PARTICIPATORY MONITORING INSTRUMENTS AND MECHANISMS OF WATER QUALITY IN RURAL AND PERIURBAN AREAS

(SPECIAL SESSION – THEMATIC PROCESS)

Contextualization

The session discussed the importance of monitoring water resources in a participatory manner in order to achieve and embed social participation in this process, in order to obtain information on water quality and to report the degradation of natural spaces, especially in the current context where water scarcity and poor quality compromise access to this resource in good condition. Many communities around the world suffer from poor water quality that brings disease and tragedy, often caused by flooding, ocean monsoon effects, mining and agriculture, so it is necessary for this population to be able to evaluate water and report to the competent bodies (be in constant communication) to ensure your water security.

Recommendations

During the session it was recommended that: Governments and relevant agencies look for ways of accessing communities to promote the collaborative construction of the methodology for water resources monitoring; the decentralization of water resources management and monitoring takes place; instruments are created whereby the population can monitor and report to the authorities possible changes in water quality and quantity; the mechanisms have a language-accessible format so that they can have autonomy in data collection, interpretation and transmission; recognition should be given to the immaterial value of water, paying attention to traditional communities, as they add spiritual value to the water found in their territories; and finally the integration of water monitoring and its association with social, economic and ecological indicators.

Conclusions

Participatory tools enable local management and control, communicate the emergence of springs, assess water quality and report degradation. These initiatives seek capacity building for data collection and interpretation by society. Understanding their customs and inserting this assessment in a local language are extremely important for the promotion of community empowerment and for better monitoring of water resources, bringing greater representativeness of communities in management. Initiatives such as the Water for the Future app (from Mato Grosso state), Flow (The Netherlands) or the Water Ambassadors Guide (India) propose decentralized water management and should be disseminated as examples of initiatives that work.