Brazil: Water

Brazil occupies a privileged position regarding the availability of water resources. In the world, 1.2 billion people don´t have access to clean water and about 5 million die each year due to ailments related to the lack of clean water.

However, Brazil has 12% of the water resources of the planet. Therefore, the amount distributed per person is 19 times higher than the minimum established by the United Nations (UN) – 1700 m3/s per capita per year. However, this vital resource is not delivered to all Brazilians in the same volume or consistency.

The geographical features of each region, and river-flow changes, which occur due to climatic variations over the years, end up affecting the distribution of water within the national territory. Even so, in Brazil the volume of water is sufficient to meet 57 times the domestic demand.

As for human consumption, the national average is equivalent to about 1/3 of the total amount of water consumed in Brazil. Irrigation consumes 46% of the resources and 18% is used in industrial activities.

Water resource management

Since the 1980s, water resource management in Brazil has been addressing three factors:  environmental, social and economic sustainability; the promotion of more appropriate laws and the search for compatible institutional forums; and the formulation of public policies to integrate the whole society.

Established by the Constitution of 1988 and created in 1997, the National System for Water Resource Management (Singreh) along with the National Environment System (Sisnama) manages the efforts of various sectors in order to monitor the administration of water resources in the country.

Singreh’s goals include ensuring sufficient high-quality water for current and future generations, ensuring the rational and integrated water resources and preventing future water problems. To do so, Singreh defines the following regarding water:

- It is a limited, public domain resource, with economic value

- That human and animal consumption are prioritized

- That the hydrographic basins will be the planning units

- That management will be decentralized and participatory

 To achieve these and other goals, the system provides systematic evaluation of the quality and volume of resources in the country, adequacy of its activities regarding regional diversity, integration with environmental management, and coordination with regional planning.