to develop the plan. The participation in the process and the implementation of the
DPPs and DM helped in raising awareness, identifying the gaps and building a
strong foundation for stronger institutions. It required partners to look for and
organize information that, until then, had never been assembled and interpreted
together.
The internalization of the new knowledge and the incorporation of new routines
started immediately as the process commenced. These new routines and tools,
information, and plans are intended to be used by the organizations beyond the
scope of the DPPs/DM.
The contradiction between institutional fragility (pointed to by interviewees as a
challenge, as seen above) and the institutional strengthening as a benefit
(as indicated by the outcomes) is in fact, two sides of the same coin. Institutional
fragility has been identified as a general constraint to development in Brazil,
particularly in the same regions of the country as this program (i.e., the Northeast).
In the case of the DM, while the key-partners of the process, FUNCEME, INEMA,
APAC, ANA, MI, and INMET are more developed and capable of acquiring
knowledge from international processes, training professionals in their institutions,
adapting the technology and processes to the Brazilian reality, and even advancing
it much more than expected and planned, many partners in the Northeast remain in
much earlier stages of development. For example, some did not have permanent
personnel or appropriate equipment. Institutional fragilities are, therefore, a challenge in the process of developing a shared and voluntary permanent cooperation
process that needs periodic and reliable feeding of data.
Thus, the institutional strengthening appears as an absolutely critical benefit of
the Drought NLTA process. Stakeholders report, in these early stages, awareness
about their institutional fragilities and also a gradual shift in their perspectives,
followed by changes in their practices and the institution with respect to new rules
and procedures. The Drought NLTA process has also provided these professionals
with concrete evidence for justifying requests to their superiors for technical and
informational improvements to support the improved management of drought.
Integration of Sectors States and Institutions Institutions that did not initially
have much dialogue with one another were brought together, or have further
tightened already existing institutional relationships through the participation in
the Drought NLTA process. This integration is happening across-sectors (meteorological, agricultural and water sectors), within sectors, and between institutions
(hydro-meteorological institutes, water and sanitation companies, etc.), across
states, and finally, across state and federal institutions.
The integrated vision of the drought and its management, along with the
associated improvement of institutional capacities to deliver services were reported,
as highlighted below:
322
E. Bretan and N.L. Engle
DPPs and DM helped in raising awareness, identifying the gaps and building a
strong foundation for stronger institutions. It required partners to look for and
organize information that, until then, had never been assembled and interpreted
together.
The internalization of the new knowledge and the incorporation of new routines
started immediately as the process commenced. These new routines and tools,
information, and plans are intended to be used by the organizations beyond the
scope of the DPPs/DM.
The contradiction between institutional fragility (pointed to by interviewees as a
challenge, as seen above) and the institutional strengthening as a benefit
(as indicated by the outcomes) is in fact, two sides of the same coin. Institutional
fragility has been identified as a general constraint to development in Brazil,
particularly in the same regions of the country as this program (i.e., the Northeast).
In the case of the DM, while the key-partners of the process, FUNCEME, INEMA,
APAC, ANA, MI, and INMET are more developed and capable of acquiring
knowledge from international processes, training professionals in their institutions,
adapting the technology and processes to the Brazilian reality, and even advancing
it much more than expected and planned, many partners in the Northeast remain in
much earlier stages of development. For example, some did not have permanent
personnel or appropriate equipment. Institutional fragilities are, therefore, a challenge in the process of developing a shared and voluntary permanent cooperation
process that needs periodic and reliable feeding of data.
Thus, the institutional strengthening appears as an absolutely critical benefit of
the Drought NLTA process. Stakeholders report, in these early stages, awareness
about their institutional fragilities and also a gradual shift in their perspectives,
followed by changes in their practices and the institution with respect to new rules
and procedures. The Drought NLTA process has also provided these professionals
with concrete evidence for justifying requests to their superiors for technical and
informational improvements to support the improved management of drought.
Integration of Sectors States and Institutions Institutions that did not initially
have much dialogue with one another were brought together, or have further
tightened already existing institutional relationships through the participation in
the Drought NLTA process. This integration is happening across-sectors (meteorological, agricultural and water sectors), within sectors, and between institutions
(hydro-meteorological institutes, water and sanitation companies, etc.), across
states, and finally, across state and federal institutions.
The integrated vision of the drought and its management, along with the
associated improvement of institutional capacities to deliver services were reported,
as highlighted below:
322
E. Bretan and N.L. Engle