The purpose of this study is to revise the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry's (DWAF's) current Integrated Environmental Management (IEM) procedure and to develop an Environmental Management Framework (EMF), so as to ensure that the environment is considered in a structured, formal manner at each decision-making stage of the projects development business process. The proposed EMF provides process diagrams that align the IBM principles, the environmental assessment and management tools, and the engineering business process with the project life cycle approach for DWAF's water sector functional areas. Key decision-making points are introduced to the business process to ensure that all the specific requirements have been met before continuing to the next engineering stage of the business life cycle. Auditing nodes were identified within the life cycle approach and complement the decision-making points and strengthen the evaluation of environmental compliance and performance. These process diagrams is designed to prompt development planners and implementers to consider the environment at all stages of the business life cycle and practice sound environmental management. The EMF is based on international best practice and follows the Deming model philosophy as well as principles and elements of an environmental management system. The EMF must be an integral part in the way the department conduct its business and not seen as an ad hoc function and the duties of the environmental officer. To conclude, the EMF is the building block and interim management plan for an appropriate environmental management system in the future and the first step towards business excellence for the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Geography and Environmental Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

In this thesis I examine and explore whether and if Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) inspired water reforms respond to- and address the diverse realities of women and men in informal (and formal) rural economies of Sekororo, South Africa and Ward 17 in Gwanda, Zimbabwe which are both in the Limpopo basin. South Africa and Zimbabwe, like other southern African countries, embarked on IWRMinspired water reforms, culminating in the promulgation of the National Water Acts in 1998, four years after the attainment of South Africa’s democracy in 1994 and 18 years after Zimbabwe attained independence in 1980. I argue that the adoption of IWRM, which emphasises second generation water issues such as demand management, water quality, environmental flow requirements etc, and not the development of water infrastructure, begs the question whether such reforms can make a meaningful contribution to the development agenda in countries where, during apartheid and colonialism, the water rights (among other rights) of millions of blacks were compromised because of unjust legislation and skewed underinvestment in water infrastructure

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

The purpose of this study is to revise the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry's (DWAF's) current Integrated Environmental Management (IEM) procedure and to develop an Environmental Management Framework (EMF), so as to ensure that the environment is considered in a structured, formal manner at each decision-making stage of the projects development business process. The proposed EMF provides process diagrams that align the IBM principles, the environmental assessment and management tools, and the engineering business process with the project life cycle approach for DWAF's water sector functional areas. Key decision-making points are introduced to the business process to ensure that all the specific requirements have been met before continuing to the next engineering stage of the business life cycle. Auditing nodes were identified within the life cycle approach and complement the decision-making points and strengthen the evaluation of environmental compliance and performance. These process diagrams is designed to prompt development planners and implementers to consider the environment at all stages of the business life cycle and practice sound environmental management. The EMF is based on international best practice and follows the Deming model philosophy as well as principles and elements of an environmental management system. The EMF must be an integral part in the way the department conduct its business and not seen as an ad hoc function and the duties of the environmental officer. To conclude, the EMF is the building block and interim management plan for an appropriate environmental management system in the future and the first step towards business excellence for the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Geography and Environmental Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

Limited freshwater supply is the most important challenge in water resources management, particularly in arid and semi-arid basins. However, other variations in a basin, including climate change, population growth, and economic development intensify this threat to water security. The Oldman River Basin (OMRB), located in southern Alberta, Canada, is a semi-arid basin and encompasses several water challenges, including uncertain water supply as well as increasing, uncertain water demands (consumptive irrigation, municipal, and industrial demands, and non-consumptive hydropower generation, and environmental demands). Reservoirs, of which the Oldman River Reservoir is the largest in the basin, are responsible for meeting most of demands, and, protecting the basin’s economy. The OMRB has also faced extreme natural events, floods and droughts, in the past, which reservoir management plays a critical role to adapt to. The complexity of the climate, hydrology, and water resource system and water governance escalates the challenges in the basin. These factors are highly interconnected and establish dynamic, non-linear behavior, which requires an integrated, feedback-based tool to investigate. Integrated water resources (IWRM) modelling using system dynamics (SD) is such an approach to tackle the different water challenges and understand their non-linear, dynamic pattern. In this research study the Sustainability-oriented Water Allocation, Management, and Planning (SWAMPOM) model for the Oldman River Basin is developed. SWAMPOM comprises a water allocation model, dynamic irrigation demand, instream flow needs (IFN), and economic evaluation sub-models. The water allocation model allocates water to all the above-mentioned demands at a weekly time step from 1928 to 2001, and under different water availability scenarios. Meeting irrigation demands relies on the crop water requirement (CWR), which is calculated under different climatic conditions by the dynamic irrigation demand sub-model. This sub-model estimates the weekly irrigation demand for main crops planted in the basin. SWAMPOM also computes environmental demands or instream flow need (IFN) for the Oldman River, and allocates water to rivers to meet IFN under different policy scenarios and uncertain water supply. Finally, the major water-related economic benefit in the basin, earned by agriculture and hydropower generation, is computed by the economic evaluation sub-model. The results show that SWAMPOM could reasonably satisfy the demands at a weekly time step and provide an adequate estimation of the crop water requirement under different hydrometeorological conditions. Based on the SWAMPOM’s results, the average annual irrigation demand is 306 mm over the historical time period from 1928 to 2001 in the main irrigation districts. The average weekly instream flow need of the Oldman River is calculated to be approximately 20.5 m3/s, which can be met in more than 97% of weeks in the historical time period. Average annual water-related economic benefit was computed to be 192.5 M$ in the OMRB. It decreased to 82.8 M$ in very dry years, and increased up to 328.6 M$ in very wet years. This research also developed different sets of Oldman Reservoir’s operation zones, resulting in trade-offs between the optimal economic benefit, water allocated to the ecosystem, minimum floodwater and minimum flood frequency. This helps decision makers to decide how much water should be stored in the reservoir to meet a specific objective while not sacrificing others. A multi-objective performance assessment, Pareto curve approach, is applied to identify the optimal trade-offs between the four objective functions (OFs), and 18 different optimal, or close to optimal sets of operating zones are provided. The decision regarding the operating zones depends on decision makers’ preference for higher economic benefit, water allocated to IFN, or flood security. However, the set of operating zones with minimum floodwater causes 11 less flood events; the operating zones with maximum economic benefits result in 4.1% more financial gain; and the zones with maximum water allocated to IFN lead to 10.1% more ecosystem protection in the whole 74 years, compared to current zones.

This article studies the legal regime of groundwater by analyzing the context of integrated water resources management and recognizing its definition and characteristics.Furthermore, it analyses the ownership of ground water, the planning regime applicable, the exploration and exploitation activities, their authorization certificates, the activity of supervision over them, and finally the article describes the special schemes for management and limitation recognized in Peruvian law. / En el presente artículo se estudia el régimen jurídico de las aguas subterráneas, analizando el marco de la gestión integrada de recursos hídricos y reconociendo su definición y particularidades.Asimismo, se analiza la titularidad de las aguas subterráneas, el régimen de planificación aplicable, las actividades de exploración y explotación, sus títulos habilitantes, la actividad de supervisión que sobre ellas recae, para finalmente, dejar anotados los regímenes especiales de gestión y limitación reconocidos en el ordenamiento jurídico peruano.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / In this thesis I examine and explore whether and if Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) inspired water reforms respond to- and address the diverse realities of women and men in informal (and formal) rural economies of Sekororo, South Africa and Ward 17 in Gwanda, Zimbabwe which are both in the Limpopo basin. South Africa and Zimbabwe, like other southern African countries, embarked on IWRM inspired water reforms, culminating in the promulgation of the National Water Acts in 1998, four years after the attainment of South Africa's democracy in 1994 and 18 years after Zimbabwe attained independence in 1980. I argue that the adoption of IWRM, which emphasises second generation water issues such as demand management, water quality, environmental flow requirements etc, and not the development of water infrastructure, begs the question whether such reforms can make a meaningful contribution to the development agenda in countries where, during apartheid and colonialism, the water rights (among other rights) of millions of blacks were compromised because of unjust legislation and skewed underinvestment in water infrastructure. / South Africa

L’eau souterraine représente 98% de la ressource en eau douce liquide sur Terre. Vitale, avantageuse par ses propriétés spéciales mais, souvent, particulièrement vulnérable à long terme, face aux dégradations continues générées par l’ère anthropocène, elle devrait faire l’objet d’une réglementation exprimant toute la signification du « niveau élevé de protection de l’environnement » requis en droit primaire de l’Union européenne. C’est pourquoi la gestion intégrée des ressources en eau (GIRE) pratiquée par l’UE devrait tendre, pour cette eau, vers un degré supérieur de préservation d’un milieu hypogé singulièrement fragile, via une distinction plus marquée entre les notions de «gestion» et de «protection» intégrées, selon l’intensité de la préservation qu’elles emporteraient. A travers cette évolution de la gestion vers la protection intégrée, que l’on érigerait en mode d’intervention à part entière, le droit de l’UE définirait une nouvelle balance entre intérêts économiques et nécessités environnementales. Un tel renforcement du droit dérivé pertinent passerait avant tout par une conception rénovée des eaux souterraines, affranchie d’une conception trop sommaire, dans la directive-cadre sur l’eau et la directive 2006/118/CE, pour en appréhender toute la richesse. Ce, sous peine de ne les protéger que partiellement. Sans préjudice de l’unité du droit de l’eau, des aménagements spécifiques devraient ainsi être prévus pour les eaux souterraines, dont les dynamiques peuvent grandement différer, dans le temps et l’espace, de la surface. Les eaux souterraines ne pouvant être séparées de leur réceptacle (sol et sous-sol), leur protection intégrée requerrait en outre de transcender les limites de la politique de l’eau, et d’aller au-delà de l’intégration telle qu’on la connaissait dans le cadre de la GIRE. Cette dernière, en effet, n’efface pas toutes les contradictions entre politiques sectorielles. Aussi faudrait-il poursuivre la mise en cohérence desdites politiques concernées (environnementale, agricole, industrielle, énergétique…), dont la convergence devrait être accrue dans le sens d’une protection globale du milieu souterrain – une protection affermie pour laquelle pourraient se mobiliser l’ensemble des acteurs intéressés, s’ils étaient orientés vers cet objectif par des dispositifs plus appropriés. / Because groundwater, which represents 98% of the liquid freshwater on Earth, is vital, of particular benefit due to its special properties, but, often, especially vulnerable, in the long term, to the unceasing degra-dation caused by the anthropogenic era, it should be the subject of a regulation that would express the whole meaning of the “high level of protection of the environment” required in the European Union primary law. The integrated management of water resources management (IWRM) implemented by the EU should therefore, for this water, strive for a higher stage of preservation of a singularly fragile underground environment, through a sharper distinction between the concepts of integrated “management” and “protection”, according to the intensity of preservation they would respectively imply. Via such an evolution from integrated management to protection, the latter becoming an autonomous framework of action, the EU law would adopt a different position on the balance between economic interests and ecological necessities. This strengthening of the relevant secondary law must rest on, first and foremost, a new apprehension of groundwater, in the water framework directive and the directive 2006/118/EC, beyond a conception too perfunctory to comprehend the richness of it, otherwise it won’t be fully protected. So, without prejudice to the unity of water law, specific adjustments should be provided for, concerning ground waters, insofar as their dynamics may significantly differ, in time and space, from those of surface water. Since ground waters can’t be separated from its receptacle (soil and subsoil), its integrated protection would demand in addition to transcend the borders of the sectoral water policy and to go beyond the integration as we know it in the current IWRM, which doesn’t erase contradictions between sectoral policies. Thus has to be carried on the improvement of the coherence between relevant politics (environment, agriculture, industry, energy…), in order to build a complete protection of the underground environment. A new framework where would be mobilized all involved actors, converging towards this purpose thanks to more appropriate mechanisms.

Facing the urgency of taking actions to guarantee the water supply to Brazil's Capital, the project called IWAS/ÁguaDF aims to provide scientific knowledge for the development of an Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) concept. The project is organized in multiple working groups wherein climate is considered as one of the main drivers. The water supply system of Distrito Federal (DF) is mainly dependent on three major complexes: river basins, waste water and drinking water. Anthropogenic climate change has the potential to affect these water complexes in a number of ways such as by losing storage capacity due to erosion and sedimentation, through altered persistency of dry events and due to increasing water demand. As a contribution to the IWAS/ÁguaDF project, this study focuses on the development of climate change projections for hydrological impact assessments at local/regional scale. The development of proper climate information is a challenging task. The level of complexity corresponds directly to the issues that concern impact modellers as well as technical aspects such as available observational data, human and computational resources. The identification of the needs for water-related issues gives the foundation for deriving proper climate projections. Before making projections, it is necessary to assess the current climate conditions, or baseline climate. Despite a better understanding of the regional aspects of the climate and the ongoing changes, the baseline climate provides the foundation for calibrating and validating climate models and downscaling methods. The General Circulation Models (GCMs) are the most preferred tools in simulating the response of the climate system to anthropogenic activities, like increasing greenhouse gases and aerosol emissions. However, the climate information required for regional impact studies, such as water resources management in DF, is of a spatial scale much finer than that provided by GCMs and therefore often demands a downscaling procedure. Hydrological models are usually sensitive to the temporal variability of precipitation at scales that are not well represented by GCMs. Statistical downscaling methods have the potential to bridge the mismatch between GCMs and impact models by adding local variability that is consistent with both the large-scale signal and local observations. The tool used (i.e., Statistical DownScaling Model - SDSM) is described as a hybrid of regression-based and stochastic weather generator. The systematic calibration adopted provides the appropriated predictors and model parameterization. The validation procedure takes into account the metrics relevant to the requirements of hydrological studies. Moreover, the downscaling approach considers several climate models (i.e., 18 GCMs) and emission scenarios (i.e., SRES A1B, A2, B1) in order to sample the widest sources of uncertainties available. In spite of the elevated level of uncertainties in the magnitude of change, most of the downscaled projections agree with positive changes in temperature and precipitation for the period of 2046-2065 when compared to the reference period (i.e., 1980-1999). Large ensembles are preferable but are often associated with massive amount of data which have limited application in hydrological impact studies. An alternative is to identify subsets of projections that are most likely and projections that have lower likelihood but higher impact. A set of representative climate projections is suggested for hydrological impact assessments. Although high resolution information is preferable, it relies on limited assumptions inherent to observations and coarse-resolution projections and, therefore, its use alone is not recommended. The combination of the baseline climate with large- and local-scale projections achieved in this study provides a wide envelope of climate information for assessing the sensitivity of hydrological systems in DF. A better understanding of the vulnerability of hydrological systems through the application of multiple sources of climate information and appropriate sampling of known uncertainties is perhaps the best way to contribute to the development of robust adaptation strategies. / Starkes Bevölkerungswachstum sowie Landnutzungs- und Klimawandel gefährden die Wasserversorgung der Metropolregion Brasília. Vor diesem Hintergrund soll das Projekt IWAS/ÁguaDF die wissenschaftlichen Grundlagen für ein Integriertes Wasserressourcen-Management (IWRM) im Distrito Federal (DF) erarbeiten. Das Projekt gliedert sich in drei klimasensitive Bereiche: Einzugsgebietsmanagement, Abwasseraufbereitung und Trinkwasserversorgung. Klimaänderungen können die Wasserversorgung im DF vielfältig beeinflussen, durch Veränderung der speicherbaren Wassermenge (Wasserdargebot, Speicherkapazität von Talsperren durch Sedimentation), der Dauer von Dürreperioden und des Wasserbedarfs (z.B. für Bewässerung). Klimaprojektionen für regionale hydrologische Impaktstudien stellen jedoch eine große Heraus-forderung dar. Ihre Komplexität richtet sich nach dem Bedarf des Impaktmodellierers und hängt zudem von technischen Voraussetzungen ab, wie der Verfügbarkeit von Beobachtungsdaten sowie von Personal- und Rechenressourcen. Die Ableitung geeigneter Maßnahmen für ein nachhaltiges Wasserressourcenmanagement im DF stellt hohe Ansprüche an die Qualität der zu entwickelnden Klimaprojektionen. Noch vor der Projektion müssen die gegenwärtigen klimatischen Bedingungen (Referenzklima) analysiert und bewertet werden. Die Analyse des Referenzklimas ermöglicht ein besseres Verständnis regionaler Unterschiede und aktueller Tendenzen und bildet die Grundlage für die Kalibrierung und Validierung von Klimamodellen und Downscaling-Methoden. Globale Klimamodelle (GCM) simulieren die Reaktion des Klimasystems auf anthropogene Treibhausgas- und Aerosolemissionen. Ihre räumliche Auflösung ist jedoch meist zu grob für regionale Klimaimpaktstudien. Zudem reagieren hydrologische Modelle meist sehr sensitiv auf zeitlich variable Niederschläge, welche in hoher zeitlicher Auflösung (Tagesschritte) ebenfalls nur unzureichend in GCM abgebildet werden. Statistische Downscaling-Verfahren können diese Inkohärenz zwischen GCM und Impaktmodellen reduzieren, indem sie das projizierte Klimasignal um lokale Variabilität (konsistent gegenüber den Beobachtungen) erweitern. Das in der vorliegenden Arbeit verwendete Tool, Statistical DownScaling Model - SDSM, vereint regressionsbasierte und stochastische Methoden der Wettergenerierung. Geeignete Prädiktoren und Modelparameter wurden durch systematische Kalibrierung bestimmt und anschließend validiert, wobei unter anderem auch hydrologisch relevante Gütekriterien verwendet wurden. Der gewählte Downscaling-Ansatz berücksichtigt zudem eine Vielzahl verschiedener Globalmodelle (18 GCM) und Emissionsszenarien (SRES A1B, A2 und B1) um die mit Klimaprojektionen verbundene hohe Unsicherheit möglichst breit abzudecken. Die Mehrheit der regionalen Projektionen weist auf eine Zunahme von Temperatur und Niederschlag hin (Zeitraum 2046 bis 2065 gegenüber Referenz-zeitraum, 1980 bis 1999), wenngleich die Stärke des Änderungssignals stark über das Ensemble variiert. Große Modellensemble sind zwar von Vorteil, sie sind jedoch auch mit einer erheblichen Datenmenge verbunden, welche für hydrologische Impaktstudien nur begrenzt nutzbar ist. Alternativ können einzelne „wahrscheinliche“ Projektionen verwendet werden sowie Projektionen, die weniger wahrscheinlich, aber mit einem starken Impakt verbunden sind. Ein solcher Satz repräsentativer Klimaprojektionen wurde für weitergehende Impaktstudien ausgewählt. Auch wenn in der Regel hochaufgelöste Klimaprojektionen angestrebt werden, ihr alleiniger Einsatz in Impaktstudien ist nicht zu empfehlen, aufgrund der vereinfachten Annahmen über die statistische Beziehung zwischen Beobachtungsdaten und den Modellergebnissen grob aufgelöster Globalmodelle. Der Vergleich des Referenzklimas mit großräumigen und lokalen Projektionen, wie er in dieser Arbeit durchgeführt wurde, liefert ein breites Spektrum an Klimainformationen zur Bewertung der Vulnerabilität hydrologischer Systeme im DF. Die Einbeziehung einer Vielzahl vorhandener Klimamodelle und die gezielte, den ermittelten Unsicherheitsbereich vollständig abdeckende Auswahl an Projektionen sollte die Entwicklung robuster Anpassungsstrategien bestmöglich unterstützen. / Diante do desafio de garantir o abastecimento de água potável da capital federal do Brasil, o projeto denominado IWAS/ÁguaDF tem como objetivo prover conhecimento científico para o desenvolvimento de um conceito de Gestão Integrada dos Recursos Hídricos (PGIRH). Afim de atingir esta proposta, o projeto é organizado em multiplos grupos de trabalho entre os quais o clima é considerado um dos principais fatores de influência. O sistema de abastecimento de água do Distrito Federal (DF) depende praticamente de três complexos: bacias hidrográficas, águas residuais e água potável. Mudanças climáticas causadas por ações antropogênicas apresentam um enorme potencial de impacto a estes complexos, por exemplo através de alterações no regime de chuvas, perda de volume dos reservatórios por assoriamento e aumento na demanda de água. Como contribuição ao projeto IWAS/ÁguaDF, este estudo tem como foco o desenvolvimento de projeções de mudanças climáticas para estudo de impacto nos recursos hídricos na escala local/regional. O nível de complexidade corresponde diretamente às questões levantadas pelos modeladores de impacto, bem como aspecto técnicos como a disponibilidade de dados observados e recursos humanos e computacionais. A identificação das necessidades de questões relacionadas à água no DF dão a base para derivar projeções climáticas adequadas. Antes de qualquer projeção futura, é indispensável avaliar as condições atuais do clima, também chamado de linha de base do clima. Além de fornecer a compreenção dos aspectos regionais do clima e mudaças em curso, a linha de base provê dados para a calibração e validação de modelos globais de clima e técnicas de regionalização (downscaling). Os Modelos de Circulação Geral (GCM) são as ferramentas mais adotadas na simulação da resposta do sistema climático às atividades antropogênicas, tais como aumento de emissões de gases do efeito estufa e aerosóis. No entanto, a informação necessária para estudos regionais de impacto, tais como gestão de recursos hídricos, é de escala espacial mais refinada do que a resolução espacial fornecida pelos GCMs e, dessa forma, técnicas de regionalização são frequentemente demandadas. Modelos hidrológicos são geralmente sensitivos à variabilidade temporal de precipitação em escalas não representadas pelos modelos globais. Métodos estatísticos de ‘downscaling’ apresentam um potencial para auxiliar no descompasso entre GCMs e modelos de impacto através da adição de variabilidade local consistente com o sinal de larga escala e as observações locais. A ferramenta utilizada (Statistical DownScaling Model - SDSM) é descrita como um híbrido entre regressão linear e gerador de tempo estocástico. A calibração sistemática adotada fornece apropriados preditores e uma parameterização consistente. O procedimento de validação do modelo leva em conta as métricas relevantes aos requerimentos dos estudos hidrológicos. Ainda, a abordagem aqui utilizada considera diversos modelos globais (isto é, 18 GCMs) e cenários de emissões (isto é, SRES A1B, A2 e B1) afim de contemplar as mais abrangentes fontes de incertezas disponíveis. Embora o elevado nível de incertezas na magnitude das mudançãs de clima, a grande maioria das projeções regionalizadas concordam com o aumento de temperatura e precipiatação para o período de 2046-2065 quando comparado com o período de referência (isto é, 1980-1999). Grandes conjuntos de projeções são preferíveis, mas são frequentement associados com uma quantidade exorbitante de dados os quais são de aplicação limiatada nos estudos de impacto. Uma alternativa é identificar sub-conjuntos de projeções que são as mais prováveis e projeções que são menos prováveis, porém apresentam maior impacto. Embora altas resoluções são preferíveis, estas baseiam-se em hipóteses inerentes às observações e projeções de larga escala e, dessa forma, não é recomendável o seu uso sozinho. A combinação do clima de base com projeções de resoluções baixas e altas fornece um amplo envelope de imformações climáticas para avaliar a sensitividade dos sistemas hidrológicos no DF. Um compreendimento mais apurado da vunerabilidade dos sistemas hidrológicos através da aplicação de multiplas fontes de informação e apropriada abordagem das incertezas conhecidas é talvez a melhor maneira para contribuir para o desenvolvimento de estratégias robustas de adaptação.

Water quantity, availability and, particularly, quality of Brazilian freshwater is under progessive degradation due to Anthropocene\'s environmental changing conditions. Strategies of Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) are essential to mitigate these impacts. This Ph.D. thesis proposes a new model of water resources management, thereby integrating selfpurification and ecohydrologic processes to evaluate ecosystem services from watershed under change. In Chapter 2, this thesis examinates the payment for hydrologic cosystem services (Water-PES) in Brazilian Atlantic Forest and points ecohydrologic variables useful for assessing and further valuing hydrologic services. In Chapter 3, this thesis discusses proposals for freshwater monitoring plan which integrate quali-quantitative aspects for EbA and Water-PES projects. Therefore, in Chapter 4 experimental quali-quantative freshwater data from in-situ field observations are investigated according land-use/land-cover (LULC) in headwaters of water supply systems. In Chapter 5, through simulated impacts on freshwater yield from scenarios of LULC change, the grey water footprint (greyWF) is assessed, as well as environmental sustainability of sub-basins is depicted from a new ecohydrologic index for assessing hydrologic services. The methodology is performed using through field sampling and lab-analysing of physico-chemical, biologic and hydraulic variables in nested sub-basins draining to the Cantareira Water Supply System, in Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais states, Brazil. These areas participate in the Water-PES projects Water Producer/PCJ and Water Conservator at headwaters of Piracicaba watershed, during recent severe drought conditions between years 2013-15. The greyWF is estimated from outputs of time series simulated through ecohydrologic model Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). Under assumption of continuity of Water-PES projects, and using the same series of hydrometorological records for a common period (2008-2014), freshwater quali-quantitative impacts are performed through three LULC scenarios: past situation \"S1\" (year 1990), current situation \"S2\" (year 2010) and future situation \"S2+EbA\" (year 2035). From these scenarios, flow and load duration curves, mean water yields, greyWF and seasonal variabilities, were simulated. Through this research, continuous-monitoring Data Collecting Stations were installed in public-private partnership encompassing EESC/USP, ANA, CPRM, CEMADEN, SMA, TNC, WWF and local mayors. This continuous monitoring is addressed to increase the system resilience, based on better decision-making for water security, in strategic headwaters not only for water supply, but also for environmental conservation. This doctoral thesis brings contributions to a better comprehension of anthropic impacts on water resources and for strategies of EbA in front of progressive rates of losses of ecosystem services. This PhD. thesis was part of three research initiatives which partly granted activities: (1) Thematic Project FAPESP 2008/58161-1 \"Assessment of Impacts and Vulnerability to Climate Change in Brazil and Strategies for Adaptation Options\"; (2) \"INCLINE - INterdisciplinary CLimate INvEstigation Center\" (NapMC/USP Núcleo de Apoio às Pesquisas em Mudanças Climáticas) and (3) \"Água Brasil\" Project, Banco do Brasil Foundation, WWF Brazil, ANA & FIPAI/EESC-USP. / A quantidade, a disponibilidade e, em particular, a qualidade da água doce está em degradação progressiva devido às mudanças ambientais no Antropoceno. Estratégias de adaptação baseadas em ecossistemas (EbA) são essenciais para reduzir estes impactos. Propõe-se um novo modelo de gerenciamento de recursos hídricos que integre a pegada hídrica cinza e processos ecohidrológicos para avaliação dos serviços hidrológicos em bacias hidrográficas sob mudanças. As etapas da pesquisa são: Capítulo 2 – análise dos projetos de pagamentos por serviços ambientais de proteção às bacias hidrográficas na Mata Atlântica brasileira e, no contexto de EbA, indicação de variáveis ecohidrológicas úteis na quantificação e futura valoração dos serviços hidrológicos; Capítulo 3 – desenvolvimento de plano de monitoramento ecohidrológico que integra aspectos qualitativos e quantitativos dos recursos hídricos para projetos de EbA; Capítulo 4 – provisão de dados experimentais de qualidade e quantidade da água, além de observações in-situ, para investigação das influências das mudanças de uso e ocupação do solo nas cabeceiras de mananciais, estratégicos para o abastecimento público e a conservação ambiental; Capítulo 5 – estimativas da pegada hídrica cinza para nitrato, fósforo total e sedimentos a partir do monitoramento de variáveis quali-quantitativas em bacias com diferentes condições de uso e ocupação de solo. Foi realizada a instalação de três Plataformas de Coleta de Dados, por meio de parceria entre EESC, ANA, CPRM, CEMADEN, SMA, TNC e WWF, visando aumentar a resiliência do sistema, decorrente de futuro aprimoramento da gestão, para a segurança hídrica. A metodologia incluiu coletas em seis diferentes períodos, durante dois anos, e análises das variáveis condutividade elétrica, cor, DQO, DBO5,20, nitrato, nitrito, nitrogênio amoniacal, fosfato, pH, turbidez, sólidos totais, coliformes termotolerantes, Escherichia coli, medidas de vazões e velocidades médias em seções transversais. O método foi aplicado em microbacias participantes dos projetos Produtor de Água/PCJ e Conservador das Águas, dentre outras, com áreas de drenagem entre 7 e 1.000 km2, que contribuem para a bacia do rio Piracicaba (12.530 km2). Dados primários, medidos em recente período de severa estiagem no Sistema Cantareira (2013-14), foram integrados aos bancos de dados de órgãos gestores federais e estaduais. A produção de água foi maior em sub-bacias menos florestadas. Foi possível aprimorar a regionalização de cargas poluidoras por área de drenagem na região do Cantareira. A pegada hídrica cinza (WF) foi estimada a partir de simulações no modelo ecohidrológico Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). Curvas de permanência de vazões e carga poluidora por área de drenagem foram elaboradas. Supondo-se a continuidade dos projetos \"Produtor de Água/PCJ\" e \"Conservador das Águas\", foram investigados os impactos de cenário futuro de uso do solo. Finalmente, foi desenvolvido novo índice ecohidrológico para quantificação dos serviços hidrológicos e avaliação a sustentabilidade das sub-bacias, a partir da pegada hídrica cinza composta. Assim, usando ferramentas de vanguarda tecnológica (SWAT e WF), a tese fornece subsídios para uma melhor compreensão dos impactos antropogênicos sobre os recursos hídricos e novas estratégias de adaptação baseada em ecossistemas, frente às progressivas taxas de perda de serviços ambientais. Esta tese esteve vinculada a três projetos de pesquisa, dos quais obteve apoio financeiro: (1) Projeto Temático FAPESP 2008/58161-1 \"Assessment of Impacts and Vulnerability to Climate Change in Brazil & Strategies for Adaptation Options\"; (2) \"INCLINE - INterdisciplinary CLimate INvEstigation Center\" (NapMC/USP) e (3) Projeto \"Água Brasil\", Fundação Banco do Brasil, WWF Brasil, ANA e FIPAI/EESC-USP.