Governance Contributions for the Revitalization …
483
3 Management and Governance of Water Resources
Water governance has, in general, been related to new social actors and government agents responsible for a good management of this natural good, as well as
to the institutions, rules and procedures for decision making regarding the use of
water resources (Campos and Fracalanza 2010). In Brazil, the legal framework for
the beginning of water resources management is represented by the Water Code of
1934, which defined the property rights to use water resources for water supply, irrigation, navigation, industrial uses and energy production. Subsequently, the Federal
Constitution of 1988 established the need to create a national water resources management system and define criteria for granting rights to its use. Nine years later,
in 1997, the Law No. 9433, which established the National Water Resources Policy
(Matos and Dias 2013), was sanctioned. This policy adopted some principles, such
as the recognition of water as a public good, finite and vulnerable, endowed with
economic value, as well as considering the river basin as a planning unit for decentralized and participatory management (Brazil 1997). According to Matos and Dias
(2013), these reforms in the management of water resources allowed the participation
of society, especially when recognizing the river basin as a planning and management
unit, delimitation that requires the cooperation of all stakeholders within its scope.
In Brazil, urban water resources suffer from a dichotomy regarding the responsibility of their management (Bracht 2008). According to the Federal Constitution of
1988, continental waters are the domain of the Union and the States. On the other
hand, it is also the responsibility of states and municipalities to “combat pollution
in all its forms” (Brazil 1988). This same text can be found in the National Policy on the Environment (Law No. 6938/1981) (Brazil 1981). The National Water
Resources Policy (Law No. 9433/1997) does not specify management responsibility
in its legal text. Such generalization results in a difficulty of integration between the
management of water resources, carried out by the State, and the management of
land use and occupation, which is the responsibility of the municipality. This problem is clearly perceived in the entirely urban watershed of the Belém river, located
in the city of Curitiba (Bracht 2008). In spite of this, the National Water Resources
Policy has a strong water governance character, motivated mainly by the formation
of river basin committees, based on the French model, whose objective is to promote
the decentralization of water resources management (Campos and Fracalanza 2010).
Thus, this governance presupposes the democratization of the process, considering
that local society has a greater capacity to control political decisions at the local level
than at the central level (Matos and Dias 2013).
In the United States, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)
promotes voluntary monitoring of water quality as an essential tool in assisting the
environmental control of its rivers. This program has 1720 groups nationwide working for voluntary monitoring and associated activities (USEPA 2016). Volunteers
are trained to monitor the conditions of local rivers, lakes, estuaries, wetlands and
groundwater. Social participation in monitoring water resources enables community
awareness of pollution problems, which helps to identify and restore problematic
483
3 Management and Governance of Water Resources
Water governance has, in general, been related to new social actors and government agents responsible for a good management of this natural good, as well as
to the institutions, rules and procedures for decision making regarding the use of
water resources (Campos and Fracalanza 2010). In Brazil, the legal framework for
the beginning of water resources management is represented by the Water Code of
1934, which defined the property rights to use water resources for water supply, irrigation, navigation, industrial uses and energy production. Subsequently, the Federal
Constitution of 1988 established the need to create a national water resources management system and define criteria for granting rights to its use. Nine years later,
in 1997, the Law No. 9433, which established the National Water Resources Policy
(Matos and Dias 2013), was sanctioned. This policy adopted some principles, such
as the recognition of water as a public good, finite and vulnerable, endowed with
economic value, as well as considering the river basin as a planning unit for decentralized and participatory management (Brazil 1997). According to Matos and Dias
(2013), these reforms in the management of water resources allowed the participation
of society, especially when recognizing the river basin as a planning and management
unit, delimitation that requires the cooperation of all stakeholders within its scope.
In Brazil, urban water resources suffer from a dichotomy regarding the responsibility of their management (Bracht 2008). According to the Federal Constitution of
1988, continental waters are the domain of the Union and the States. On the other
hand, it is also the responsibility of states and municipalities to “combat pollution
in all its forms” (Brazil 1988). This same text can be found in the National Policy on the Environment (Law No. 6938/1981) (Brazil 1981). The National Water
Resources Policy (Law No. 9433/1997) does not specify management responsibility
in its legal text. Such generalization results in a difficulty of integration between the
management of water resources, carried out by the State, and the management of
land use and occupation, which is the responsibility of the municipality. This problem is clearly perceived in the entirely urban watershed of the Belém river, located
in the city of Curitiba (Bracht 2008). In spite of this, the National Water Resources
Policy has a strong water governance character, motivated mainly by the formation
of river basin committees, based on the French model, whose objective is to promote
the decentralization of water resources management (Campos and Fracalanza 2010).
Thus, this governance presupposes the democratization of the process, considering
that local society has a greater capacity to control political decisions at the local level
than at the central level (Matos and Dias 2013).
In the United States, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)
promotes voluntary monitoring of water quality as an essential tool in assisting the
environmental control of its rivers. This program has 1720 groups nationwide working for voluntary monitoring and associated activities (USEPA 2016). Volunteers
are trained to monitor the conditions of local rivers, lakes, estuaries, wetlands and
groundwater. Social participation in monitoring water resources enables community
awareness of pollution problems, which helps to identify and restore problematic