Os mecanismos de regulação dos recursos hídricos: um estudo comparado entre o Brasil e a Espanha

Abstract

Water is an indispensable input to life and essential for the main economic activities, especially agriculture, which represents the largest water consumer in the world, accounting for 73% of water consumption, while 21% is consumed by industry and consumers. Remaining 6% is for domestic use. The rapid population growth in the world and the expansion of irrigation practices in agriculture have increased the demand for water, causing problems of water shortage in several regions of the world. This problem becomes even more intense because the distribution of water resources and the population of the planet is not uniform. With this in mind, the objective of the present paper is to show how the water resources management of Brazil, a country abundant in water resources, but irregularly distributed, and Spain, which is a country whose water problem is even more serious due to its own resource scarcity. Irrigating farmers are the main focus of this work. Because agriculture is the sector that most demands water, the management of this resource, which has been modified, is fundamental for this sector. The methodology adopted was the survey and analysis of minutes, documents, reports and official publications of the ministries responsible for the subject. Water legislation was evaluated from the 1934 Water Code to the 1988 Federal Constitution, where water treatment undergoes some modifications until Law No. 9,433 / 97 - Water Law and Law no. 9,984 / 2000 establishing the National Water Agency. Information about the Araguari River Basin Committee was obtained through attendance at meetings, in-depth interviews with key leaders, as well as minutes and documents. Data on the management of Spanish water resources were obtained thanks to the technical information provided by l) r. Eduardo Moyano Estrada, by Professor Fclisa Ccfia Delgado, and also by Professor Dionísio Ortiz Miranda. Information was also obtained through the Internet, through consultations with official websites of the Spanish government, which provides texts on the subject.The conclusion reached with this work was that water resources management in both Brazil and Spain has been undergoing numerous modifications in order to adequately respond to the growing demand for water. It was also possible to verify through the analysis of the Spanish Water White Paper and the Brazilian water legislation that the management of water resources in both countries is going in the same direction. In Brazil and Spain, water resources management points to decentralizing and participatory policies, with the involvement of users in the process of decision making.