The paradox of water abundance in Mato Grosso, Brazil

© 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. While much effort has gone into studying the causes and consequences of water scarcity, the concept of water abundance has received considerably less attention in academic literature. Here, we aim to address this gap by providing a case study on the perceptions and political implications of water abundance in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. Combining a political ecology perspective on contemporary water governance (empirically based on stakeholder interviews with members of the state's water sector) with an overview of the environmental history of this hydrosocial territory, we argue, first, that water abundance has become a foundational element of Mato Grosso's identity, situated in the wider context of natural resource abundance more generally and second, that water abundance today is a contested concept witnessing discursive struggles around its political implications and meaning. More specifically, there is a clash between the dominant conceptualisation of water abundance as a foundation for rich economic, ecological, social, and cultural values and benefits, often espoused by members of the political and economic elite, e.g., for marketing purposes, and a more critical but less widespread conceptualisation of water abundance as a source of carelessness, lack of awareness, and poor water governance, typically put forth by more informed technical staff of the public sector and civil society activists. By providing a distinct treatment and discussion of the concept of water abundance, our research has relevance for other water-rich regions beyond the immediate regional context.Scottish Government Hydro Nation Scholars Programm

The Value Base of Water Governance: A Multi-Disciplinary Perspective

© 2016 Elsevier B.V. Some scholars promote water governance as a normative concept to improve water resources management globally, while others conceive of it as an analytical term to describe the processes, systems and institutions around the management of water resources and water supply. Critics often highlight how specific water governance scenarios fail to deliver socially desirable outcomes, such as social justice or environmental sustainability. While water governance is often perceived as a technical matter, its conceptual and practical components are in fact based on multiple values that, nonetheless, often remain implicit. The present paper seeks to uncover this value base and discusses existing research on values from multiple perspectives, using material from economics, philosophy, psychology, and other social sciences. In different disciplines, values can be understood as fundamental guiding principles, governance-related values or as values assigned to water resources. Together, they shape complex relationships with water governance, which from an analytical perspective is understood as a combination of policy, politics, and polity. Introducing a new conceptual framework, this study seeks to provide a theoretical foundation for empirical research on water governance processes and conflicts.Scottish Government Hydro Nation Scholars Programm

Applying a ‘Value Landscapes Approach’ to Conflicts in Water Governance: The Case of the Paraguay-Paraná Waterway

© 2017 Elsevier B.V. Values have been identified as important factors to estimate preferences within water governance and to assess the political legitimacy of water governance in a given time and location. The present study applies an interdisciplinary ‘value landscapes approach’ to water governance in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, using conflicts around the construction of the Paraguay-Paraná Waterway as a case study. Using material from interviews with major stakeholders in the region, the results demonstrate that supporters of the waterway hold similar ‘value landscapes’ around economic values of water, efficiency, order, and economic development, while opponents' ‘value landscapes’ centre on cultural and non-economic values of water, social justice, solidarity, conservation and tradition. This suggests that persistent conflicts around the Paraguay-Paraná Waterway are only an expression of much deeper value conflicts that are also relevant to other water governance issues. Moreover, values expressed through the planned construction of the Paraguay-Paraná Waterway disproportionately reflect values of powerful stakeholder groups such as the agribusiness sector, which significantly undermines its political legitimacy.Scottish Government Hydro Nation Scholars Programm

Spatial and temporal variation in reproduction of a generalist crocodilian, Caiman crocodilus yacare, in a seasonally flooded wetland

We monitored the number of caiman (Caiman crocodilus yacare) nests in two ranches in the Brazilian Pantanal that cover an area of about 50.000 ha for 28 years (1987-2014). The number of nests was related to combinations of rainfall, water level, and number of days with temperature below 20°C, depending on the area. Most of the variation in number of nests could not be predicted by the environmental variables, but could be represented mathematically by a sine wave. We were not able to identify any external driver and suspect that the regular fluctuations may have resulted from an intrinsic population process. Presently, ranches are used as management units under the legislation for ranching Pantanal caimans. However, although some breeding females were recaptured in the area after periods of up to 21 years, most were not recaptured near nests or in general surveys of the area, suggesting that females are not strongly philopatric and that ranches do not represent isolated demographic units. Copyright: © 2015 Campos et al

The paradox of water abundance in Mato Grosso, Brazil

© 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. While much effort has gone into studying the causes and consequences of water scarcity, the concept of water abundance has received considerably less attention in academic literature. Here, we aim to address this gap by providing a case study on the perceptions and political implications of water abundance in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. Combining a political ecology perspective on contemporary water governance (empirically based on stakeholder interviews with members of the state's water sector) with an overview of the environmental history of this hydrosocial territory, we argue, first, that water abundance has become a foundational element of Mato Grosso's identity, situated in the wider context of natural resource abundance more generally and second, that water abundance today is a contested concept witnessing discursive struggles around its political implications and meaning. More specifically, there is a clash between the dominant conceptualisation of water abundance as a foundation for rich economic, ecological, social, and cultural values and benefits, often espoused by members of the political and economic elite, e.g., for marketing purposes, and a more critical but less widespread conceptualisation of water abundance as a source of carelessness, lack of awareness, and poor water governance, typically put forth by more informed technical staff of the public sector and civil society activists. By providing a distinct treatment and discussion of the concept of water abundance, our research has relevance for other water-rich regions beyond the immediate regional context.Scottish Government Hydro Nation Scholars Programm

Water quality assessment of the Sinos River, Southern Brazil

The Sinos River basin is located Northeast of the state of Rio Grande do Sul (29º 20' to 30º 10' S and 50º 15' to 51º20'W), Southern Brazil, covering two geomorphologic provinces: the Southern plateau and central depression. It is part of the Guaíba basin and has an area of approximately 800 km², encompassing 32 municipalities. The objective of this study was to monitor water quality in the Sinos River, the largest river in this basin. Water samples were collected at four selected sites in the Sinos River, and the following parameters were analysed: pH, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), turbidity, fecal coliforms, total dissolved solids, temperature, nitrate, nitrite, phosphorous, chromium, lead, aluminum, zinc, iron, and copper. The results were analysed based on Resolution No. 357/2005 of the Brazilian National Environmental Council (CONAMA) regarding regulatory limits for residues in water. A second analysis was performed based on a water quality index (WQI) used by the Sinos River Basin Management Committee (COMITESINOS). Poor water quality in the Sinos River presents a worrying scenario for the region, since this river is the main source of water supply for the urban core. Health conditions found in the Sinos River, mainly in its lower reaches, are worrying and a strong indicator of human activities on the basin

Cerca del Rio y Lejos del Agua: Water, Autonomy and Hope in the Ecuadorian Andes

Community water associations perform a pivotal role in the delivery of water services in the rural Ecuadorian Andes. The water that they deliver to houses and farmers is the fruit of a historical process of collective organisation that has united rural families and communities in a struggle to overcome socially constructed water scarcity. Through this ongoing struggle, water associations have developed varying degrees and forms of collective autonomy. Not only has this enabled them to distribute potable and irrigation water, but also create new social and political practices and relations. Drawing on the innovative work of Ana C. Dinerstein, this chapter traces the contours of this historical process, explaining how water associations have carved out space to take autonomous control of local water supplies and reconfigure relations with the state and nature