Banca de DEFESA: SARA DAYANE BEZERRA DE SOUZA SANTOS

Uma banca de DEFESA de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : SARA DAYANE BEZERRA DE SOUZA SANTOS
DATE: 02/05/2025
TIME: 14:00
LOCAL: https://meet.google.com/ice-rpgk-ais
TITLE:

WATER USES IN BRAZIL: A Legal Study of Contemporary Economic Aspects

KEY WORDS:

Water Resources. Water. Water Rights Allocation. Charging. Financialization. Assetization. Market. Environmental Sustainability. Virtual Water. Water Footprint. Legal Analysis of Economic Policy.

PAGES: 150
BIG AREA: Ciências Sociais Aplicadas
AREA: Direito
SUMMARY:

This dissertation investigates, through the perspective of the Legal Analysis of Economic Policy (AJPE), the legal and economic challenges associated with the multiple uses of water in Brazil, with emphasis on the identification of legal-institutional criteria aimed at promoting environmental sustainability. The study starts from the recognition that the current water management model has produced mismatches between the objectives set out in the National Water Resources Policy (PNRH), established by Law No. 9,433 of January 8, 1997, and the actual outcomes, especially in scenarios of water stress and user conflicts. In this context, the core research problem is whether it is possible to design legally structured institutional reforms that reconcile conflicting interests related to water use while respecting its economic potential and ensuring its environmental function. The methodology employed includes historical review, normative analysis, and critical interpretation of water-related public policies, with particular focus on the PNRH instruments, such as water rights allocation (outorga) and charging for water use. The study also examines the processes of financialization and assetization of water resources, considering the transformation of previously universal common goods into tradable economic assets. Among the empirical data analyzed – which serve as a model for occurrences across Brazil – special attention is given to the intensive water use dynamics in the western region of Bahia, which reveal socioenvironmental conflicts involving traditional communities and agribusiness exporters. AJPE is used as an analytical framework to reconstruct classical legal categories –such as property – and to propose new interpretations aimed at advancing the effectiveness of fundamental rights. In this context, the general objective of this study is to propose legal-institutional criteria for reforms that promote a sustainable, equitable, and legally structured water management system. More specifically, it seeks to identify the legal-economic criteria that should guide the formulation of institutional reforms in the sector: (i) the current generation's interest in improving living conditions within the limits set by the biosphere, thus placing itself within a transitional stage in which sustainability is the central goal; (ii) the promotion of greater equity in living conditions and access to natural resources (common goods); (iii) the prioritization of ideal interests over material interests in the use of natural resources; (iv) the protection of future generations’ expectations and interests. The main proposal presented is to transform the water rights allocation process into a negotiable license, together with clear and transparent regulation that enables alignment between PNRH instruments and its founding principles. The conclusion affirms that, to strengthen water governance in Brazil, it is essential for jurists and regulators to incorporate these sustainability criteria into their decisions, in order to ensure a more equitable, participatory, and environmentally robust water resource management.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Externo à Instituição - EDUARDO SAAD DINIZ - USP-RB
Externo à Instituição - HUGO LUÍS PENA FERREIRA - UFJ
Externo ao Programa - 403969 - JORGE MADEIRA NOGUEIRA - nullPresidente - 6136043 - MARCUS FARO DE CASTRO