Abordagens múltiplas para avaliação da governança em sistemas hídricos.

Abstract

The challenges associated with water scarcity stem not only from natural causes but also from anthropogenic causes, such as governance failures. This highlights the need to advance knowledge of governance and methodologies capable of evaluating it. Given the complexity of assessing governance across levels and processes, this dissertation aimed to propose a model for evaluating multiple aspects of governance in water systems by articulating methodologies at distinct levels of analysis. The aspects observed included the analysis of multilevel governance, that is, at the planning levels that impact the water system level, good governance in the negotiated allocation process, and the effectiveness of negotiations and agreements derived from allocations. To achieve this objective, the OGA (Water Observatory) Indicators were integrated with the OECD Principles; indicators were proposed to evaluate the Transparency, Accountability and Participation (TAP) Principles; and the effectiveness of negotiations and agreements was assessed through key factors. All methodologies were applied to two water systems located in the semi-arid region of Paraíba State, Brazil: the Poções-Epitácio Pessoa Water System and the Sumé Water System. The proposed use of different methodologies enabled the identification of similarities and differences between the models and their approaches, as well as advancing methodological advancement in governance assessment. The association between the OGA Indicators and the OECD Principles proved useful for identifying gaps between the two approaches and for demonstrating that this association enables the use of the OECD Principles in more local contexts. The proposal of TAP indicators contributed to operationalizing these principles and applying them in different realities. The effectiveness analysis enabled understanding negotiations and agreements as interdependent processes. Through these analyses, it was observed that Poções-Epitácio Pessoa and Sumé Water Systems differ in maturity regarding the implementation of management instruments and the water allocation process. Limitations were identified in the negotiated water allocation process, including low activity by the Monitoring Committee and limited involvement by the Basin Committee. Power imbalances between priority uses were also identified. The results obtained also demonstrated that water systems with greater regional relevance tend to have stronger management mechanisms.