ROUNDTABLES

WATER POLICY DIALOGUES

This conversation intended to present and debate proposals for the improvement of Brazil’s Water Resources Management System and Policy.

In this regard, a partnership project was initially presented involving the National Water Agency, the Ministry of the Environment, the World Bank and the Institute for Applied Economic Research, “Dialogues for the Improvement of the Brazilian Water Resources System Policy”, which deepens the understanding of advances, gaps and improvements in water resources policy, presenting complementary OECD studies and project stages such as Alignment – Diagnosis / Proposition and Consolidation of Propositions.

The debate with the public may show that the debaters agreed with a big part of the diagnosis presented, but that the policy needs to be improved, as it is clear that we still have great difficulties in advancing the National Water Resources Policy, such as the integration between Public Policies, Integrated Management and the dialogue between the Union and the States, having as complementary issues the distancing of the Society and the National Water Resources Policy (PNRH), which is one of the main factors for the aggravation of water risks, since the population does not know the PNRH and what its objectives are, because just observe the law is not enough.

Another addressed point was the structuring issues, where the sectors have an expectation of growth and water resources have a carrying capacity, so management tools such as Plans, Framework, Water Allocation, Billing and Information System are of fundamental importance to be able to provide clarity to the different actors in a river basin.

It was also pointed that concomitant with the implementation of management instruments, society should be very clear that water use must be compatible with demand, and water allocation should be part of the basin, so it is important to strengthen institutions so that they can discuss equally with the strongest and most organized sectors.

As a major challenge to advance the understanding of the PNRH, it was highlighted the importance of strengthening the management bodies, the formation of a critical mass that understands the Water Resources System integrated with the different sectors, as well as the balance between the forces of the managing agencies and of society.