Regulation and hydropolitics in the Brazil-Paraguay frontier

Abstract

Brazil and Paraguay have historical, social, cultural, political and economic particularities that resulted in situations of cooperation and conflict over the years. Geographic proximity imposes interdependence and vulnerability and requires daily interactions, such as in the shared use of transboundary water resources. Therefore, the main objective of this article is to draw a panorama about the political management of transboundary waters in Brazil and Paraguay. The main conclusion points to the existence of weaknesses in relations between countries, which when added to hydrologic interdependencies and the importance of water resources in the current environmental debate make the future of the hydro-political vulnerable and unstable, especially at this international border.