The meaning and sociolegal importance of river basins.

Abstract

This chapter is the result of a collaboration between Mexican and Bra- zilian members of the JUST-SIDE network to analyze the sociolegal char- acter of the spatial unit known as the watershed. The objective is to place the watershed at the center of the debate on planning for sustainable devel- opment, considering the reduction of territorial injustices within its bound- aries and using its sociolegal dimension. Following a brief review of the legal ffameworks for watershed management in México and Brazil, we ar- gue that situations of territorial injustice could be reduced with a watershed 1 Professor of the undergraduate degree in public management at the Federal Uni- versity of Campina Grande, Brazil, and master’s degree in water resources management and public administration of the same institution. PhD in social Science, PhD in law, and postdoctorate in environmental law and regional development. Júnior visiting professor abroad with funds from CAPES, University of Alicante, Univer- sity Institute of Water and Environmental Science (IUACA). CNPQ Research Productivity Scholarship. 2 Titular researcher at the Research Centre of Environmental Geography (CIGA) National Autonomous University of México (UNAM). Master’s degree in ecology and PhD in biological Sciences from UNAM-Mexico. Professor in the Graduate Program of Sustainability Sciences and the Graduate Program in Geography at UNAM. Founding member of the Latin American Networks for Rural Innovation (Red LatTR). Specialties in water security and watershed management; sustainable rural development and rural innovation, transdisciplinary research and complexity approach to territorial management. approach if the sociolegal dimension, which shows clear weaknesses, is im- proved. Through case studies, we demonstrate the importance of considering this geographical unit as a conglomerate of territories that have a sociolegal dimension that should be oriented toward the reduction of territorial injustices occurring within their boundaries. Often, the most vulnerable populations in a basin are the hardest hit by development models that dam- age common resources such as water through activities such as mining (the Brazilian case) and hydroelectric darns (the Mexican case). Finally, we em- phasize that the implementation of integrated watershed management with adequate sociolegal support is key to sustaining good govemance schemes, including the coproduction of participatory mapping.