Introdução - A política de fluoretação das águas de abastecimento público requer aplicação contínua desta medida em níveis adequados de flúor. O controle operacional é realizado pelas empresas de saneamento ao adicionar flúor às águas, cuja medida deve ser complementada pela ação dos sistemas de vigilância segundo o princípio do heterocontrole. Sistemas de vigilância lidam com informações de interesse público, nos marcos legais desenvolvidos pelos Estados. No mundo contemporâneo, tais marcos implicam contemplar o direito de acesso à informação. Objetivo - Descrever o sistema de vigilância da fluoretação da água no município de São Paulo, no período 1990-2011. Método - Pesquisa baseada em dados secundários disponibilizados pela Secretaria Municipal de Saúde de São Paulo, no período 1990-2011. Os teores de fluoreto nas amostras foram classificados segundo as dimensões de risco e benefício para fluorose e cárie dentária, avaliados concomitantemente. Adicionalmente, realizou-se revisão bibliográfica do marco legal brasileiro que trata da Lei de Acesso à Informação (LAI), tendo em vista que dados produzidos pelos sistemas de vigilância em saúde são de interesse público. Resultados - Foram analisadas 19.071 amostras. A média anual de registros identificados no período de pontos fixos atingiu 647 amostras, correspondendo a um valor acima do necessário para a cobertura total do sistema (n=180). A média anual de registros foi ainda maior para o período de pontos variáveis, com 1.340 amostras. A média geral dos teores de flúor foi de 0,66 mg/l. Com relação à prevenção da cárie, 44 por cento das amostras representam benefício moderado e 54 por cento benefício máximo. Quanto à fluorose dentária, 99 por cento das amostras representam risco mínimo. Com relação à LAI, o período histórico contemporâneo se apresenta, no Brasil, como um cenário de possibilidades e desafios aos avanços dos modelos de vigilância em saúde, incluindo a qualidade da água, com potencial para ampliar as possibilidades de controle sobre as políticas públicas. Conclusão: O benefício preventivo quanto à cárie não foi aproveitado em seu potencial pleno. O risco para fluorose dentária foi baixo. O número de amostras anuais coletadas apresentou tendência de aumento no período estudado, registrando-se variações que se situaram, contudo, sempre acima do limite inferior capaz de assegurar a cobertura total do sistema. Tendo em vista as disposições da LAI, dados e informações produzidos pelos sistemas de vigilância da qualidade da água são de interesse público e, portanto, devem estar disponíveis integralmente / Introduction - The policy of community water fluoridation requires continuous application of this measure by the adequate use of fluoride levels. Operational control is carried out by drinking-water suppliers to add fluoride to the water, which measure must be complemented by action of surveillance systems on the principle of external control. Surveillance systems deal with information of public interest, within the legal frameworks developed by the States. In the contemporary world, such landmarks contemplate the right of access to information. Objective - To describe the surveillance system of drinking-water fluoridation in the city of Sao Paulo, in the period 1990-2011. Method - Research based on secondary data provided by the Municipal Health Secretary of Sao Paulo, in the period 1990-2011. Fluoride levels in the samples were classified according to the dimensions of risk and benefit related to fluorosis and dental caries, concurrently assessed. Additionally, it was carried out a literature review of the Brazilian legal framework that deals with the Law on Access to Information (LAI), considering that data produced by health surveillance systems are of public interest. Results - It was analyzed 19,071 samples. The average annual records identified between fixed points period reached 647 samples, corresponding to a value higher than necessary to cover the entire system (n = 180). The average of the variable annual record points was even greater for the period, with 1,340 samples. The overall average fluoride concentration was 0.66 mg/l. With respect to the prevention of caries, 44 per cent of the samples represent moderate benefit and 54 per cent maximum benefit. As for dental fluorosis, 99 per cent of the samples represented minimal risk. With respect to LAI, the contemporary historical period presented in Brazil, as a scenario for possibilities and challenges to the improvement of health surveillance models, including water quality, with the potential to expand the possibilities of control over public policies. Conclusion: The preventive benefit concerning dental caries has not been tapped into its full potential. The risk for dental fluorosis was low. The annual number of collected samples showed a tendency to increase during the study period, registering variations which remained, however, always above the lower limit to ensure full coverage of the system. In view of the provisions of LAI, data and information produced by drinking-water surveillance systems are of public interest and therefore should be integrally available

O objetivo da pesquisa é avaliar o acesso à informação legislativa digital dos municípios do estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Em revisão de literatura, aborda a importância da informação legislativa no que concerne ao ordenamento jurídico como um todo, à segurança jurídica, ao acesso à informação e à inflação legislativa. Para realizar a avaliação, estabelece checklist e, posteriormente, aplica o instrumento aos portais de legislação das Câmaras de Vereadores e Prefeituras Municipais dos municípios selecionados por amostragem aleatória simples estratificada e na capital do Estado. O checklist é fundamentado em literatura acerca da avaliação de portais da web e da avaliação de portais de legislação em específico, sendo composto por 26 requisitos básicos desejáveis para os portais de legislação, divididos em 5 parâmetros: Usabilidade, Cobertura, Acessibilidade, Relacionamentos e Ferramentas Ao todo, analisa 62 portais de Prefeituras Municipais e 62 portais de Câmaras de Vereadores. Os resultados demonstram falta de planejamento e de profissionalismo na concepção e manutenção dos portais. Demonstram, ainda, não haver grande preocupação por parte dos gestores dos portais de legislação em garantir a completude do portal, a acessibilidade das normas, disponibilizar o texto atualizado (alterado e consolidado), facilitar o acesso à informação concernente à normas relacionadas, fonte, projeto de origem e ADIN, prover espaço com conteúdo de ajuda, bem como em gerar confiança a partir da disponibilização de informações sobre a responsabilidade do portal. Conclui que o acesso à informação legislativa dos municípios do Rio Grande do Sul é precário. / This research aims to evaluate the access to digital legislative information in municipalities of Rio Grande do Sul. The literature review explains the importance of legislative information to the legal order as a whole, to the legal certainty, access to information and legislative inflation. To concrete the evaluation, it establishs a checklist and applies the instrument to the Câmara de Vereadores’s and Prefeituras Municipais’s legislation websites selected by simple stratified random sampling and state’s capital. The checklist is based on literature about general websites and legislative websites evaluation, consisting on 26 basic requirements of legislative websites, sectioned in 5 parameters: usability, coverage, accessibility, relationships and features. In total, it analise 62 Prefeituras Municipais’s websites and 62 Câmaras de Vereadores’s websites. The results demonstrate lack of planning and professionalism in the design and maintenance of the websites. They also demonstrate that the site’s managers show no great concern in ensuring the completeness of the website, the accessibility to law, in making available the updated text (modified and consolidated), in facilitating access to related law, source, draft project and ADIN, in providing help content, as well as generating confidence from the availability of information on the responsibility of the website. It concludes that the access to legislative information of the municipalities of Rio Grande do Sul is precarious.

O objetivo da pesquisa é avaliar o acesso à informação legislativa digital dos municípios do estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Em revisão de literatura, aborda a importância da informação legislativa no que concerne ao ordenamento jurídico como um todo, à segurança jurídica, ao acesso à informação e à inflação legislativa. Para realizar a avaliação, estabelece checklist e, posteriormente, aplica o instrumento aos portais de legislação das Câmaras de Vereadores e Prefeituras Municipais dos municípios selecionados por amostragem aleatória simples estratificada e na capital do Estado. O checklist é fundamentado em literatura acerca da avaliação de portais da web e da avaliação de portais de legislação em específico, sendo composto por 26 requisitos básicos desejáveis para os portais de legislação, divididos em 5 parâmetros: Usabilidade, Cobertura, Acessibilidade, Relacionamentos e Ferramentas Ao todo, analisa 62 portais de Prefeituras Municipais e 62 portais de Câmaras de Vereadores. Os resultados demonstram falta de planejamento e de profissionalismo na concepção e manutenção dos portais. Demonstram, ainda, não haver grande preocupação por parte dos gestores dos portais de legislação em garantir a completude do portal, a acessibilidade das normas, disponibilizar o texto atualizado (alterado e consolidado), facilitar o acesso à informação concernente à normas relacionadas, fonte, projeto de origem e ADIN, prover espaço com conteúdo de ajuda, bem como em gerar confiança a partir da disponibilização de informações sobre a responsabilidade do portal. Conclui que o acesso à informação legislativa dos municípios do Rio Grande do Sul é precário. / This research aims to evaluate the access to digital legislative information in municipalities of Rio Grande do Sul. The literature review explains the importance of legislative information to the legal order as a whole, to the legal certainty, access to information and legislative inflation. To concrete the evaluation, it establishs a checklist and applies the instrument to the Câmara de Vereadores’s and Prefeituras Municipais’s legislation websites selected by simple stratified random sampling and state’s capital. The checklist is based on literature about general websites and legislative websites evaluation, consisting on 26 basic requirements of legislative websites, sectioned in 5 parameters: usability, coverage, accessibility, relationships and features. In total, it analise 62 Prefeituras Municipais’s websites and 62 Câmaras de Vereadores’s websites. The results demonstrate lack of planning and professionalism in the design and maintenance of the websites. They also demonstrate that the site’s managers show no great concern in ensuring the completeness of the website, the accessibility to law, in making available the updated text (modified and consolidated), in facilitating access to related law, source, draft project and ADIN, in providing help content, as well as generating confidence from the availability of information on the responsibility of the website. It concludes that the access to legislative information of the municipalities of Rio Grande do Sul is precarious.

Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2015-06-22T14:18:23Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Simone B.S.Marques.pdf: 504848 bytes, checksum: e5b71917fc53a2f2ff2f069803967348 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-06-22T14:18:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Simone B.S.Marques.pdf: 504848 bytes, checksum: e5b71917fc53a2f2ff2f069803967348 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-03-24 / Nenhuma / Nesse estudo se analisa a evidenciação nas páginas eletrônicas de Prefeituras Municipais de municípios do Rio Grande do Sul com população entre 10 mil e 50 mil habitantes, de indicadores exigidos na Lei de Responsabilidade Fiscal (LRF) e na Lei de Acesso à Informação (LAI). A pesquisa é classificada como aplicada, com abordagem quantitativa dos dados, descritiva quanto ao seu objetivo e documental em relação ao procedimento técnico, contando com uma amostra de 94 municípios. Ao todo foi examinada a divulgação de 32 indicadores, sendo 16 referentes à LRF e 16 referentes à LAI. As análises levaram em consideração a freqüência da divulgação e a influência na divulgação de fatores como: mesorregiões, partido político do prefeito, população, receita corrente líquida, PIB per capita, índice de desenvolvimento humano (IDH-M) e taxa de analfabetismo. Os dados obtidos revelam uma baixa aderência média das prefeituras na divulgação de indicadores da LRF e uma aderência um pouco mais satisfatória quanto à divulgação de indicadores da LAI; e que a população dos municípios influencia na maior ou menor evidenciação; o montante de receita corrente líquida tem influência moderada; e não há diferença nos níveis de divulgação de indicadores da LRF e LAI em municípios com maior ou menor PIB per capita, IDH e taxa de analfabetismo. / In this research we analyze the existence in the electronic pages of the City Hall of the municipalities in the Rio Grande do Sul State, whose population number floats in between ten, thousand and fifty thousand inhabitants to find indicators demanded by the Fiscal Responsibility Law and the Information Access Law . The research is classified as applied, with a quantitative approach of data, descriptive in its objectives and documentary in the relation to the technical procedure counting on a sample of 94 municipalities. Altogether was examined the disclosure of 32 indicators, 16 refer to the LRF and 16 refer to the LAI. The analysis considered the frequency of the disclosure and the influences in the factors disclosure such as: population, net current income, per capita Gross National Product, Human Development index and illiteracy rate. The obtained data reveal a low medium adherence of governments in disseminating indicators of LRF the City Hall over the LRF disclosure indicators and a little bit more satisfactory adherence of the City Hall related to LAI indicators disclosure and that the municipalities population influences the major or minor evidence; the amount of the net current income has a moderate influence and there is no difference in the LRF and LAI indicators disclosure levels in the municipalities with major or minor per capita GNP, HDR and illiteracy rate.

This study examined the effect of enhanced electronic access to information on patterns of scholarly communication. Using a panel typology, the academics at the Australian National University were surveyed in 1991 and again in 1994, with the data collected by means of mailed questionnaires. The research drew on the literature of scholarly communication and information-seeking behaviour. Principles of systems theory were used to explain the changes taking place within the academics' environments, including both the system of scholarly communication and the culture of the three disciplinary groupings: science, social science and the humanities. Three research questions directed the study focussing on the effect of enhanced electronic access to information on the academics' use of the library and on their patterns of information seeking and dissemination. Results found that between 1991 and 1994, while some aspects of communication technologies - such as email - had been almost universally adopted, overall, few changes had taken place in academics' information related behaviour. Scientists were more likely to have adopted the new technologies than social scientists or scholars from the humanities. However, there was strong evidence that a small group of academics were adopting the new technologies with enthusiasm suggesting that the overall pattern of use would change in the future.

<p>From long ago, rivers have always sustained livelihoods of the peoples through the utilisation of different natural resources available in the basin. All over the world, many rivers have been dammed in the spirit of performing various purposes: agricultural irrigation, domestic water supply and power generation or flood control.</p><p>By the year 2001, the World Commission on Dams brought into focus the debate on damrelated impacts on local economies, societal cultures, livelihoods security and environmental conservation. The outcome of the World Commission on Dams consultation strongly recommended the governments to involve all stakeholders to address appropriately all issues associated with dams.</p><p>The overall focus of this master thesis is the projected Rusumo Falls dam in the Kagera River Basin (East Africa). Based on literature documentation completed by on-ground observations and qualitative interviews at Rusumo, various issues connected with the dam are presented.</p><p>In the first part, the Kagera River Basin background information is provided. It gives an overview of the physical and human characteristics of the Kagera watershed and subcatchments. A brief history and socio-economic indicators are given to enlighten the outsiders about the development challenges of the riparian countries of Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Regional frameworks for the development and management of Kagera Basin natural resources are presented: The Kagera Basin Organisation and the Nile Basin Initiative.</p><p>Section two analyses the likely social problems around the Rusumo Hydro Electric Project resulting from the land issue and the electricity needs and posing a dilemma for the governments committed to reverse the poverty and developing the economies. Benefits and drawbacks of the dam as perceived by the beneficiaries are thoroughly listed.</p><p>Based on the overwhelming supports from the Rusumo people, the governments of Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania together with the international community, a public participation scenario is suggested in the last chapter. It encourages the governments to come together with all interested groups and the affected people of Rusumo and address any matters associated to the dam management process.</p><p>The conclusion of this study draws some strategies and methods to ensure full popular participation in the dam management. It provides some ways to involve all stakeholders to address the related issues. As the Rusumo people perceptions of the dam possible effects might not be realistic, the popular participation can offer them a good opportunity to handle socio-economic problems such as the land issue, the economy restructure and the nature conservation. In this case study, the government of Rwanda is therefore responsible for the establishment of platforms for a broad popular consultation.</p>

Submitted by Valdinei Souza (neisouza@hotmail.com) on 2016-12-19T22:03:53Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Nivea Camara Rocha de Souza - DISSERTACAO.pdf: 4319679 bytes, checksum: f28f82c8e0d2a87cf211a4ae049d6430 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Urania Araujo (urania@ufba.br) on 2017-01-13T21:00:34Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Nivea Camara Rocha de Souza - DISSERTACAO.pdf: 4319679 bytes, checksum: f28f82c8e0d2a87cf211a4ae049d6430 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-13T21:00:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Nivea Camara Rocha de Souza - DISSERTACAO.pdf: 4319679 bytes, checksum: f28f82c8e0d2a87cf211a4ae049d6430 (MD5) / Esta pesquisa objetiva analisar a importância da utilização das ferramentas da Web 2.0 pelas bibliotecas universitárias públicas da cidade de Salvador para divulgação de seus serviços, acervo e atividades, com vistas a potencializar a comunicação com os usuários,promover o acesso a informação e atrair novos visitantes. A Web 2.0, também conhecida como Web Social, viabiliza várias interfaces digitais que podem ser utilizadas pelas bibliotecas como forma de mediação e interação com os usuários, além de propiciar o marketing digital. Em relação ao objetivo a pesquisa se caracteriza como descritiva, com uma abordagem de natureza qualitativa, que se deu a partir do método de levantamento bibliográfico, pesquisa documental associado ao método de casos múltiplos. Para a obtenção das informações optou-se pela adoção da técnica de entrevistas semi-estruturadas. Após a análise dos dados os resultados foram confrontados com o referencial teórico, na perspectiva de investigar a importância utilização das ferramentas de Web 2.0 para promover o acesso à informação propiciado através do marketing digital nas bibliotecas universitárias públicas de Salvador. Os resultados demonstraram que todas as bibliotecas universitárias públicas de Salvador adotam ao menos uma ferramenta de Web 2.0 para promover o acesso a informação e divulgar seus serviços. De acordo com os entrevistados a utilização dessas ferramentas de Web 2.0 traz diversos benefícios, possibilita uma maior interação com os usuários e um marketing digital para a biblioteca. / ABSTRACT This research intended to analyze the importance of using Web 2.0 tools by public university libraries in the city of Salvador advertise their services, collections and activities, in order to enhance communication with users, promote access to information and attract new visitors. The Web 2.0, also known as Social Web, enables multiple digital interfaces that can be used by libraries as form of mediation and interaction with users, as well as providing digital marketing. Regarding the objective of the research is characterized as descriptive, with a qualitative approach, which occurred from the literature method, documentary research associated with the method of multiple cases. To obtain the information it was decided to adopt the technique of semi-structured interviews. After analyzing the data the results were compared with the theoretical framework with a view to investigate the importance of the use of Web 2.0 tools to promote access to information afforded by digital marketing in public university libraries in Salvador. The results showed that all public university libraries in Salvador adopt at least one Web 2.0 tool to promote access to information and promote their services. According to respondents the use of these Web 2.0 tools brings many benefits, enables greater interaction with users and digital marketing for the library.

The Open University of Brazil1 has been studied repeatedly by researchers. However, it can be assumed that regarding the work of the information professional – the librarian – and its insertion on the multidisciplinary team, the subject has been insufficiently debated under the view of the members of Public Institution of Higher Degree (IPES). This research deals with librarian role in the context of the Support Site at the UAB. The present work aims on investigating whether there exist libraries, which information access services are offered to students of the Supporting Sites of the UAB and whether there are librarians acting in conformity with the UAB system proposition as well following the Quality Standards of the Distance Learning and the evaluation tools of the Ministry of Education. The specific goals are to identify which information access services are being offered, from which Libraries, to the UAB students and also to determine how the librarian is performing at the Support Sites of the UAB. It was necessary, initially, to broaden the knowledge about the Distance Learning (EAD), the UAB and the legislation pertinent to this educational modality in Brazil in order to gain a better understanding and pursue the research goals, relying on the Support Sites of the UAB. This is a research of documental nature, also exploratory and descriptive following a quanti-qualitative approach and intends to collect data from the libraries at the Support Sites, based on the information provided by the Sites’ Coordinators randomly selected. An online questionnaire was made available and the data were analyzed and interpreted considering the purpose of the Support Sites of the UAB randomly selected. The results have shown that the libraries at the Support Sites still need to comply to the Distance Learning model presently implemented in the country for the Distance Learning and therefore do not fulfill the students’ needs. The results made clear that it is necessary to implement public measures both on a county and state levels, in order to maintain and operate the libraries in conformity to the present legislation. The study proposes improvements to conform the Sites’ libraries to the students using the Distance Learning offered by the IPES. / A Universidade Aberta do Brasil (UAB) vem sendo estudada com frequência por esquisadores, entretanto, presume-se que o trabalho do profissional da informação – o bibliotecário – e sua inserção na equipe multidisciplinar da UAB ainda são pouco debatidos no âmbito das Instituições Públicas de Ensino Superior (IPES) participantes. Esta pesquisa trata da importância do bibliotecário no contexto do Polo de Apoio Presencial da UAB. Tem por objetivo geral investigar a existência de bibliotecas, os serviços de acesso à informação oferecidos aos estudantes dos Polos de Apoio da UAB e a presença do bibliotecário nos Polos que atuam em conformidade com a proposta do Sistema UAB, com os Referenciais de Qualidade para o Ensino Superior a Distância e com os instrumentos de avaliação do Ministério da Educação (MEC). Tem como objetivos específicos identificar os serviços de acesso à informação oferecidos pelas bibliotecas aos estudantes da UAB e conhecer a atuação do bibliotecário nos Polos de Apoio Presencial da UAB. Inicialmente foi necessário ampliar o conhecimento sobre Educação a Distância (EAD), UAB e a legislação pertinente a essa modalidade educacional no Brasil, para uma melhor compreensão e a obtenção dos objetivos da pesquisa, apoiando-se nos Polos de Apoio Presencial da UAB. Trata-se de uma pesquisa de natureza documental, exploratória e descritiva, com abordagem qualiquantitativa, tendo a finalidade de coletar dados das bibliotecas dos Polos de Apoio Presencial a partir de informações fornecidas pelos Coordenadores de Polos selecionados por amostragem. Para a coleta de dados, optou-se pelo questionário disponibilizado online, a partir da ferramenta Google Docs. Os dados foram analisados e interpretados considerando os objetivos das bibliotecas dos Polos de Apoio Presencial da UAB sorteados aleatoriamente. Os resultados comprovam a existência de biblioteca e a quase inexistência do bibliotecário nos Polos de Apoio Presencial, comprometendo o acesso a informação, de forma adequada. Os resultados evidenciam que existe a necessidade de políticas públicas a nível estadual e municipal, para garantir a implantação, a manutenção e o funcionamento das bibliotecas em conformidade com a atual legislação. Este estudo propõe sugestões de melhorias para adequar as bibliotecas dos Polos às demandas dos estudantes dos cursos ofertados pela IPES.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Information Technology in the Faculty of Informatics and design at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2014 / This study focuses on information flows in the social grant process from a user experience perspective. The study was conducted with the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), which is responsible for the administration and distribution of social grants to underprivileged citizens. Social grants help poor citizens to attain equitable income on a monthly basis. Grants play an increasingly important role in reducing poverty and inequality in South Africa, but are also subject to challenges like dependency, mismanagement and corruption. Information flow within SASSA is essential for the coordination of the grant process. The success of administering any social grant process depends largely on efficient communication practices and stable information technology. Communication among grant users requires the transfer of relevant information from its point of inception to the next point(s) of use. Government departments are transposing their paper-based systems into digital systems, which pose new implications for grant administration, however. Accordingly, the use of electronic services in government should mean faster information flow and, thus, more effective service delivery. The literature reveals, however, that non-technical aspects like user experience (UX) are essential in designing meaningful e-government systems. With a focus on user experience, this study uncovers the problems that SASSA and grant users face in the grant process and works toward possible solutions to resolve these problems. This research lays an important foundation in terms of gaining a better understanding of information flows, e-government, and user experiences in the grant process. This research is exploratory in nature and adopts a qualitative interpretivist approach. To gain a deeper understanding of the perspectives and experiences of grant users, the researcher employed the „Institutionalise User Experience in Government‟ (IUXG) methodology. The study targeted individuals that had knowledge of the social grants. A purposive sampling technique was used to select the research participants. Furthermore, the researcher adopted a thematic analysis method to code and analyse data. The findings of this study revealed the centrality of user experience in the grant process, notably in terms of the many challenges associated with information flow. The findings also revealed that factors such as social grant awareness, availability and use of information technology, digital divide, and grant accessibility bring enormous impact on grant processes and service delivery. The study contributes a landscape model for depicting the information flows in processing grants, and develops a broader understanding of how technology can help users to better disburse, access, and utilise grants. The study also informs e- government practitioners about the design and implementation of user-centred design with emphasis on information flows. Key Words: Information flows, social grants, e-government, and user experience.

From long ago, rivers have always sustained livelihoods of the peoples through the utilisation of different natural resources available in the basin. All over the world, many rivers have been dammed in the spirit of performing various purposes: agricultural irrigation, domestic water supply and power generation or flood control. By the year 2001, the World Commission on Dams brought into focus the debate on damrelated impacts on local economies, societal cultures, livelihoods security and environmental conservation. The outcome of the World Commission on Dams consultation strongly recommended the governments to involve all stakeholders to address appropriately all issues associated with dams. The overall focus of this master thesis is the projected Rusumo Falls dam in the Kagera River Basin (East Africa). Based on literature documentation completed by on-ground observations and qualitative interviews at Rusumo, various issues connected with the dam are presented. In the first part, the Kagera River Basin background information is provided. It gives an overview of the physical and human characteristics of the Kagera watershed and subcatchments. A brief history and socio-economic indicators are given to enlighten the outsiders about the development challenges of the riparian countries of Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Regional frameworks for the development and management of Kagera Basin natural resources are presented: The Kagera Basin Organisation and the Nile Basin Initiative. Section two analyses the likely social problems around the Rusumo Hydro Electric Project resulting from the land issue and the electricity needs and posing a dilemma for the governments committed to reverse the poverty and developing the economies. Benefits and drawbacks of the dam as perceived by the beneficiaries are thoroughly listed. Based on the overwhelming supports from the Rusumo people, the governments of Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania together with the international community, a public participation scenario is suggested in the last chapter. It encourages the governments to come together with all interested groups and the affected people of Rusumo and address any matters associated to the dam management process. The conclusion of this study draws some strategies and methods to ensure full popular participation in the dam management. It provides some ways to involve all stakeholders to address the related issues. As the Rusumo people perceptions of the dam possible effects might not be realistic, the popular participation can offer them a good opportunity to handle socio-economic problems such as the land issue, the economy restructure and the nature conservation. In this case study, the government of Rwanda is therefore responsible for the establishment of platforms for a broad popular consultation.