Transboundary conflicts and water governance in the Paraguay River Basin – South America

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18472/SustDeb.v15n1.2024.52302

Keywords:

Transboundary Waters, Paraguay River Basin, Water Governance, International Cooperation, Conflicts over water

Abstract

This article analyses the conflicts and the structure of water governance in the Paraguay River Basin
– South America – based on a review of documentary sources, specialised literature, and interviews
with key stakeholders operating in the basin. The study shows that the internal asymmetry of Brazil
and between this country and Paraguay is crucial in the definition of water use in the Basin, thus
resulting in conflicts. The results of the study highlight the need for advances in the implementation of
agreements for the basin and the fact that these should include instruments that encompass new scales
of management and cooperation opportunities from local stakeholders, who have been neglected in
decisions despite the coexistence of informal agreements between the parts.

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Author Biographies

Flavia Darre Barbosa, PhD in Environmental Sciences, Researcher, Laboratório de Geografia Política Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

Post-doctoral fellow at the Department of Geography, University of São Paulo (USP). Holds a PhD in Environmental Sciences from the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar/PPGCAm). Engaged as an external researcher at the Political Geography Laboratory of the University of São Paulo, Brazil.

Wagner Costa Ribeiro, PhD in Human Geography, Professor, Departamento de Geografia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

PhD in Geography, researcher at the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), professor at the Postgraduate Program in Human Geography and the Postgraduate Program in Environmental Science, which he coordinated between 2004 and 2006.

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Published

2024-04-30

How to Cite

Barbosa, F. D., & Ribeiro, W. C. (2024). Transboundary conflicts and water governance in the Paraguay River Basin – South America. Sustainability in Debate, 15(1), 82–96. https://doi.org/10.18472/SustDeb.v15n1.2024.52302

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