Disponibilidade hídrica, conflitos e experiências de usos da água: o caso da bacia hidrográfica do rio Paraguaçu na Bahia.

Abstract

Water, a natural good necessary for the existence and maintenance of the life of animals and plants on planet Earth, has been transformed into a product of greed, disagreements, and deaths, in different spaces. In this dynamic of appropriation, as in a game of anything goes in the name of “development”, the hydrographic basin of the Paraguaçu River (BHRP), in Bahia, is inserted, being the space where the research that resulted in this thesis was developed, with the objective of understanding the water availability and possible conflicts in the BHRP, with a view to contribute with the Public Power, users, and communities in decision-making regarding the modes of use and management of the water still existing in that basin. The research deals with a case study, guided by the dialectical method, with an emphasis on experiences, in a systemic and quantitative approach. Observation permeated each stage of the research. Initially, flow data from four fluviometric stations located in the basin, provided by the National Water and Basic Sanitation Agency (ANA), were used, in order to interpret the water guarantee and possible conflicts in different Portions of the Basin, based on the methodology called experimental advanced hydrology (HAE). Then, interviews were carried out with representatives of public authorities, water users and communities, followed by the application of questionnaires. In all, 180 people participated in the interviews and 343 answered the questionnaire, the main basis of the research findings. In interviews and questionnaires, dozens of collaborators presented seven themes that concern them: (a) permanent preservation areas (APP), (b) dams, (c) floods and droughts, (d) conflicts over water use, (e) environmental education, (f) sanitary sewage and (g) pesticides. These themes were called seven possibilities, which were essential for our conclusions and considerations, and originated the protocol of possibilities for caring for the Paraguaçu River, the PPCP, an instrument guided by environmental education actions that will be improved with the participation of the population residing in the basin, in an attempt to decentralize and encourage greater participation in water management, in accordance with Art. 1 of Federal Law 9.433/97, the Water Law.