Water Resources Allocation and Agriculture: Transitioning from Open to Regulated Access
The book brings together a range of leading scholars and practitioners to compile an international account of water allocation policies supporting a transition to sustainable water use in regions where agriculture is the dominant water use. In Section 1, the collection canvasses five key cross-cutting issues shaping the challenge of sustainable water allocation policy, such as legal and economic perspectives, the role of politics, the setting of environmental flows, and the importance of indigenous rights. Section 2 presents 13 national, state and transboundary case studies of water allocation policy, covering cases from Europe, the Americas, Central Asia, the Middle East and the Pacific region. These case studies highlight novel and innovative elements of water allocation regimes, which respond to the cross-cutting issues addressed in Section 1, as well as local challenges and social and environmental imperatives. The book provides a comprehensive account of water allocation in a range of international settings and provides a reference point for practitioners and scholars worldwide wishing to draw on the latest advances on how to design and implement sustainable water allocation systems.
ISBN: 9781789062779 (print)
ISBN: 9781789062786 (eBook)
ISBN: 9781789062793 (ePUB)
Chapter 13: Water allocation in Brazil: main strategies, learning and challenges
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Published:August 2022
Guilherme F. Marques, 2022. "Water allocation in Brazil: main strategies, learning and challenges", Water Resources Allocation and Agriculture: Transitioning from Open to Regulated Access, Josselin Rouillard, Christina Babbitt, Edward Challies, Jean-Daniel Rinaudo
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Abstract
Brazil is characterized by highly diverse biomes, hydrologic regimes and water uses. The relevance of irrigated agriculture in the county's economy, combined with the significant contribution of hydropower to the electricity matrix and the presence of large metropolitan areas translate to a strong water-food-energy nexus. Water management under this context requires control and allocation in an extensive network of long rivers, operated with seasonal and multi-year carryover capacity. The future development and overall water security in Brazil will bring increasingly competing demands and growing challenges to water allocation, demanding more robust regulations and institutions. This chapter reviews the nature of Brazilian water rights and the current legal and policy framework determining water allocation, followed by the presentation of several innovative initiatives to control water access, based on locally defined allocation rules and local needs, challenges and opportunities. From this rich experience, we draw recommendations on how to move forward in improving water allocation strategy at the national level and adapting water management practices to cope with the challenges ahead.