The politics of bulk water pricing in Brazil: lessons from the Paraíba do Sul basin

Abstract

This article examines the implementation of a bulk water pricing system in the Paraíba do Sul River Basin (PSRB) in southeast Brazil. It argues that four primary factors explain the successful negotiations for water prices in the basin. First, the negotiation process itself was inclusive and open rather than being imposed from the top down. A combination of market factors and state control (in the form of direct involvement of a federal agency) created a necessary balance in setting prices as it simultaneously allowed for powerful industrial sectors to negotiate favorable terms and for state and societal actors to offset the dominance of certain users over the negotiation process. Second, participants successfully demanded that the collected funds be reinvested in the basin rather than absorbed and spent elsewhere by the federal government. Third, a worldwide paradigm shift for water management, including the notions of water as an economic good, decentralization, societal participation and sustainability shaped the actions of key groups within the basin. Fourth, the level of technical capacity in the basin which reached back several decades provided the necessary foundation and support for the process to move forward. Committee members largely agreed on the primary problems facing the basin and on the necessity of implementing a bulk water pricing scheme in order to rectify them.

Water: Drought, Crisis and Governance in Australia and Brazil

“…Much of the cause of the problem has been the unequal distribution of authority amongst the various stakeholders involved in the design and implementation of public policies. The principles of such a model are systematically corrupted by the domination of particular interests over others, usually favouring private stakeholders in an unequal manner [22,25].…”

“…Social learning had an important role at that time, making it possible to organize a cooperative network and establish a set of shared goals involving the main stakeholders in the process [73]. A substantial social learning process achieved by technicians acting inside the watershed committee for years, and the social network built across the participant states, allowed them to organize a well-established drought task force responsible to generate the information base for decision-making on water allocation [25]. The new allocation scheme was adopted by the water users, especially impacting on the operation of hydropower dams, and it was enough to minimize the economic losses during the critical period.…”

A Gestão De Recursos Hídricos No Brasil E Os Comitês De Bacias Hidrográficas - A Experiência Do CBH-Miranda (Ms)

“…A criação dos organismos de bacias ocorre com múltiplas lógicas, mas, de modo geral, são criados em bacias hidrográficas identificadas como estratégicas, principalmente, do ponto de vista social, ambiental e econômico, particularmente,onde se verificam situações de disputas entre os setores produtivos e crescente apropriação dos recursos hídricos (FORMIGA-JOHNSSON et al 2007). Nestes casos, situa-se a maioria dos comitês federais interestaduais institucionalizados por Decretos do Governo federal, visando estabelecer normas e controles de usos e exploração dos recursos hídricos.…”

Desenvolvimento nacional e gestão de recursos hídricos no Brasil

“…Isso é demonstrado ao se constatar que a maioria dos novos comités de bacia teve suas atividades dominadas pela controvérsia em torno da introdução da cobrança, como no caso do CEIVAP no Rio Paraíba do Sul (cf. Formiga-Johnsson et al, 2007), em uma queda-de-braço entre os setores econômicos e funcionários do governo que pouco diz respeito aos interesses dos outros membros do comité. Além disso, ao invés de servirem para recuperar a condição dos corpos d'água, os valores arrecadados com a cobrança na Bacia do Rio Paraíba do Sul, a mais paradigmática experiência até agora no país, têm servido a projetos isolados, sem grande repercussão ambiental, mas ainda assim objetos de disputa acirrada entre prefeitos, Organizações Não-Governamentais e empreiteiros.…”