Abstract
International water institutions worldwide consider integrated water resources management (IWRM) to be the most sustainable way to manage water. Governments have modified their legal and institutional framework in order to apply integrated water management tools in the river basin. Institutional challenges are common in federations due to complex power sharing at national and subnational levels. This article discusses the implementation of the hegemonic model of IWRM in federations, based on a review of the literature for two different federal countries: Brazil and Switzerland. Due to the centralized character of Brazilian federalism, adjustments made in recent decades aimed to adapt the water management model through a hegemonic approach of participation and decentralization, shaped by international experiences and institutions. Some challenges concern vertical interplay, concerning coordination between levels and effective implementation of decentralization and participation. In contrast, Switzerland has a non-hegemonic model of water management, which is varied and fragmented throughout the country. As management is decided and applied locally, the main challenge concerns horizontal interplay, with regionalization and coordination of water uses.
Highlights
In the last four decades, the international community has become aware that global water problems are multi-dimensional and multi-sectoral, involving multiple interests, agendas and causes.This complexity highlights the limits of centralized and sectorized management [1], and necessitates multi-stakeholder coordination during decision-making [2,3].The concept of integrated water resources management (IWRM) emerged to promote the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources
We present the main features of IWRM implementation in a developing federal country (Brazil), and in a federation that is less dependent on international economics and is politically stable (Switzerland)
According to studies financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) [69,70], an integrated water management approach is still emerging, and there is no ideal model, since each example examined differs depending on its local context
Summary
In the last four decades, the international community has become aware that global water problems are multi-dimensional and multi-sectoral, involving multiple interests, agendas and causes This complexity highlights the limits of centralized and sectorized management [1], and necessitates multi-stakeholder coordination during decision-making [2,3]. The concept of integrated water resources management (IWRM) emerged to promote the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources. It aims to maximize the resultant economic and social welfare equitably, without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems [2]. Even if the IWRM is a normative concept, water management is a socio-political process, wherein integration takes multiple forms and meanings [4] depending on the interests and motives of the stakeholders. We discuss factors that may influence the future development and implementation of IWRM in the two countries (Section 5)
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