Doctoral Dissertation Research: Participation in Water Management-Conflicting Objectives in the Era of Integrated Water Resource Management.

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Abstract

General Audience Summary The proposed dissertation research project will study water management issues in the metropolitan region of Sao Paulo, Brazil, which is currently facing a historical drought that has placed the public and industry under great risk of water shortages. The impending water crisis has brought into question the reliability of the water system, a problem that is not unique to Sao Paulo; it has raised the question on how to encourage adaptive capacity and robust institutions that can govern in the face of growing environmental challenges. The work will be conducted at the water basin level in partnership with local universities, water utilities, federal and state agencies, and water basin committees to engage stakeholders in a collaborative modeling process. At the core of the case study are questions of how models support decision-making, how scientific knowledge gets incorporated into policy, and how meaningful participation can strengthen the modeling, decision, and institutional building process. The results of this project will illuminate the water challenges of rapidly growing urban regions and ways to meet these challenges. They will be disseminated to multiple audiences through a university-hosted website where material is available in both Portuguese and English. They will also be presented at public workshops, academic conferences, publications in peer-reviewed journals, and training of water managers. Technical Summary The proposed research is interdisciplinary. It draws on Science and Technology Studies to understand water governance, institutional arrangements, and the role of public participation in adaptive management. It has three objectives: It will examine the evolution of water resource management models, trace water governance and participation in the case of the Cantareira system joint water management, and develop a collaborative modeling framework for the region that incorporates the challenges and opportunities defined by stakeholders and create a set of rules of engagement. These objectives will be accomplished through a mixed-method approach including qualitative and quantitative methods. The methods employed to examine the evolution of water resource management models are document analysis and archival work. The other two objectives will be met by way of interviews, meeting attendance, content analysis of technical documents, collaborative model building and a series of workshops to engage the public. By using a participatory modeling process and stakeholder engagement, the project aims to improve the role of models as boundary objects that allow the public to use scientific knowledge for water allocation decision. This innovative collaborative approach has the potential to transform water resource planning by decreasing information asymmetries and improving transparency through didactic tools that are made accessible to the public.