Unpacking governance: building adaptive capacity to climate
change of river basins in Brazil
Engle & Lemos (2009)
This paper builds on previous research focusing on integrated water resources management in
Brazil to ‘unpack’ water governance mechanisms that may shape the adaptive capacity of water
systems to climatic change. The analysis suggests a positive relationship between integrated
water governance mechanisms and adaptive capacity. In addition, we carry out a cluster analysis
to group the basins into types of governance approaches and further unveil potential relationships
between the governance variables and overall adaptive capacities. The cluster analysis indicates
that tensions and tradeoffs may exist between some of the variables, especially with equality of
decision making and knowledge availability; a finding that has implications for decision makers
aiming to build adaptive capacity and resilience through governance and institutional means.
Introduction
In the wake of these emerging paradigms, the Brazilian government has implemented a new
decentralized water management system that adopts the river basin as the management unit,
creates stakeholder-driven river basin councils and consortia, redefines water as a public good
with economic value, and seeks to integrate social and ecological systems into water
management.
Assessing adaptive capacity has been challenged by two main factors. First, adaptive capacity is
latent in nature, meaning that it can only be actually measured after it has been realized or
mobilized. Hence, at best, prior to climate-change impacts, adaptive capacity can be assessed
based on assumptions about different factors that might facilitate or constrain response and
action. Second, measuring adaptive capacity across and between scales has been challenging
both from a theoretical and a practical point of view. To date, adaptive capacity and resilience
studies have focused on either aggregate assessments at the national and regional levels that are
too broad for contextualization, or have focused on small-scale case studies that make
generalization difficult.
In this paper, we attempt to address these challenges by ‘unpacking governance’ and advancing
two main ideas in the process:
- First we identify and examine different components and mechanisms of integrated water
management in Brazil that may influence adaptive capacity to climate stress. Particularly,
we explore how factors such as stakeholder participation, representation, accountability,
knowledge use, and equality of decision making overlap and relate to one another to
shape these water systems’ governance and their adaptive capacities.
- The second idea that we explore by ‘unpacking governance’ is whether the associations
between the various institutional and governance variables are necessarily
complementary. We uncover negative relationships between some of the indicators,
suggesting that practitioners may encounter inherent tensions when strengthening
governance and institutions for adaptive capacity.
, Background
Water management in Brazil
Although decentralized, the federal level retains significant power over resolving conflicting
situations at lower levels, as well as the design and implementation of policies. States also play a
major role in administering water management, and determining the policy arena in which the
river basins will operate. One of the most innovative aspects of the reform has been to encourage
the creation of tri-party (state and federal government, users, and organized civil society
organizations) river basin committees and consortia (councils), which make decisions about
water allocation, project development, and conflict-resolution. . In principle, the councils should
be the most representative and influential management mechanism of the water governance
system; however, in practice their roles are often more limited than what was originally
conceived. The federal law allows states considerable discretion on the design and
implementation of specific aspects of the reform, including the formation and constitution of the
basin councils and other governance mechanisms.
Characterizing adaptive capacity
Resilience describes the ability of a system to respond to a stress and maintain its general system
characteristics, while also maintaining the ability to transform the system to a more desirable
state. A key human property of the system in maintaining resilience is adaptive capacity, or
the ability to respond to external stimuli, in order to take advantage of the opportunities or
moderate the damages.
The role of institutions and governance mechanisms
Among the determinants, governance and institutional mechanisms are especially critical.
Governance was the most important determinant of adaptive capacity.
In theory, more flexible, democratic, and participatory designs are hypothesized to increase
adaptive capacity. If stakeholders are (i) represented, (ii) given the opportunity to participate
actively, and (iii) making decisions equitably and democratically, they would be more likely to
buy-in and be empowered to respond effectively to climate change.
Discussion
Governance ranking and gains in adaptive capacity
Upon examining Table 4, however, we do not find a strong tendency towards an underlying
regional grouping of governance scores. While there are several basins from the wealthier
Southeast in the higher end of the index, there are also basins from this region at the lower end.
Clusters of governance types
The most interesting findings are in relation to Cluster 1. Basins in this cluster tend to have high
values for all of the indicators, except for one; equality of decision making and knowledge
availability. This suggests that there may be a tradeoff between having high values of
representation, participation, etc. and equality of decision making and knowledge availability.
Knowledge use and democracy can sometimes be at odds in the context of councils’ decision
making. For example, water managers, who are perceived as having the most influence over
change of river basins in Brazil
Engle & Lemos (2009)
This paper builds on previous research focusing on integrated water resources management in
Brazil to ‘unpack’ water governance mechanisms that may shape the adaptive capacity of water
systems to climatic change. The analysis suggests a positive relationship between integrated
water governance mechanisms and adaptive capacity. In addition, we carry out a cluster analysis
to group the basins into types of governance approaches and further unveil potential relationships
between the governance variables and overall adaptive capacities. The cluster analysis indicates
that tensions and tradeoffs may exist between some of the variables, especially with equality of
decision making and knowledge availability; a finding that has implications for decision makers
aiming to build adaptive capacity and resilience through governance and institutional means.
Introduction
In the wake of these emerging paradigms, the Brazilian government has implemented a new
decentralized water management system that adopts the river basin as the management unit,
creates stakeholder-driven river basin councils and consortia, redefines water as a public good
with economic value, and seeks to integrate social and ecological systems into water
management.
Assessing adaptive capacity has been challenged by two main factors. First, adaptive capacity is
latent in nature, meaning that it can only be actually measured after it has been realized or
mobilized. Hence, at best, prior to climate-change impacts, adaptive capacity can be assessed
based on assumptions about different factors that might facilitate or constrain response and
action. Second, measuring adaptive capacity across and between scales has been challenging
both from a theoretical and a practical point of view. To date, adaptive capacity and resilience
studies have focused on either aggregate assessments at the national and regional levels that are
too broad for contextualization, or have focused on small-scale case studies that make
generalization difficult.
In this paper, we attempt to address these challenges by ‘unpacking governance’ and advancing
two main ideas in the process:
- First we identify and examine different components and mechanisms of integrated water
management in Brazil that may influence adaptive capacity to climate stress. Particularly,
we explore how factors such as stakeholder participation, representation, accountability,
knowledge use, and equality of decision making overlap and relate to one another to
shape these water systems’ governance and their adaptive capacities.
- The second idea that we explore by ‘unpacking governance’ is whether the associations
between the various institutional and governance variables are necessarily
complementary. We uncover negative relationships between some of the indicators,
suggesting that practitioners may encounter inherent tensions when strengthening
governance and institutions for adaptive capacity.
, Background
Water management in Brazil
Although decentralized, the federal level retains significant power over resolving conflicting
situations at lower levels, as well as the design and implementation of policies. States also play a
major role in administering water management, and determining the policy arena in which the
river basins will operate. One of the most innovative aspects of the reform has been to encourage
the creation of tri-party (state and federal government, users, and organized civil society
organizations) river basin committees and consortia (councils), which make decisions about
water allocation, project development, and conflict-resolution. . In principle, the councils should
be the most representative and influential management mechanism of the water governance
system; however, in practice their roles are often more limited than what was originally
conceived. The federal law allows states considerable discretion on the design and
implementation of specific aspects of the reform, including the formation and constitution of the
basin councils and other governance mechanisms.
Characterizing adaptive capacity
Resilience describes the ability of a system to respond to a stress and maintain its general system
characteristics, while also maintaining the ability to transform the system to a more desirable
state. A key human property of the system in maintaining resilience is adaptive capacity, or
the ability to respond to external stimuli, in order to take advantage of the opportunities or
moderate the damages.
The role of institutions and governance mechanisms
Among the determinants, governance and institutional mechanisms are especially critical.
Governance was the most important determinant of adaptive capacity.
In theory, more flexible, democratic, and participatory designs are hypothesized to increase
adaptive capacity. If stakeholders are (i) represented, (ii) given the opportunity to participate
actively, and (iii) making decisions equitably and democratically, they would be more likely to
buy-in and be empowered to respond effectively to climate change.
Discussion
Governance ranking and gains in adaptive capacity
Upon examining Table 4, however, we do not find a strong tendency towards an underlying
regional grouping of governance scores. While there are several basins from the wealthier
Southeast in the higher end of the index, there are also basins from this region at the lower end.
Clusters of governance types
The most interesting findings are in relation to Cluster 1. Basins in this cluster tend to have high
values for all of the indicators, except for one; equality of decision making and knowledge
availability. This suggests that there may be a tradeoff between having high values of
representation, participation, etc. and equality of decision making and knowledge availability.
Knowledge use and democracy can sometimes be at odds in the context of councils’ decision
making. For example, water managers, who are perceived as having the most influence over
