universidade Federal do Sul da Bahia (UFSB), Porto Seguro 45810-000, BA, Brazil)

  • Asher Kiperstok

    (Department of Environmental Engineering, Escola Politécnica of the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Salvador 40210-630, BA, Brazil)

Abstract

Humans have historically chosen to develop their cities close to rivers due to the need for water and food security. In Brazil, water security represents a growing challenge, despite advances in the National Water Resources Management System. While municipalities are responsible for integrating the various public policies that impact urban rivers, such as the environment, basic sanitation, and urban planning, only states and the federal government, along with watershed committees, have a formal role in the National Water Resources Management System. The goal of this paper is to assess the Brazilian water governance system from the perspective of municipalities. The OECD water governance framework is applied to a medium-sized Brazilian municipality (c. 200,000 inhabitants), Itabuna, Bahia state, through perception-based and objective data. Studies dealing with water governance do not address this reality, despite representing more than 90% Brazilian municipalities and approximately half of the country’s population. Several water governance failures were identified, such as connections between administrative and political failures, which highlight the tragic consequences of hydrological issues in this region. Developing integrated water resources’ management, as fixed in national and state laws, depends on the effective participation of the municipality. This study discusses the importance of water governance at the municipal scale.

Suggested Citation

  • Valérie Nicollier & Marcos Eduardo Cordeiro Bernardes & Asher Kiperstok, 2022. "What Governance Failures Reveal about Water Resources Management in a Municipality of Brazil," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-30, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:4:p:2144-:d:748621
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    References listed on IDEAS

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