Territorial Governance and its Challenges. Reflections on Inter-Municipal Consortia and River Basin Committees

Abstract

Objective: To identify, analyze and diagnose certain proposals for regional development policies and planning that have emerged in Brazil in more recent periods, which, as such, do not have their origins in formulation and implementation by the federal level. Theoretical framework: With the involvement of different social and territorial scales, it became necessary to reflect on themes such as government, governance, planning and politics as a reflexive basis for the methodology. Method: The characterisation of forms of territorial governance was carried out through the analysis and diagnosis of case studies on River Basin Committees and Inter-municipal Public Consortia as empirical experiences involving different scales of regionalisation. Results and Discussion: Different levels and scales were uncovered in the involvement and triggering of management, from federal and state governments, to those originating in regional communities or even at municipal level and their different constraints and characteristics. Although the result of the limitation of these forms of management is not very surprising, it would be important to explore their potential for more democratic management in the future. Implications of the research: A constructive study of the common criticisms of proposals for regional coordination through committees and consortia could reveal the conditions in which they can become potential arenas for the political game of regional development. Originality/Value: In addition to contributing to the systematisation of the bibliography on the two forms of territorial management, it points to the need for further studies in search of their undiscovered potential.