A public policy for the waters

Humankind development is interwoven with water uses and during millenniums, water was considered as a unextinguishable resource. Only a few decades ago it was realized that, in face of wrong uses and waste, natural resources are becoming scarce and that the wrong idea about water being unextinguishable must be put to an end.

Only from the 70’s, as we felt the global problems arising from the economic development and industrialization models adopted – that brought a drastic increase in pollution and the problems derived from the lack of sanitary infrastructure and water supply services.

Environmental issues started to be debated in several countries, what has led to the First United Nations Conference on the Environment, held in Stockholm, in 1972.

Although considered such as strategical, extinguishable and development-driven resource, the first international debates on water to propose the global need for a redesigned action plan and new managment model took place at the United Nations Conference on Water, in Mar del Plata, in 1977.

In Brazil, the intention to change water management model started to happen from the 80’s, because of political, historical and institutional issues happening in the country.

Since Brazil’s discovery, in 1500, rivers have determined the paths for the country occupation. All Brazilian History is connected to the rivers courses, which were scape routes and ways for Indians and afterwards, for the conquerors, “Moonson and Bandeirantes”. In the period known as “Modern Colonization”, rivers were used as means of integration among the regions and mainly as routes to carry aour natural resources to the ocean, for the export of gold and gemstones from Minas Gerais, Goias and Mato Grosso. This policy has been kept unchanged until the end of the 18th century.

In the beginning of the 20th century, while Brazil was still an agrarian society, water was managed by the Federal government through National Department of Agriculture. From there, a new policy has started, which still can be found today. This water policy gives priority to the use of rivers’ potentials for generating electric energy.

Construction of hidro-electric power plants have changed rivers and basins profile and dynamics. In 1901, Canadian company The São Paulo Tramway Light & Power Company Ltd. Has inaugurated its first hidro energy powerplant, in Santana do Parnaíba, currently called Edgard Souza.  

In the following years, many hidro-electric powerplants have been created in the São Paulo State, with the main goal to drive paulista industrialization. This very segmented point of view on water was also current for all other natural resources. There was a lack of ecosystemic concepts.

In the 1930’s, Brazil has created a series of Codes for natural resources: The Minerals Code, Fishing Code, Flora and, in 1934, the Water Code, that has been the starting point for disciplining the water uses. The Code established a classification and the uses of water, emphasizing the hidro-electric generating potential, but also had as principles the multiple uses of water, concerning its quality and the economic value of that asset.

Brazil started to follow global matters effectively from the 70’s on. Issues concerning natural resources management and created in 1973 the Special Department for the Environment (SEMA), at a Federal level. This was motivated by a diplomatic issue with regards to the Brazilian participaton in Stockholm, when the country’s position was to emphasize economic growth instead of environmental protection.

In the São Paulo State, in 1975, Cetesb that was subordinated to the sanitation structure, starts to control water, soil and air pollution within the State. And in 1983, Consema – an abbreviation in Portuguese that means Environment State Council. This council had representatives from the civil society that offered guidance for the São Paulo governor in environmental matters. The State was starting to implement decentralization and municipalities empowerment. The Municipalities Environment Council were created and organized intitutions from civil society, that up to that moment were assebled to solve preservation causes, had conquered some spaces and ways for demanding and proposing actions from the government, but few of these councils were deliberative.

São Paulo State government was already pressed by the need to manage water resources in a more integrated way, because of rivers degradation and the increase of conflicts among the several water users segments within the society.

Since the 80’s society articulation in several public protests against São Paulo State rivers pollution such as Tietê, Piracicaba, Cubatão, Jundiaí and Billings reservoir was very visible and made evident that civil society and local powers were kept away from the decision-making processes.

Municipalities role was limited to sanitary services issues and urban population supply as well as some initiatives of disposal of used-waters. Broader interests matters, related to the rivers basins mnagement only started to come up after pollution and water shortage have driven the State to critical levels of water availability.

The first moves to end up with the segmented water policy current before the Water Resources State System had been established have occured with the implementation of inter-municipalities councils for the recovery of Jacaré-Pepira, Piracicaba and Capivari Rivers, as well as the Jundiaí-Cerju, the first integrated management experience in the State motivated by the need to solve Billings Reservoir waters degradation, created by the construction works for building Henry Borden hidro electric powerplant. The generation of energy at this powerplant depends on the reversion of Pinheiros and Tietê Rivers polluted waters, which worsens Billings Reservoir water conditions.      

The lack of an effective São Paulo metropolitan area sewage treatment program – an area that exports pollution to five sub-basins within the State (all connected with Tietê Basin) and the clean water collection at the Piracicaba/Capivari and Jundiaí Basins to supply São Paulo metropolitan area was one of the most serious conflicts and has motivated the debates on the waters future, ways of proper management and mechanisms of social participation in the waters management.

As the 1988 Brazilian Federal Constitution was established, civil society involvement in the natural resources management, mainly in the water case, started to be a fundamental concept that should guide all the public policies for the sector.

The State Constitution created in 1989 had already assimilated new concepts to the water resources issue: decentralized management, integration and social involvement; as well as the multiple uses of water resources.

In 1991, a year which was tremendously remarkable because of social mobilization for the Tietê River depollution, Brazilian Federal government sent to the Parliament the first law project on Water Resources National Policy. Brazilian society has expressed itself through civil organizations (NGOs) the need for integration among the environment, water resources systems and São Paulo State.

Law 7,663 has created the Water Resources State System, based on very broad debates and public conferences held at the Engineering Institute and the São Paulo Legislative Chamber Environmental Commission. The first model of a participatory Law for waters had been established. 

From the Water Resources State System, São Paulo territory has been divided into 22 hidrographic regions, the basin-based management was established as well as civil society effective involvement in the decisions. São Paulo State Law has emphasized principles in the Water Code and the Federal Constitution, featuring management means, such as the Basin Plan, water use taxation and Water Resources State Fund (FEHIDRO), for the direct employment at the Basins Committees – integrated, with deliberative power that assemble in the same numbers and empowerement levels representatives from municipalities, State institutions and organized civil society institutions, for the integrated, decentralized and participatory waters management.

São Paulo State law has meant, according to many players in water management, a true revolution in concepts and hope for the actions and works so that they are not done in an isolated and partial way, without control, management and society participation means. But, it is necessary to bear in mind that there is a huge gap between Legislation and practise. And that it is still necessary to break away from concepts that place the State as the sole responsible for the natural resources, pollution and sanitary services control.

This Law (7,663) that is appointed as the pioneer and a reference model for whole country, features some similarities with the French System. At the moment it was established, in 1991, the hydrographic basin as a planning unity for the management systems has been adopted by countries such as England, the U.S.A., France, Holland, Germany, Japan and Hungary, but it still was not incorporated in the Brazilian public policies.

In 1992, during the International Conference on Water and Environment, held in Dublin, Brazil has met the necessary support to strengthen society, technicians, scientists and sector managers mobilization for the modernization of waters management in the country.

The Dublin Declaration makes clear that “the shortage and waste of water mean serious and growing threats to sustainable development and environmental protection, health and the welfare of humans, guarantee of food, industrial development and balanced ecosystems, that will be at risk if the water and soil managements do bot become a reality in the present decade, practised in a more effective way than that experienced in the past”. At this conference, the “Dublin Principles” have been established. They guide water management and public policies worldwide.

During ECO-92, in Ro de Janeiro, Brazil has signed the Agenda 21 – a document signed by 170 countries, that represents a collective effort from these governments and people to identify actions that integrate development and environmental protection. Chapter 18 is on water and the 23 highlights citiziens participation as a fundamental requirement to achieve sustainable development.

In 1995, Brazilian Government has created the Ministry of Environment, Water Resources and Legal Amazon. On January 8th, 1997, Law 9,433 has been established. This law creates a National Policy for Water Resources and the National Water Resources Management System.

National Water Policy main goals are:

- To assure for the present and future generations the necessary water availability, at quality standards proper for the respective uses.

- Sensible and integrated utilization of water resources, including water-borne transportation, with sustainable development as a final goal.

- Protection and defense against critical events, from natural origin or from integrated uses of water resources.

The Brazilian Law of Waters places the country among the nations with the most advanced legislation worldwide. Water Resources National Policy forecasts the integrated management and has as means to implement it: basins plans, grouping water sources and unities according to their dominat uses, the granting of the right to use water, taxation on water uses and the Waters National Agency, as well as information systems.

The National Policy is based on the concept of water as a public domain asset that bears economic value, having as priority uses the water supply for humans, quenching animals’ thirst and management by hydrographic basins.

For a victory such as this Law to be fully accomplished, assimilated and practised through water public policies it is necessary to strengthen National and Statew Systems, being aware that to break the cycle of centralization and monopoly of power is not a simple task that can be accomplished simply by creating a law or a decree. It is necessary to do that the State representatives truly assimilate the principles established through the National Policy and that all the system’s members have, in a balanced way, their rights assured as well as clear observation of their duties.

To win the major challange that is to make the System known and acknoledged by society as a means of participatory and decentralized environmental management, able to promote natural resources recovery and ensure sustainable development, must be a task for anyone seeking a public policy for the waters.

 

Dublin Principles:

 

-Water is a natural, finite and vulnarable resource essential to maintain life, development and the environment.

-Water management must be integrated and considerated as a whole, be it the hydrographic basin or underground waters.

-Water management and development must be based on the participation of everybody, be it users, planners or political decision makers at all levels. 

-Women have a central role in water supply and protection.

- Water is a natural resource of economic value in all its competitive uses and must be acknoledged as a valuable asset.