O estatuto jurídico das águas no Brasil / The legal status of the waters in Brazil

Para construir o desenho do Estatuto Jurídico das Águas no Brasil, foram pesquisadas e analisadas as normas jurídicas internacionais e nacionais que tratam direta ou indiretamente das águas, com enfoque na identificação, nessas normas, dos seguintes elementos: i) grau de reconhecimento jurídico formal da água como um direito humano fundamental no Brasil e no direito internacional; ii) regime constitucional das águas no Brasil; iii) natureza jurídica das águas no direito interno e; iv) garantias jurídicas para a proteção do direito à água. A pesquisa, qualitativa, foi realizada nas páginas oficiais do governo brasileiro e da Organização das Nações Unidas, e as normas selecionadas e analisadas foram aquelas vigentes e que apresentam conteúdo relevante para a construção teórica do Estado Jurídico das Águas.

To build the design of the Legal Status of Water in Brazil, international and national legal standards that address directly or indirectly the waters were researched and analyzed, focusing on the identification of the following elements: i) degree of formal and legal recognition of water as a fundamental human right in Brazil and in international law; ii) constitutional regime of the waters in Brazil; iii) legal status of the waters in domestic law and; iv) legal guarantees to protect the right to water. The research, qualitative, was held in the official pages of the Brazilian government and the United Nations, and the selected laws were those presenting content relevant to the theoretical construction of the Legal Status of Water in Brazil.

Application of the environmental Gini coefficient in allocating water governance responsibilities: a case study in Taihu Lake Basin, China.

The equitable allocation of water governance responsibilities is very important yet difficult to achieve, particularly for a basin which involves many stakeholders and policymakers. In this study, the environmental Gini coefficient model was applied to evaluate the inequality of water governance responsibility allocation, and an environmental Gini coefficient optimisation model was built to achieve an optimal adjustment. To illustrate the application of the environmental Gini coefficient, the heavily polluted transboundary Taihu Lake Basin in China, was chosen as a case study. The results show that the original environmental Gini coefficient of the chemical oxygen demand (COD) was greater than 0.2, indicating that the allocation of water governance responsibilities in Taihu Lake Basin was unequal. Of seven decision-making units, three were found to be inequality factors and were adjusted to reduce the water pollutant emissions and to increase the water governance inputs. After the adjustment, the environmental Gini coefficient of the COD was less than 0.2 and the reduction rate was 27.63%. The adjustment process provides clear guidance for policymakers to develop appropriate policies and improve the equality of water governance responsibility allocation.

Science-policy processes for transboundary water governance.

In this policy perspective, we outline several conditions to support effective science-policy interaction, with a particular emphasis on improving water governance in transboundary basins. Key conditions include (1) recognizing that science is a crucial but bounded input into water resource decision-making processes; (2) establishing conditions for collaboration and shared commitment among actors; (3) understanding that social or group-learning processes linked to science-policy interaction are enhanced through greater collaboration; (4) accepting that the collaborative production of knowledge about hydrological issues and associated socioeconomic change and institutional responses is essential to build legitimate decision-making processes; and (5) engaging boundary organizations and informal networks of scientists, policy makers, and civil society. We elaborate on these conditions with a diverse set of international examples drawn from a synthesis of our collective experiences in assessing the opportunities and constraints (including the role of power relations) related to governance for water in transboundary settings.

Efficient and resilient governance of social-ecological systems.

New institutions are critically needed to improve the resilience of social-ecological systems globally. Watershed management offers an important model due to its ability to govern mixed-ownership landscapes through common property regimes, translating national goals into local action. Here, I assess the efficacy of state watershed management institutions in the Pacific Northwest, based on their ability to support local watershed groups. I use document analysis to describe and compare state institutions in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California. Results indicate that state institutional efficiency and resilience are the key factors determining watershed group activity and stability. The primary drivers of institutional efficiency and resilience were institutional unification, robust funding portfolios, low agency conflict, and strong support for economic multiplier effects, creative partnerships, and scholarly research. My findings elucidate the critical role of institutional efficiency and resilience in governing dynamic and complex social-ecological systems, enabling the flexibility to address emergent transformations.

Adaptive policy responses to water shortage mitigation in the arid regions--a systematic approach based on eDPSIR, DEMATEL, and MCDA.

Most of the arid and semi-arid regions are located in the developing countries, while the availability of water in adequate quantity and quality is an essential condition to approach sustainable development. In this research, "enhanced Driving force-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (eDPSIR)" sustainability framework was applied to deal with water shortage in Yazd, an arid province of Iran. Then, the Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) technique was integrated into the driven components of eDPSIR, to quantify the inter-linkages among fundamental anthropogenic indicators (i.e. causes and effects). The paper's structure included: (1) identifying the indicators of DPSIR along with structuring eDPSIR causal networks, (2) using the DEMATEL technique to evaluate the inter-relationships among the causes and effects along with determining the key indicators, (3) decomposing the problem into a system of hierarchies, (4) employing the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) technique to evaluate the weight of each criterion, and (5) applying complex proportional assessment with Grey interval numbers (COPRAS-G) method to obtain the most conclusive adaptive policy response. The systematic quantitative analysis of causes and effects revealed that the root sources of water shortage in the study area were the weak enforcement of law and regulations, decline of available freshwater resources for development, and desertification consequences. According to the results, mitigating the water shortage in Yazd could be feasible by implementation of such key adaptive policy-responses as providing effective law enforcement, updating the standards and regulations, providing social learning, and boosting stakeholders' collaboration.

The role of agency partnerships in collaborative watershed groups: lessons from the pacific northwest experience.

Collaborative watershed group experiences reveal commonalities in their approaches to facilitate decentralized and inclusive watershed planning and management in the United States, and increasingly around the world. Although watershed groups are widely recognized in the United States for positive accomplishments across local, state, and regional scales, the role of government agencies as watershed group partners often remains ambiguous and inconsistent. This paper details results of a survey used to determine the status of Pacific Northwest (PNW) watershed group-agency partnerships relative to planning and management. Specific inquiry was directed toward: (1) the role of technical information flow; and (2) watershed group needs. Mail surveys were administered to 304 watershed group participants in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Sixty-nine percent of the surveys were completed and returned. Based on the collected survey data, PNW watershed groups rely heavily on agency officials for technical watershed information. Respondents perceive support of state government to be the highest relative to federal agencies, local governments, and university Extension offices. However, evidence from the survey suggests that partnerships are underutilized across all agencies and organizations concurrently vested in watershed planning and management in the PNW. Sustained operational funding, increased group participation, and baseline watershed data are the most pressing needs of PNW watershed groups and present a significant opportunity for expanding watershed group-agency partnerships.

Managing water services in tropical regions: From land cover proxies to hydrologic fluxes.

Watershed investment programs frequently use land cover as a proxy for water-based ecosystem services, an approach based on assumed relationships between land cover and hydrologic outcomes. Water flows are rarely quantified, and unanticipated results are common, suggesting land cover alone is not a reliable proxy for water services. We argue that managing key hydrologic fluxes at the site of intervention is more effective than promoting particular land-cover types. Moving beyond land cover proxies to a focus on hydrologic fluxes requires that programs (1) identify the specific water service of interest and associated hydrologic flux; (2) account for structural and ecological characteristics of the relevant land cover; and, (3) determine key mediators of the target hydrologic flux. Using examples from the tropics, we illustrate how this conceptual framework can clarify interventions with a higher probability of delivering desired water services than with land cover as a proxy.

[Countermeasures for strict water quality management of drinking water sources: some thoughts and suggestions on implementing strict water resources management].

Suggestions on Carrying Out Strict Management Regulations of Water Resources were promulgated by the State Council in January, 2012. This is an important issue which has drawn public attention. I strongly support the principle and spirit of the regulations, as well as the request that governments above the county level bear the overall management responsibility. However, as to the technical route of and countermeasures for achieving strict management, several problems exist in reality. Relevant opinions and suggestions are given in this paper (the paper focuses exclusively on drinking water sources which are most in need of strict protection and management). Main opinions are as follows. (1) The sources of drinking water meeting the Class II standard in Surface Water Environment Quality Standards (GB 3838-2002) may not necessarily be unpolluted; (2) A necessary condition for protecting drinking water sources is that the effluents of enterprises' workshops discharged into the conservation zone should meet the regulation on the permitted maximum concentration of priority-I pollutants defined in the Integrated Wastewater Discharge Standard (GB 8978-1996); (3) There is a strong doubt about whether Class II standard in GB 3838-2002 for priority I pollutants reflects environmental background values in water.

Jumpstarting post-conflict strategic water resources protection from a changing global perspective: gaps and prospects in Afghanistan.

Notwithstanding ambiguities, long-term economic resurgence in Afghanistan amidst water insecurity exacerbated by climate change decisively requires a water protection strategy that will complement a multitude of agroindustrial and socioeconomic activities in an environmentally sustainable and climate resilient manner. In this paper, we begin with a perspective on institutions, legislation, and key issues in the water sector of Afghanistan. We then embark on linking the integrated water resources management (IWRM) and strategic environmental assessment (SEA) approaches as a novel framework for strategic water management and subsequently propose a strategy for post-conflict water protection based on the coalesced IWRM and SEA. Context relevant good practices worldwide are presented to provide empirical evidence for this approach whereas perceived opportunities and vulnerabilities in the Afghan context are discussed. Examination of post-conflict water sector initiatives in Afghanistan reveals the critical role of foreign assistance in both water infrastructure rehabilitation and modernization of the institutional aspect of water management. The introduction of IWRM as the basis for a progressive water sector strategy has been seen as a major milestone which is detrimentally matched by substantial deficiency in national capacity for implementation. Concurrently, the role of extra-national actors in relevant policy interventions has been considered catalytic despite criticisms of proposed regulations as being anachronistic to field realities. Therefore the view is maintained to practicable policies by accelerating policy learning in the country's water and environment sectors to encourage homegrown water strategy innovations. Demonstratively, mainstreaming IWRM-SEA coalescence will bridge institutional gaps for better feedback between local and national water stakeholders, providing a venue for improved delivery of water services to sustain post-conflict socioeconomic recovery and promote environmental stewardship.

Environmental science and policy: irreconcilable trends or indissociable partners? A focus on science-policy interfacing in the climate and water sector.

This frontier review examines the interface between science and policy at international, national and regional levels.

Sustentabilidade e cooperativismo: uma filosofia para o amanhã: anais do I Congresso Internacional do Instituto Brasileiro de pesquisas e estudos ambientais e cooperativos / Sustainability and cooperatives: a philosophy for tomorrow: proceedings of the First International Congress of the Brazilian Institute for Research and Environmental studies and cooperative

O livro apresenta a Carta de Vitória do Espírito Santo e também traz os seguintes estudos: Fundo Estadual de Recursos Hídricos (Fun dágua): um mecanismo de fortalecimento da gestão de recursos hídricos no Estado do Espírito Santo; O art. 5º, XXXV, da Constituição Federal como regra processual fundamental em defesa do direito material ambiental: o direito de agir em face de lesão ou ameaça ao meio ambiente ecologicamente equilibrado; O meio ambiente e o desenvolvimento econômico: uma visão realista dentro de uma nova ordem; Gestão integrada de recursos hídricos e costeiros: uma perspectiva legislativa; O cooperativismo na ordem constitu cional; Cooperação e crise: a prevalência da axiologia cooperativa no agir em presarial; Reserva legal e áreas de preservação permanente (APP): áreas de relevante importância ao Município; Estímulo econômico am biental via cooperativismo; Teoria finalística do ato cooperativo: uma nova visão; Sustentabilidade e sociedade; O meio ambiente do tra ba lho como indutor de desempenho econômico empresarial; Direito am biental municipal; Energia eólica: aspectos ambientais; e novos para digmas Sociais e econômicos no direito ambiental.

Ley General de aguas Nacionales Ley 620 y su Reglamento / General Law on National Water Act 620 and its Rules

La Coalición de Organizaciones por el Derecho del Agua es un organismos que desde su creación 2005 ha promovido y realizado acciones tendientes a la elaboración de estrategias de información y comunicación como herramienta básica de incidencia para la población en espacios locales y nacionales en defensa para la presentacion de propuestas en defensa y preservación del Recurso Natural como es el Agua. Por ello es bajo ese espiritu que esta organización pone a disposición la Ley General de Aguas Nacionales, Ley 620 y su reglamento, que esta vigente a partir de su publicación en marzo 2008, esto permitirá dar seguimiento y monitoreo a la creaciòn de la Autoridad Nacional del Agua; Ley de Canon y Ley Especial de Comité de Agua Potable y Saneamiento CAPS. Esta Ley tiene por objeto establecer el marco jurìdico institucional para la administración, conservación, desarrollo, uso, aprovechamiento sostenible, equitativo y de preservación en cantidad y calidad de todos los recursos hídricos existentes en el país, sean esto subterráneos, superficiales, residuales y de cualquier otra naturaleza, garantizando a su vez la protecciòn de los demás recursos naturales, los ecosistemas y el ambiente