Esta pesquisa analisou o processo participativo para a criação da Lei Específica da Guarapiranga (Lei n.º 12.233 de 16/01/2006), nos aspectos da governança da água e da aprendizagem social. A análise foi realizada com base na experiência do Subcomitê da Bacia Hidrográfica Cotia-Guarapiranga (SCBH-CG), na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo (RMSP). No processo de negociação para aprovação da referida Lei, estiveram envolvidos os representantes dos segmentos do Poder Público, Estado e prefeituras dos municípios da bacia, e da sociedade civil, no período de 1999 a 2006. Essa vivência demonstrou o quão desafiador é um processo de negociação entre os diferentes atores e diversos interesses no uso da água, que afetam a disponibilidade qualitativa e quantitativa na bacia da Guarapiranga, a qual abastece, aproximadamente, 4 milhões de pessoas na RMSP. Os resultados obtidos mostram que, embora esse processo tenha sido marcado por diversos momentos de tensão, conflitos, indefinições institucionais e morosidade, representou um significativo avanço na consolidação do sistema integrado de recursos hídricos. Cabe observar também que, apesar dos resultados poderem ainda parecer bastante modestos, face aos desafios existentes, estes representam um importante progresso em termos dos seus alcances para o fortalecimento de uma gestão democrática e compartilhada. Nesse contexto, pode-se concluir que a democracia participativa na governança das águas é um processo de aprendizagem social que vem sendo aperfeiçoado gradativamente para a sustentabilidade hídrica. / This research analyzes the participatory process that preceded the creation of the Specific Law for the Guarapiranga Basin (Law nº. 12.233 of 16/01/2006), emphasizing aspects of water governance and social learning. The analysis was based on the experience of the watershed subcommittee Cotia-Guarapiranga (SCBH-CG) in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo (MRSP). In the negotiation process for the approval of this law, representatives of the segments of the Government, state and local governments of municipalities of the basin, and civil society were involved from 1999 to 2006. This experience demonstrated the challenges of a process of negotiation among different stakeholders and their interests in water use that affect the availability of water in the Guarapiranga basin, which supplies about 4 million people in the MRSP. The results show that, although the process has been characterized by many moments of tension, conflicts, uncertainties and institutional delays, it represented a significant advance in the consolidation of the integrated system of water resources management in the basin. It should be noted also that although outcomes may seem modest, considering the existing challenges, they represent an important progress in terms of its scope to strengthen democratic and shared management of water resources. In this context, the conclusion is that participatory democracy in water governance is a process of social learning that has been improved gradually to reach more sustainability.

The adaptive cycle metaphor provides insight into how and why social-ecological systems change. Literature on 'resilience thinking' has built upon this foundation and further developed the concepts of resilience, adaptation, and transformation to describe social-ecological system behavior. The resilience-thinking literature also describes systems that do not change, even when such change is desirable, as being in a trapped state. However, relatively little research has explored why such systems are trapped and how to free them. This thesis is the product of doctoral research which resolves how to identify, evaluate, and free a system caught in a maladaptive system trap. The study setting is water management in Grenada, a small island developing state in the southeastern Caribbean. Four research questions guide this study: (1) To what extent is Grenadian water management in a trap?, (2) To what extent is Grenadian water management transformable?, (3) Do current and recent interventions effectively foster or utilize transformability?, and (4) Which interventions should be pursued to facilitate transformation of water management in Grenada?. The study is informed by literature on social-ecological systems and integrated water resources management. Methodologically, the study is an explanatory single-case study of water management in Grenada, conducted from 2012 to 2013. The study utilizes data from semi-structured interviews (n=19), a questionnaire (n=180), a document review (n>200), and observation. The general strategy was to evaluate attempts to transform Grenadian water management within the 3-phase transformation framework described in the resilience-thinking literature. 'Points of failure' in transformation are defined as the cause(s) of a trap, and interventions to relieve the points of failure are proposed. Results indicate Grenadian water management is in a rigidity trap, although it exhibits some capacity to transform. A key point of failure of attempts to transform the Grenadian water sector into an integrated and holistic management system has been an inability to seize windows of opportunity to pass key legislation. I conclude the primary cause for this failure is poor fit among the problem, as perceived by various stakeholders, the proposed solution prescribed by water sector reform proponents, and political reality. In addition, reform proponents focus on advocating for reform to water sector professionals and do little to broker passage of legislation politically. Finally, reform proponents also assume legislation will be effectively implemented, which is not certain. Contributions specific to the Grenadian setting include a post-mortem on why efforts to reform the water sector have failed, described above. Five recommendations are made for future interventions to foster transformation of Grenadian water management: (1) engage residents as part of a vision to create political pressure for proposed solutions, (2) frame the problem with substantial resident input and focus, (3) craft solutions which take advantage of political realities such as funding restrictions, (4) anticipate and prepare for crises, and (5) enlist one or more people or organizations to serve as brokers. Empirical contributions include support for the three-streams framework of seizing windows of opportunity as fundamental to explain transformation of social-ecological systems. The primary conceptual contribution is the development of resilience thinking to illuminate ways to free trapped systems. I begin by providing a nomenclature to quantify and describe traps, which includes the type of trap, the degree of persistence and undesirability of the trap, and recent changes in these properties. Then, I develop a framework to assess transformability of a given system based on the existing 3-phase framework of transformation. When applied empirically, this framework illuminates points of failure of transformation, which I define as the cause of a given trap. Once identified, specific strategies can be devised to foster transformation and to break free of a trap.

The adaptive cycle metaphor provides insight into how and why social-ecological systems change. Literature on 'resilience thinking' has built upon this foundation and further developed the concepts of resilience, adaptation, and transformation to describe social-ecological system behavior. The resilience-thinking literature also describes systems that do not change, even when such change is desirable, as being in a trapped state. However, relatively little research has explored why such systems are trapped and how to free them. This thesis is the product of doctoral research which resolves how to identify, evaluate, and free a system caught in a maladaptive system trap. The study setting is water management in Grenada, a small island developing state in the southeastern Caribbean. Four research questions guide this study: (1) To what extent is Grenadian water management in a trap?, (2) To what extent is Grenadian water management transformable?, (3) Do current and recent interventions effectively foster or utilize transformability?, and (4) Which interventions should be pursued to facilitate transformation of water management in Grenada?. The study is informed by literature on social-ecological systems and integrated water resources management. Methodologically, the study is an explanatory single-case study of water management in Grenada, conducted from 2012 to 2013. The study utilizes data from semi-structured interviews (n=19), a questionnaire (n=180), a document review (n>200), and observation. The general strategy was to evaluate attempts to transform Grenadian water management within the 3-phase transformation framework described in the resilience-thinking literature. 'Points of failure' in transformation are defined as the cause(s) of a trap, and interventions to relieve the points of failure are proposed. Results indicate Grenadian water management is in a rigidity trap, although it exhibits some capacity to transform. A key point of failure of attempts to transform the Grenadian water sector into an integrated and holistic management system has been an inability to seize windows of opportunity to pass key legislation. I conclude the primary cause for this failure is poor fit among the problem, as perceived by various stakeholders, the proposed solution prescribed by water sector reform proponents, and political reality. In addition, reform proponents focus on advocating for reform to water sector professionals and do little to broker passage of legislation politically. Finally, reform proponents also assume legislation will be effectively implemented, which is not certain. Contributions specific to the Grenadian setting include a post-mortem on why efforts to reform the water sector have failed, described above. Five recommendations are made for future interventions to foster transformation of Grenadian water management: (1) engage residents as part of a vision to create political pressure for proposed solutions, (2) frame the problem with substantial resident input and focus, (3) craft solutions which take advantage of political realities such as funding restrictions, (4) anticipate and prepare for crises, and (5) enlist one or more people or organizations to serve as brokers. Empirical contributions include support for the three-streams framework of seizing windows of opportunity as fundamental to explain transformation of social-ecological systems. The primary conceptual contribution is the development of resilience thinking to illuminate ways to free trapped systems. I begin by providing a nomenclature to quantify and describe traps, which includes the type of trap, the degree of persistence and undesirability of the trap, and recent changes in these properties. Then, I develop a framework to assess transformability of a given system based on the existing 3-phase framework of transformation. When applied empirically, this framework illuminates points of failure of transformation, which I define as the cause of a given trap. Once identified, specific strategies can be devised to foster transformation and to break free of a trap.

abstract: This research investigates the dialectical relationships between water and social power. I analyze how the coupled processes of development, water privatization, and climate change have been shaping water struggles in Chile. I focus on how these hydro-struggles are reconfiguring everyday practices of water management at the community scale and the ways in which these dynamics may contribute to more democratic and sustainable modes of water governance at both regional and national scales. Using a historical-geographical and multi-sited ethnographical lens, I investigate how different geographical projects (forestry, irrigated agriculture, and hydropower) were deployed in the Biobio and Santiago regions of Chile during the last 200 hundred years. I analyze how since the 1970s, these hydro-modernization projects have been gradually privatized, which in turn has led to environmental degradation and water dispossession affecting peasants and other rural populations. I frame these transformations using the political-ecological notion of hydrosocial assemblages produced by the different stages of the hydro-modernity—Liberal, Keynesian, Socialist, Neoliberal. I detail how these stages have repeatedly reshaped Chilean hydrosocial processes. I unpack the stages through the analysis of forestry, irrigation and hydropower developments in the central and southern regions of Chile, emphasizing how they have produced both uneven socio-spatial development and growing hydrosocial metabolic rifts, particularly during neoliberal hydro-modernity (1981-2015). Hydrosocial metabolic rifts occur when people have been separated or dispossessed from direct access and control of their traditional water resources. I conclude by arguing that there is a need to overcome the current unsustainable market-led approach to water governance. I propose the notion of a 'commons hydro-modernity', which is based on growing environmental and water social movements that are promoting a socio-spatial project to reassemble Chilean hydrosocial metabolic relations in a more democratic and sustainable way. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Environmental Social Science 2016

abstract: Los Angeles, California and Phoenix, Arizona are two naturally water-scarce regions that rely on imported water to meet their local water needs. Both areas have been experiencing an ongoing drought that has negatively affected their local water supply. Populations in both cities continue to grow, increasing overall demand for water as the supply decreases. Water conservation is important for the sustainability of each town. However, the methods utilized to conserve residential water in the two areas differ drastically; Los Angeles has implemented involuntary water rationing and Phoenix has not. The widespread effectiveness of involuntary restrictions makes them a popular management scheme. Despite their immediate effectiveness, little is known about how involuntary restrictions affect attitudinal precursors towards the behavior in question and thus, whether or not the restrictions are potentially helpful or harmful to lasting behavior change. This study adapted the Theory of Planned Behavior to survey 361 homeowners in Los Angeles and Phoenix to examine how involuntary water restrictions shape attitudinal precursors to outdoor water conservation. This study found that when involuntary water restrictions are present, residents feel less in control of their outdoor water use. However, in the presence of involuntary water restrictions, stronger social norms and stronger support for policy prescriptions over outdoor water use were found. The favorable societal support towards water conservation, conceptualized as social norms and policy attitudes, in the presence of involuntary water restrictions is potentially promising for lasting behavior change. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Sustainability 2016

Submitted by Leonardo Cavalcante (leo.ocavalcante@gmail.com) on 2018-05-09T14:20:38Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Arquivototal.pdf: 5539349 bytes, checksum: fb1c8b305724a887b38005872cdada9c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-05-09T14:20:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Arquivototal.pdf: 5539349 bytes, checksum: fb1c8b305724a887b38005872cdada9c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-16 / The present research on Water Governance in Suape has paved the way for socio-environmental complexity involving water resources, since the presented reality runs through natural, socioeconomic and cultural issues. The main objective is to understand the actions of the Watershed Committees (GL 2 and Ipojuca) and the Municipal Councils (Environment and Development) in this process of Water Governance bringing a discussion on Territory, Growth and Local Power, concepts and categories that are fundamental for understanding the problem. In order to do so, we monitor these Committees and Councils during the period 2014 – 2016. We participated in various actions, meetings and, through the application of interviews with representatives of the various segments present where we could have a deeper understanding of Water Governance in Suape, identifying Weaknesses and potentialities of this process. Suape designates here the Suape Microregion composed by the municipalities of Cabo de Santo Agostinho and Ipojuca, places that in turn form the Metropolitan Region of Recife (RMR), and which play important role in the Pernambuco economy, mainly due to the installation of the Industrial Port Complex of Suape (CIPS) started in the 1970s. It is a coastal area that presents an interface with the southern forest zone of Pernambuco possessing natural and socioeconomic elements of these two geographical areas. The growth (economic, demographic, urban and industrial) in Suape, has as main engine the CIPS that, since its conception and, especially since 2007, has provoked debates on the socio-environmental impacts verified in the area, mainly with respect to the transformations especially those occurring near the mouth of the Ipojuca and Massangana rivers, with the removal and landfill of areas formerly occupied by mangroves, displacements of traditional populations, etc. This growth, coupled with the very RMR dynamics, for which Suape represents an important source of water supply, contributing with more than 50% of the water supply, increased the demand for this resource. Thus, with the increasing pressure on strategic water resources of Suape, it is necessary to understand, therefore, what role Local Government has played in Water Governance, especially on surface waters since the State of Pernambuco, in general, does not have representative groundwater reserves for water supply. The analysis of the process of Water Governance in Suape is immersed in a context of several Territories that give the theme conflictual relations. The territories of the municipalities of Cabo de Santo Agostinho and Ipojuca, the territories of the Hydrographic Basins (GL 2 and Ipojuca) and the territory of CIPS are present in the area. That is, it is a dynamic that takes place between territories. Thus, it becomes fundamental to understand such relations from the Local Power, considered here as the main element of Water Governance, in the spaces that legally were and are established, that is, the River Basin Committees and the Municipal Councils. / A presente pesquisa ao tratar da Governança das Águas em Suape trilhou o caminho da complexidade socioambiental envolvendo os recursos hídricos, pois a realidade apresentada perpassa por questões tanto naturais quanto socioeconômica e culturais. O objetivo principal é compreender a atuação dos Comitês de Bacias Hidrográficas (GL 2 e Ipojuca) e dos Conselhos Municipais (de Meio Ambiente e de Desenvolvimento) neste processo de Governança das Águas trazendo uma discussão sobre o Território, o Crescimento e o Poder Local, conceitos e categorias fundamentais para o entendimento da problemática. Para tanto, acompanhamos estes Comitês e Conselhos durante o período 2014 – 2016, onde participamos de várias ações, reuniões e, através da aplicação de entrevistas com representantes dos diversos segmentos presentes, pudemos ter uma compreensão mais aprofundada da Governança das Águas em Suape, identificando suas fragilidades e potencialidades deste processo. Suape designa aqui a Microrregião de Suape composta pelos municípios do Cabo de Santo e Ipojuca, municípios que por sua vez compõem a Região Metropolitana do Recife – RMR, e que desempenham importante papel na economia pernambucana, principalmente em função da instalação do CIPS - Complexo Industrial e Portuário de Suape iniciada na década de 1970. É uma área litorânea que apresenta interface com a zona da mata sul de Pernambuco possuindo elementos naturais e socioeconômicos destas duas zonas geográficas. O Crescimento (econômico, demográfico, urbano e industrial) em Suape, tem como principal motor o CIPS que, desde sua concepção e, sobretudo a partir de 2007, tem provocado debates em torno dos impactos socioambientais verificado na área, principalmente com relação às transformações ocorridas na paisagem especialmente àquelas ocorridas próximas a foz dos rios Ipojuca e Massangana, com a retirada e aterro de áreas outrora ocupadas por manguezais, deslocamentos de populações tradicionais etc. Este Crescimento, associado à própria dinâmica da RMR, para a qual Suape representa importante manancial de abastecimento de água, contribuindo com mais de 50% da oferta hídrica, fez aumentar a demanda por este recurso. Dessa forma, com o aumento da pressão sobre os recursos hídricos estratégicos de Suape, é preciso entender então, qual o papel que o Poder Local tem tido na Governança das Águas, notadamente sobre as águas superficiais visto que o Estado de Pernambuco, de modo geral, não possui reservas de água subterrânea representativas para o abastecimento. A análise do processo de Governança das Águas em Suape está imersa num contexto de diversos Territórios que conferem ao tema relações conflituosas. Estão presentes na área os Territórios dos Municípios do Cabo de Santo e de Ipojuca, os Territórios das Bacias Hidrográficas (GL 2 e Ipojuca) e o Território do CIPS. Ou seja, trata-se de uma dinâmica que se dá por entre Territórios. Assim, torna-se fundamental entender tais relações a partir do Poder Local, aqui considerado como principal elemento da Governança das Águas, nos espaços que legalmente foram e são estabelecidos juridicamente, ou seja, os Comitês de Bacia Hidrográfica e os Conselhos Municipais.

In the Tropical Andes of Peru and adjacent lowlands, human livelihoods are exposed to strong changes in hydroclimatic and socioeconomic patterns. On the one hand, climate change impacts are particularly visible by means of glacier retreat and growth of glacier lakes. With decreasing ice masses in highly glacierized catchments, river discharge probably diminishes and its streamflow variability increases. On the other hand, growing energy demand promotes extensions of hydropower plants and thus a major need to rely on a predictable minimum discharge during the whole year. Additionally, the expansion of irrigated agriculture and population growth exert new pressures in the catchments. The antagonistic situation of successively depleting water supply and growing water demand put at risk future water availability.This study analyzes the state of the art of water supply in the Santa (Ancash, La Libertad) and Vilcanota (Cusco) river catchments. The water balance in both catchments is embedded in the framework of Integrated Water Resources Management and the new Water Resources Law. Multiple water conflicts which prevail in Peru, make visible the need for a water resources governance with pathways towards more participative, secure and sustainable water management. Intertwined and complex hydroclimatic and socioeconomic processes with high uncertainty in the Andes of Peru could be tackled with Adaptive Water Management in the future. / En los Andes Tropicales del Perú y regiones adyacentes aguas abajo, la subsistencia humana está expuesta a fuertes cambios en los patrones hidroclimáticos y socioeconómicos. Por un lado, los impactos del cambio climático son particularmente visibles a través del retroceso glaciar y crecimiento de lagunas glaciares. Conforme se va reduciendo la masa de hielo en cuencas altamente glaciadas, el caudal de río probablemente decrecerá y su variabilidad aumentará. Por otro lado, la creciente demanda de energía promueve la extensión de centrales hidroeléctricas y por ende una mayor necesidad de contar con un caudal mínimo predecible durante todo el año. Además, la expansión de la agricultura de riego y el crecimiento poblacional generan nuevas presiones en las cuencas. La situación antagonista de una oferta de agua sucesivamente menor y demanda de agua creciente pone en riesgo la futura disponibilidad de agua.Este estudio analiza el estado del arte de la oferta y demanda de agua en las cuencas de los ríos Santa (Ancash, La Libertad) y Vilcanota (Cusco). Se contextualiza el balance hídrico en ambas cuencas en el marco de la Gestión Integrada de Recursos Hídricos y la nueva Ley de Recursos Hídricos. Múltiples conflictos por el agua que prevalecen en el Perú hacen visible la necesidad de una gobernanza de recursos hídricos con trayectorias hacia una gestión más participativa, segura y sostenible. Procesos hidroclimáticos y socioeconómicos entrelazados y complejos con alto grado de incertidumbre en los Andes del Perú, podrían abordarse mediante una Gestión Adaptativa del Agua en el futuro.

L’objectif de cette étude consistait à explorer la contradiction naissante entre d’une part, la politique de l’eau menée au Cameroun depuis l’indépendance et d’autre part, les réalités urbaines de contrôle et d’usage informels de l’eau. Les concepts de « gouvernance » et de « communauté » ont été utilisés pour analyser comment les populations affirmaient, de façon individuelle ou collective, leurs droits sur l’eau et comment de telles revendications étaient légitimées. Les concepts de « négociabilité » et de « flexibilité » ont permis de comprendre comment les droits d’utilisation et d’accès à l’eau étaient négociés et contestés en fonction de conditions changeantes. Le concept de « société civile » a été employé pour refléter le caractère multi scalaire du pouvoir et sa normalisation dans des réseaux de la vie quotidienne, régulant ainsi les pratiques et les relations sociales. Les résultats montrent l’existence d’un grand nombre d’arrangements institutionnels de niveau local qui régissent l’accès à l’eau potable dans les communautés. Les leaders traditionnels, les représentants élus et les comités de gestion des points d’eau potable tendent à se compléter dans le développement et l’application des arrangements institutionnels. L’étude conclut que l’informalité des institutions et des droits de propriété dans la gouvernance de l’eau des petites villes semblent entretenir des situations socio-économiques complexes. Il s’agit là d’un point commun entre les trois sites étudiés. En définitive, la multiplication des acteurs de l’eau a débouché sur une sorte de chevauchement des compétences de contrôle et de gestion tant dans l’espace que dans le temps. / The objective of this study was to explore the emerging contradiction between on the one hand, the water policy conducted in Cameroon since independence and secondly, the urban realities of “informal” water control and use on the other. The concepts of "governance" and "community" were used to analyze how people individually or collectively claimed, their water rights and how such claims were legitimized while the negotiability/flexibility and hybrid concepts were used to analyze how resource rights and access are negotiated (informal and formal) and contested in view of changing conditions. The concept of "civil society" was used to reflect the multiscale nature of power and its standardization in networks of daily life, thereby regulating the practices and social relations. Results show that there are a number of local level institutional arrangements that govern access to potable water in communities which may vary depending on the source, ownership (privately owned or communally owned) interest and the purpose for which the water will be used. Traditional leaders, “elected” leaders and the relevant water point committees tend to complement each other in developing institutional arrangements and enforcing these. The study concludes that the informality of institutions and property rights in small town water governance harbor complex socio-economic situations, which is a common feature in the three study sites (Bali, Bafou and Kumbo), where rights overlap in both time and space with a variety of different degrees of intensity being applied in the management of different water schemes. Such processes are not predictable, because of the specific characteristics of each community, and one has to deal with setbacks and conflicts.

Magister Administrationis - MAdmin / This study examined the impact of the City’s water management strategies, specifically the water management devices, on selected households in Saxonsea. The impact of cost recovery policies on poor households was interrogated in the light of government’s distributional and procedural equity in service delivery. The main issues arising from the study were lack of consultation, inadequate information, and perception of powerlessness. The study concludes that although water management devices have contributed to significant improvements in water saving, poor households are burdened with the responsibility of saving water. If the idea is to save water across the board, this regimen should be extended to all water users and not targeted at poor households only

Esta pesquisa analisou o processo participativo para a criação da Lei Específica da Guarapiranga (Lei n.º 12.233 de 16/01/2006), nos aspectos da governança da água e da aprendizagem social. A análise foi realizada com base na experiência do Subcomitê da Bacia Hidrográfica Cotia-Guarapiranga (SCBH-CG), na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo (RMSP). No processo de negociação para aprovação da referida Lei, estiveram envolvidos os representantes dos segmentos do Poder Público, Estado e prefeituras dos municípios da bacia, e da sociedade civil, no período de 1999 a 2006. Essa vivência demonstrou o quão desafiador é um processo de negociação entre os diferentes atores e diversos interesses no uso da água, que afetam a disponibilidade qualitativa e quantitativa na bacia da Guarapiranga, a qual abastece, aproximadamente, 4 milhões de pessoas na RMSP. Os resultados obtidos mostram que, embora esse processo tenha sido marcado por diversos momentos de tensão, conflitos, indefinições institucionais e morosidade, representou um significativo avanço na consolidação do sistema integrado de recursos hídricos. Cabe observar também que, apesar dos resultados poderem ainda parecer bastante modestos, face aos desafios existentes, estes representam um importante progresso em termos dos seus alcances para o fortalecimento de uma gestão democrática e compartilhada. Nesse contexto, pode-se concluir que a democracia participativa na governança das águas é um processo de aprendizagem social que vem sendo aperfeiçoado gradativamente para a sustentabilidade hídrica. / This research analyzes the participatory process that preceded the creation of the Specific Law for the Guarapiranga Basin (Law nº. 12.233 of 16/01/2006), emphasizing aspects of water governance and social learning. The analysis was based on the experience of the watershed subcommittee Cotia-Guarapiranga (SCBH-CG) in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo (MRSP). In the negotiation process for the approval of this law, representatives of the segments of the Government, state and local governments of municipalities of the basin, and civil society were involved from 1999 to 2006. This experience demonstrated the challenges of a process of negotiation among different stakeholders and their interests in water use that affect the availability of water in the Guarapiranga basin, which supplies about 4 million people in the MRSP. The results show that, although the process has been characterized by many moments of tension, conflicts, uncertainties and institutional delays, it represented a significant advance in the consolidation of the integrated system of water resources management in the basin. It should be noted also that although outcomes may seem modest, considering the existing challenges, they represent an important progress in terms of its scope to strengthen democratic and shared management of water resources. In this context, the conclusion is that participatory democracy in water governance is a process of social learning that has been improved gradually to reach more sustainability.