Jéssica Tavares Fraga Costa
Translation: Ligia Payão Chizolini
Water resource management in Brazil is a topic of great relevance, given the importance of water for life on the planet and for various economic and social sectors, such as agriculture, industry, and health. However, the country faces significant challenges in managing these resources due to population growth, unplanned urbanization, climate change, and environmental degradation. These factors put pressure on water availability and quality, requiring an integrated and sustainable approach to ensure its preservation and efficient use.
The state of Rio Grande do Sul, with its twenty-five river basins distributed across three hydrographic regions, exemplifies well the challenges and opportunities in water resource management. The state's climatic diversity and vast territorial extension add complexity to the administration of water resources, demanding innovative solutions and integrated management involving the government, civil society, private sector, and local communities.
The National Water Resources Policy, established by Law 9.433/97, introduced charging for water use as one of the instruments to promote sustainability and social justice in water management. This measure aims to internalize the environmental costs associated with water use, encouraging sustainable practices and the rational use of water resources. However, the implementation of this policy faces resistance and challenges, especially in regions where the perception of inhibitory production costs prevails.
In Rio Grande do Sul, only the Rio dos Sinos River Basin Committee has managed to approve water use charges so far, highlighting the need for greater institutionalization and acceptance of this instrument. The analysis of the implementation process reveals a deficit in institutionalization and resistance from certain segments of society, reflecting the complexity of balancing economic, social, and environmental interests.
This introduction aims to situate the reader within the context of water resource management in Rio Grande do Sul, emphasizing the importance of water use charges as a sustainability mechanism. The objective is to discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with implementing this instrument, contributing to the improvement of water management policies in the state and country.
1. Brazil: Between Abundance and Drought — Challenges and Perspectives in Water Management
Water resources are essential for life on the planet, vital for the survival, development, and well-being of human societies and all living beings. The importance of water transcends geographical, cultural, and socioeconomic boundaries, and its preservation and proper management are imperative to ensure a sustainable future.
Water plays multiple fundamental roles in diverse sectors, such as agriculture, industry, domestic supply, and the maintenance of aquatic ecosystems. In agriculture, water is indispensable for crop irrigation; in industry, it is crucial for production and cooling processes; and in human health, it is essential for consumption, hygiene, and basic sanitation.
Despite its undeniable importance, water resources face growing challenges due to population growth, unplanned urbanization, intensive industrialization, climate change, and environmental degradation. Problems such as water pollution, deforestation of source protection areas, overexploitation of aquifers, and contamination by pathogens threaten global water availability and quality.
Faced with these challenges, it is crucial to adopt an integrated and sustainable approach to water resource management. This implies implementing policies and practices that promote the conservation, protection, and recovery of aquatic ecosystems and the efficient and equitable use of water. It is also essential to raise public awareness about the importance of water and encourage community participation in the search for sustainable solutions.
Effective water resource management is a global concern, particularly relevant in Brazil, where water availability is vital for socioeconomic development and environmental preservation. Law 9.433/97, which established the National Water Resources Policy, made water use charges a key tool for promoting sustainability and equity in water management. However, even after more than two decades of its enactment, many Brazilian regions face significant challenges in effectively implementing this measure. The lack of water use charges undermines the ability to finance the conservation and recovery of water sources and may encourage irresponsible practices, jeopardizing long-term water security.
In this context, this article analyzes the importance of the water use charge, as provided for in Law 9.433/97, examining the current stage of implementation of this instrument in the river basins of Rio Grande do Sul. It is hypothesized that the implementation of water use charges is still limited, restricting the possibilities for Basin Committees to implement public policies for water resource protection.
Methodologically, a bibliographic review was conducted, including the collection and analysis of studies, government documents, technical reports, and legislation related to water resource management through documents made available by Basin Committees and the State Secretariat for Water Resources of Rio Grande do Sul, aiming to contribute to understanding the current stage of water use charge implementation in Rio Grande do Sul and thus offer insights for improving water resource management policies in the state and country.
In summary, water resource management in Brazil faces complex challenges but also offers opportunities to promote water sustainability and ensure universal access to water. Cooperation between government, civil society, the private sector, and local communities is essential to develop innovative and integrated solutions that ensure the protection and sustainable use of the country's water resources.
Water use charges, as provided for in the National Water Resources Policy, are an important tool in this context. By establishing an economic mechanism, Law 9.433/97 aims to promote social justice, recognizing that the private use of a common good requires compensation to the community and, beyond that, requires understanding of the tool, its basis, and the current state of water conservation in the basins.
2. The Economic Valuation of Water Resources: The Role of Water Use Charges in Environmental Policy — An Analysis of the Basins in the State of Rio Grande do Sul
Within the scope of Environmental and Economic Law, many attempts have been made to incorporate debates about water use, offering varied responses, from the most modest to the most ambitious. Economic law engages with ecological economics, attempting to formulate concrete proposals for incorporating environmental elements into decision-making (Nusdeo, 2018, p.13).
Considering the need to recognize biophysical limits and advance toward a more harmonious economy and social organization with the environment, it is crucial to analyze existing legal strategies, which are structured from different approaches, with emphasis on command-and-control instruments, which establish mandatory behaviors to limit pollution and protect specific territorial spaces.
To advance toward an economic model less conflicting with the environment and that promotes equity in the distribution of the burdens and benefits of environmental protection, economic instruments are needed to encourage changes in production and consumption patterns. In Brazil, the evolution of environmental norms initially favored command-and-control instruments.
However, despite much criticism, the inclusion of economic instruments in environmental policies has provided a more efficient allocation of resources, promoting sustainable use and avoiding environmental degradation. Furthermore, generating revenue through water use charges can finance conservation and recovery programs, reducing dependence on public resources and promoting the self-sustainability of water management systems.
Water use charges aim to internalize the environmental costs associated with the exploitation of water resources, encouraging sustainable practices and rational water use. This mechanism generates revenue to finance local water management and raises awareness about the scarcity and value of this resource. Article 19 of Law 9.433/97 states that water use charges recognize it as an economic good, encouraging rationalization of use and obtaining resources to finance programs for maintaining environmental quality.
The effective implementation of water use charges and other economic instruments requires an integrated and participatory approach, involving different sectors of society. It is essential to ensure transparency, equity, and effectiveness in the distribution of collected resources and in the definition of water management policies. Water use charges, based on the principles of the polluter-pays and user-pays, allow the internalization of externalities associated with various water uses, promoting efficient and rational use (Almeida, 2022, p.41).
In addition to water use charges, other economic instruments, such as payments for environmental services and tax incentives for sustainable practices, play an important role in Brazilian environmental policy. These instruments encourage the conservation of natural resources and the preservation of ecosystem services, such as climate regulation, biodiversity conservation, and water resource protection.
Finally, the analysis of the river basins of Rio Grande do Sul reveals the stage of application of economic instruments by Basin Committees. The study identifies which committees have succeeded in implementation, which are in the simulation phase, and which still lack information on the applicability of these instruments.
The state of Rio Grande do Sul has twenty-five river basins distributed across three hydrographic regions. Detailed information about the Basin Committees can be found on the State Secretariat for Water Resources website. An individual analysis of each committee's data and documents reveals different levels of maturity in implementing River Basin Plans. For example, the Lagoa Mirim and São Gonçalo Canal Basin Committee has not yet approved its basin plan, and there are no consolidated discussions about water use classification or charging for its use (SEMA, 2024).
The diversity in the institutionalization level of Basin Committees is also reflected in the amount of information made available. Despite the State Water Resources System (SERH) maintaining a robust information system, some specific committee websites are outdated, such as the Rio Caí Basin Management Committee, which has not been updated since 2013 (SEMA, 2024).
Simulating water use charges is a crucial step in implementing this instrument, requiring complex technical and institutional procedures involving different actors. Institutions responsible for water resource management play a fundamental role in conducting water use charge simulations. These institutions are responsible for coordinating related activities, promoting integration among different stakeholders, and ensuring compliance with applicable legislation and regulations. Therefore, the process must be conducted carefully and participatively, considering the interests and needs of different stakeholders and seeking to balance the economic, social, and environmental aspects of water resource management.
Simulation of the application of water use charges in the hydrographic basins of Rio Grande do Sul represents an important step in the pursuit of sustainable water resource management. Identifying the hydrographic basins subject to water use charges is fundamental for developing effective management strategies (SEMA, 2024). However, the lack of transparency in management processes and in the dissemination of information makes it difficult to access the necessary data.
Overcoming these challenges is essential to ensure the sustainability and availability of water resources in the state and to promote socio-economic development in an equitable and responsible manner. Out of the twenty-five hydrographic basins in Rio Grande do Sul, only one has successfully approved the charging instrument, as reported by the Rio dos Sinos Basin Committee in March 2024 (Bassôa, 2024).
Each Basin Committee has its own dynamics of interaction among regional political actors. The implementation of new economic mechanisms may raise concerns among representatives of productive sectors, especially those related to agricultural irrigation. Adopting a gradual charging strategy might be convenient to convince the segments involved in the deliberative process.
Despite more than 30 years since the approval of the National Water Resources Policy, the recent approval of water use charges could initiate a process of diffusion of the instrument across other hydrographic basins, consolidating an economic strategy for environmental protection aligned with the user-pays principle. The funds raised could foster a culture of payment for environmental services, funded by the basin committees themselves.
Final Considerations
This study aims to contribute to the debate on water resource management in Brazil, highlighting the challenges and opportunities for promoting environmental sustainability and ensuring equitable access to water. Water resources are essential for life on our planet, playing vital roles in various sectors such as agriculture, industry, and health. However, these resources face growing challenges due to population growth, uncontrolled urbanization, climate change, and environmental degradation.
To ensure a sustainable future, it is crucial to adopt an integrated and sustainable approach to water resource management, promoting the conservation, protection, and recovery of aquatic ecosystems, as well as the efficient use of water across all sectors. In Brazil, water resource management is extremely important due to the country's vast territorial extension and climatic diversity. However, it faces significant challenges, such as uneven water distribution, poor management and inadequate use, and the need for integrated management across a territory of continental dimensions. Despite these challenges, there are opportunities to improve management through awareness, access to information, investments in infrastructure, and public participation.
The National Water Resources Policy established, among its instruments, the charge for water use, aiming to internalize the environmental costs associated with the exploitation of water resources, encouraging sustainable practices and rational use. This charge is not to be confused with a tax or administrative penalty but is rather a fee owed for the use of a diffuse good, whether by public or private entities.
In the context of the hydrographic basins of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, it is found that of the twenty-five basins, only one has approved the water use charge through its Management Committee, specifically the Rio dos Sinos Hydrographic Basin Committee, in March 2024. It is relevant to note that, according to journalistic reports, the Gravataí River Basin Committee also approved the charge in December 2023, although its institutional website lacks official information.
This fact demonstrates a deficit in the institutionalization of the instrument, possibly caused by the resistance of certain segments of civil society represented in the Basin Committees. The perception that the water use charge constitutes a new productive cost, inhibiting economic development, influences the deliberative dynamics within the Basin Committees.
The absence of water use charges represents a significant missed opportunity to operationalize the user-pays principle, which could generate promising budgetary revenues for governance and the implementation of water resource protection strategies in a given basin. Therefore, the effective implementation of water use charges is essential to advance the sustainable management of water resources, promoting balanced and responsible socio-economic development
References:
ALMEIDA, Maria Clara Lucena Dutra de. Water Use Charges as a Water Resources Management Instrument. São Paulo: Editora Dialética, 2022.
BRAZIL. Law No. 9,433, of January 8, 1997. Establishes the National Water Resources Policy and creates the National Water Resources Management System. Diário Oficial da União, Brasília–DF, January 9, 1997. Available at: http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/L9433.htm. Accessed on: June 9, 2022.
BASSÔA, Fernanda. Water Use Charges Progress, and Benefits of Implementing Water Management Instruments Are Observed in the Sinos and Gravataí Rivers. Available at: https://www.correiodopovo.com.br/not%C3%ADcias/cidades/cobran%C3%A7a-pelo-uso-da-%C3%A1gua-avan%C3%A7a-e-ganhos-com-a-implementa%C3%A7%C3%A3o-deinstrumentos-de-gest%C3%A3o-h%C3%ADdrica-s%C3%A3o-observados-no-rio-dos-sinose-no-gravata%C3%AD-1.1455901. Accessed on: April 27, 2024.
STATE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. State Department of the Environment. General Data on the Basins of the State of Rio Grande do Sul. Available at: https://sema.rs.gov.br/bacias-hidrograficas. Accessed on: January 3, 2024.
STATE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL. State Department of the Environment. R03 — Summary of the Current Situation of Water Resources in the Sinos River Basin. Available at: https://sema.rs.gov.br/g020-bh-sinos. Accessed on: January 3, 2024.
NUSDEO, Ana Maria de Oliveira. Environmental Law & Economics. Curitiba: Juruá, 2018.rande do Sul. Disponível em: https://sema.rs.gov.br/bacias-hidrograficas. Acesso em: 03 de jan. 2024.
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