Paradigms and public policies on drought in northeast Brazil: a historical perspective.

José Nilson B Campos

doi:10.1007/s00267-015-0444-x

Abstract

This paper describes the evolution of drought-related public policies in Northeast Brazil (NEB). Using a historical approach, we show that the evolution of public policy has not been characterized by abrupt shifts, but has instead been shaped through debates between renowned intellectuals. The resulting public policies formed a hydrological infrastructure that delivers clean water needed for robust economic activity. However, outcomes of the 2012–2013 drought show that populations that depend on rain fed agriculture are as vulnerable to drought as they were at the start of the 20th century. Although government, social, and emergency programs have aided drought victims, drought analysts agree that rain fed agriculture has remained vulnerable since drought policies were first formulated. Drought policies formulate integrated water resources management (IWRM) strategies that are geared toward supplying safe drinking water, and debates surrounding the IWRM paradigm have been affected by outcomes of major international events such as the World Water Forum.

Highlights

This paper describes the evolution of droughtrelated public policies in Northeast Brazil (NEB)
Scientists play a more active role in policy development, and especially in cases of complex issues such as drought management (O’Meagher et al 1998). These researchers stress the importance of scientific input in political decision making to improve drought management systems, and key studies have examined the evolution of drought policies in Australia and South Africa, which address highly variable arid climatic conditions
This paper focuses on issues of drought

Summary

Methods and Study

NEB is divided into six well-defined eco-regions: the semiarid back lands (sertoes); the coastal humid forest zone (zona da mata); a savannah ecosystem in the western. Public policies directed toward the development of buildings and hydraulic infrastructure change physical systems, requiring societies to again adapt to modified conditions. Changes in these interdependent dimensions delineate the evolution of water management models used by societies, and this has been the case in NEB. FWS systems are vulnerable to droughts that affect rain fed agriculture Such droughts result from insufficient or irregular rainfall distributions that cannot maintain sufficient soil moisture during periods longer than vegetative crop cycles. Such droughts have the greatest social impact on rural populations of semiarid regions

Research Methodology

Findings

Discussion