THE TERRITORIAL CONTEXT OF THE CANTAREIRA SYSTEM AND THE INTEGRATED AND PARTICIPATIVE WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

Abstract

The Piracicaba, Capivari and Jundiaí River Basin Committees (PCJ Committees) are among the most advanced in implementing the integrated and participative management model for water resources. However, the transposition of water from the Piracicaba River watershed to the Alto Tietê by the Cantareira System, to supply the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo, put challenges to the application of this model. The article presents how the Cantareira System context integrates debates and actions that emerge from the PCJ Committees, demonstrates the extent to which social actors in this context are present in their public spaces, and discusses such aspects based on the notion of integrated and participative management. For this purpose, meeting minutes, the Hydrographic Basin Plan and information from the PCJ Committees were analyzed. It was identified that the Cantareira System is seen more as a work of hydraulic engineering, and less as a context that has multiple problems related to water resources. In addition to the few investments directed at such a context, there is also the inexpressive representation of its actors as members of the public spaces of the PCJ Committees. It is concluded that these aspects are gaps in the integrated and participative management of water resources.