Climate and water policy integration in Brazil's semiarid region: insights from an ACF perspective

Abstract

Climate change introduces an additional concern to the semi-arid Northeast Brazil region, which already faces water scarcity challenges. This study analyzes water use and climate adaptation strategies and policy integration in the Petrolina and Juazeiro region. Drawing on the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) and using policy network analysis, the paper explores the interactions across and within coalitions at multiple levels, the decision-making spaces, and the distribution of political resources. Finally, it discusses the changes in Brazil after the 2016 presidential shift and the uncertainty of the subsystem consolidated over the past decade