Abstract
ABSTRACT Water governance systems must be effective in establishing policies capable of guiding decision making. Their framework needs to weigh the intrinsic complexity of inter-scale and multi-level interactions. Aspects such as decentralization and stakeholder engagement are pillars to be considered. In shared river basins (international or national), there are challenges to overcome since there is a need for managing water at different scales and multiple levels. This study aims to analyse the degree of implementation of the National Water Resources Policy in a shared federal basin in Brazil (the São Francisco River Basin) considering the basin as a whole (macro level) and its micro level (the 34 sub-basins that compose it). Multi-level interrelationships in the implementation of water policy are analysed. To this end, OECD Water Governance Principle 2 (“Manage water at the appropriate scales”) is considered as the basis for this analysis. An adaptation of the OECD Water Governance Indicator Framework methodology is used to classify the 34 sub-basins at different stages of water policy implementation. The outcomes indicate deficiencies in the process of water policy implementation in sub-basins. There is a need for better interactions at the federal, state and river basin levels to strengthen the governance system.
Highlights
Water governance is based on interdependent arrangements among the political, social, economic and managerial spheres
The present study aims to identify the associations and aspects of multi-level governance by investigating the implementation of the Brazilian Water Resources Policy (PNRH) at two levels: São Francisco River Basin, which is an interstate river basin of national relevance; and its sub-basins
Water permits instruments and river basin plans are the best implemented in the sub-basins
Summary
Water governance is based on interdependent arrangements among the political, social, economic and managerial spheres. Such arrangements include the formation, establishment, and implementation of policies, legislation and institutions (formal and informal) to regulate the allocation and distribution of water resources. A discussion related to six African transboundary river basin organizations can be found in Saruchera & Lautze (2016). Another international transboundary example is the Jordan River Basin which includes areas from Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Palestine, and Jordan (Talozi et al, 2019). It includes five countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay (Ribeiro, 2017a)
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