Sustentabilidade ambiental e integração na política de recursos hídricos no Brasil: questões inseparáveis

O artigo trata de fatores considerados orientadores da política, da integraçãoe da articulação da gestão de recursos hídricos do Brasil, aspectos queconstam da base legal da política nacional (Lei nº 9.433/1997; capítulo III).Ele enfatiza a avaliação da discussão da política de água e sua interfacecom outras políticas setoriais. Para entender o alcance dos conceitos deintegração e articulação, e dialogar com a prática, serão apresentadasas perspectivas da gestão integrada adotada pela Parceria Mundial daÁgua (Global Water Partnership), intitulada “Gerenciamento Integrado deRecursos Hídricos” (Integrated Water Resources Management), e tambémaquela fundamentada pela Fundação Nova Cultura da Água, quando tratada perspectiva ecossistêmica. Avalia-se como as questões da integraçãoentre políticas e perspectivas estão ocorrendo no âmbito do ConselhoNacional de Recursos Hídricos brasileiro, fórum central das discussõesda política de águas do país. A sistematização dos dados se apoia nolevantamento e na análise das atas e pautas tratadas durante os 20 anos de existência do conselho. As atas foram analisadas com o Programa estatístico R para avaliar a frequência determos citados durante as reuniões. Os temas das pautas foram organizados em seis grandes tópicos: regras de funcionamento, instrumentos de gestão, gestão integrada da água, articulações setoriais, educação ambiental e apresentações. Tornou-se claro que as o maior número de pautas versam sobre as regras de funcionamento que agregam questões administrativas e normas gerais.

The Global Water Partnership: Between Institutional Flexibility and Legal Legitimacy

The Global Water Partnership (GWP) represents a new kind of institution that raises various interesting questions in terms of international institutional law. Established in 1996 as a “virtual organization”, it progressively evolved to become in 2002 a twofold institution structured around, on the one hand, a network without legal personality and, on the other hand, an international organization with full legal personality under international law. This article aims to analyze this unique structure and its consequences on membership and organic issues. The reasons underpinning this evolution will also be studied. If institutional flexibility prevailed in the early life of the institution, practical problems and concerns about legal legitimacy have led to a more formal structure in its later life. Principles such as those developed by the Global Administrative Law (GAL) project, namely legitimacy, transparency and accountability, have been also widely used to shape and organize this structure.

Knowledge-intensive networks for development: the case of the Global Water Partnership

The Global Water Partnership (GWP) is a “reinforced network” of organisations interested in the sustainable management of freshwater resources in developing countries. It was established in 1996 in response to the worsening water shortage in large parts of the developing world and to the perceived lack of international leadership in water. It is modelled on the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) as a virtual organisation with a minimum of formal structure. It aims to establish principles of sustainable water resources management, identify gaps and stimulate its partners to meet critical needs, support action that follows principles of sustainable water resources management, help match needs to available resources, and strengthen mechanisms for sharing information and experiences. It promotes an integrated approach to water resources management that recognises that water is a limited resource subject to multiple uses and increasing demand. GWP is co-sponsored by the World Bank, UNDP and Sida and supported by several bilateral aid donors. Its secretariat is hosted by Sida in Stockholm.