ARAÚJO, J. M.; http://lattes.cnpq.br/4763602971910915; ARAÚJO, Jabes Melquíades de.
Abstract:
The wide range of stressors and disturbances to which Socio-ecological Systems, such as
hydrographic basins, are submitted, demand from the governance systems the expansion
of resilience and response and adaptation capacity, adopting an adaptive governance
model. This work addresses the theme of adaptive governance having as its object of
study the Salitre River Basin-BA (BHS). The research will analyze the governance
system and conflict situations in the basin, considering two periods: the last prominent
conflict prior to the water crisis, in 2010; and the period 2012-2018, in which the water
crisis in the Northeast had its most intense effects in the BHS region. The basin is a region
historically marked by the occurrence of conflicts over the use of water, arising from
issues such as low water availability, common to the semiarid region of the Northeast,
and mainly due to inequalities in the distribution and access to water, due to factors such
as management inadequate and the absence of measures to control the uses and protection
of the basin's ecosystem, observed by siltation, water contamination and overexploitation
of water bodies by abstractions, dams and irregular users, interrupting the river's natural
flow to more downstream regions. Thus, the work proposes to analyze the governance
paradigm of the basin in the considered periods, seeking to identify changes over time, in
order to assess them from the perspective of adaptive governance principles. The
proposed methodology is based on the frameworks: Socio-ecological System (OSTROM,
1990; 2007), Adaptive Cycles (HOLLING, 1986); Panarchy (HOLLING and
GUNDERSON, 2002), Ostrom's Principles of Governance (OSTROM, 1990) and the
concepts of adaptive governance. It is observed that, despite the long history of conflicts
and coping with different stressors, the basin's governance system presents rigidity to
attempts at reorganization, directly affecting resilience and adaptive capacity. Thus,
guidelines are proposed that guide the governance of the basin in search of a more
adaptive model, increasing the resilience and adaptability of the basin to face stressors
that generate potential conflicts.