São Paulo – The Brazilian system for management of water resources is attracting attention at the World Water Forum, which is taking place in Istanbul, Turkey. According to the CEO of the National Water Agency (ANA), José Machado, who is participating in the event, the decentralized and participative system of water management in Brazil is attracting the interest of foreign participants. In the country, the waterways are managed by the federation and by states, according to their location, and the use of resources is determined by participation in the civil society.
Machado recalls that Brazil is a peculiar nation as it is a country with high regions with large volumes of water and also semiarid regions, for example. At the meeting, Brazil has a stand that is being greatly sought and where meetings and informal conversations are taking place with those participating in the forum, there are also debates and talks at an amphitheatre. According to Machado, people from several parts of the world have been visiting the stand to exchange experience and learn about the work of Brazil in the area of water. The meeting began last Monday (16) and ends on Sunday (22).
Brazil is participating in the forum with over 120 people, according to Machado. The ANA CEO said that climate changes are in the heart of the debates. "Everybody knows that climate change is going to worsen throughout this century and that they are important in the matter of water availability, worsening the lack in some sites and increasing the levels of floods in others," he said. The warming, says Machado, requires sophistication in management of water resources worldwide.
Machado believes that the forum should influence the creation of policies for management of water worldwide. The meeting has from representatives of governments to technicians, executives and owners of industries, irrigation companies and electric energy, among others. The objective of the forum is to be a space for exchange of experience in water management. The richest nations, according to Machado, are at the tip in this area, but Brazil, as it is starting, does not lag behind. "Brazil is gaining great visibility," he says.
Growth
In the meeting of specialists of the Forum, the countries were called to increase their investment in projects and water infrastructure. According to figures disclosed by a spokesperson for the Forum, this investment may be generators of growth, employment and income in the countries. For every US$ 1 invested in water another US$ 8 is generated for the society. Specialists admit, however, that in the current scenery of economic uncertainty, the main investors in water management and its correlated sectors should continue being governments. Around 20,000 people are present at this edition.
*Translated by Mark Ament
