The Management of Urban Water Conflicts in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo

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Abstract
In Latin America, after the democratization process in the 1980s, public pressure imposed new models of management in the water sector. These new models have been extremely successful in making the political class more aware of the water problem, as illustrated by the Brazilian example. Public pressure forced congressmen to propose a new Federal Constitution in 1988 in which environmental and water issues are explicitly considered. This paper discusses the technical, legal, and institutional aspects of integrated water management in the Upper Tiet[etilde] basin in the metropolitan region of São Paulo, with 16.5 million inhabitants and the largest industrial complex in Latin America. Emphasis is placed on the conflicting interests of upstream and downstream groups in the basin. A successful experiment of integrated water resources planning on a watershed basis is described, where modern decision support systems technology is combined with effective public participation.

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