The construction of a sustainable transfer model in Brazil: An analysis based on the Tajo-Segura model in Spain

Abstract

The water crisis is a planetary process that many localities are already facing and others will face one day. However, it is still possible to think of solutions to promote an effective regional development model, based on social, water and environmental justice. In this way, there is the transposition of the Tajo-Segura of the Spanish southeast, which completed 40 years of operation in 2019, and also the Brazilian transposition, that of the São Francisco River, which started its operation in 2018, only in one of the axis, the east. Our question in this article is: To what extent does the presence of a water governance model positively impact on post-transposition and what experiences can Tajo-Segura demonstrate in transposing São Francisco? Thus, by investigating the Tajo-Segura model and the São Francisco model in loco, having access to documents, legislation and a broad theoretical framework, applying the inductive and comparative method, it was possible to bring the impact of a transposition to the regional development of the Spanish southeast and to think about the problems that the model, or the lack of a model, of transposing the “Velho Chico” has. Therefore, it was thought to present these interventions in similar contexts, however, seeking to understand the experience of each one and, mainly, how the governance model in the transfer of Tajo-Segura was developed. Thus, it was possible to find gaps in the Brazilian example. Among them, the institutional vacuum that transposes the São Francisco stood out, which makes it more difficult to develop multiple uses of water for regional development, in addition to the post transfer is a serious issue to be verified, this includes the sanitation and environmental recovery of the hydrographic basin.