Water as freedom in the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

Abstract. Universal access to the commons, such as to clean water, might be seen as a strong challenge to development as freedom. Beyond water scarcity, several regions are already suffering from lack of access, even where water is abundant. Meanwhile, climate change, overpopulation and agricultural demand are severely affecting the quality and availability of water resources. At the global level, concerns about water are tied to the Amazon Region, which contains the greatest potential water stock in the world, and which simultaneously faces the worst troubles in access and supply. This paper is therefore aimed at pointing out the role inclusive social innovations can play in mitigating the impact of growing water shortages and securing effective water use. After a first introduction to Brazil, Amazonas and Parà state statistics on water-related aspects, the research focuses on results emerging from the AguaSociAL project.

Sustainable Development in Resisting Ecological Threats

“…Ecological threats are amply analysed in the recent scientific literature. The following interconnected domains can be distinguished: water security (Cardoso et al, 2018;Monni et al, 2018;Moumen et al, 2019;Muniz et al, 2018); food security (Akhmadeev et al, 2019;Tireuov et al, 2018); energy security (El Iysaouy et al 2019;Rezk et al, 2019;Tvaronavičienė & Ślusarczyk, 2019) and health security (Besenyő & Kármán, 2020).…”

Innovative Aspects Of Energy Resources Saving And Energy Efficiency

“…On the other hand, "appropriation of water by public and private enterprises in order to produce energy may threaten the process of universalization of access to water" [29, p. 440]. To some extend it also may influence badly upon the economy of the country or community located next to the rivers, seas and oceans making shipping difficult [30]. The wind energy is more affordable, which is used in areas with a small number of sunny days per year, where the use of solar panels has low efficiency.…”

Sustainable regional energy planning: The case of hydro

“…Water resources of the planet are considerable; they are estimated to be at the level of 1.3 trillion cubic kilometres (Shaw & Peteves, 2006). Water preservation is one of sustainable development challenges for countries (Cardoso, Swan, & Mendes, 2018; Monni, Iorio, & Realini, 2018; Moumen, El Idrissi, Tvaronavičienė, & Lahrach, 2019; Muniz et al, 2018).…”