Integration and adaptation in the Alto Tietê Basin (São Paulo): the role of the State Water Resources Fund in the protection and recovery the watershed areas

Abstract

The Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) model is a reference for water governance in Brazil. Since the 1990s, the state of São Paulo water policy has advocated the integration between environmental and socioeconomic systems and a transition to a more sustainable and resilient way of using water resources. Nowadays, considering the scenario of climate change and its impacts, Adaptive Management (AM) based on theories of resilience is evidenced as a new model for managing uncertainties. However, the implementation of these modes of management and governance is incomplete, for several reasons, and consequently unable to advance successfully in the construction of a transition to sustainability. Starting from these normative and theoretical assumptions, the article addresses one of the main IWRM instruments: water use charges, which provide financial for the State Water Resources Fund (FEHIDRO). Using a qualitative-quantitative methodology, the research identified the main results of the investments financed in the Alto Tietê River Basin (BAT) by FEHIDRO from 2007 to 2018. The objective was to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of the application of funding for the recovery and environmental protection of the BAT's water catchment areas. Despite its limitations in the scale of resources, FEHIDRO has the potential to play a role as a source of promotion to contribute to the integrated and adaptive management of water resources and as an incentive for innovation in socio-technical systems and for participatory processes in the multi-level perspective of water governance.

Keywords

• gestão integrada e adaptativa de recursos hídricos
• transições sociotécnicas
• fundo estadual de recursos hídricos (fehidro)
• bacia hidrográfica do alto tietê
• áreas de mananciais