The environmental regulatory shift and its impact on water resources management in latin America

Abstract

The new environmental paradigm that has gained momentum in recent decades has had a concrete impact on water resources management in Latin America. From a critical perspective, this chapter aims to identify and review ten different aspects of the new scenario. In doing so, it points to two main conceptual transitions: firstly, the transformation of the conceptual basis of water management and, secondly, the regulatory power shifts over water sources. The authors conclude that a strategy on water governance that does not take into account those contrasts exposes itself to failure.