Ciência e política na reforma da gestão de recursos hídricos no Brasil: a participação da Associação Brasileira de Recursos Hídricos

Abstract

The 1990s were marked by significant changes in the national management of water resources, since the institution of a model of water governance. Such transformations occurred, in part, due to the agency of a professional group, with technical and highly specialized knowledge, organized through the Brazilian Water Resources Association (Associação Brasileira de Recursos Hídricos - ABRH). This research aims to study the agency of this association on Brazilian water resources management, by reconstructing its history. More precisely, the in-depth study of ABRH's participation in the formulation of the new Water Law can help to understand the dynamics between the processes of politicization of the water management and the scientificization of water policy. We work with the hypothesis that ABRH has a key role in both processes, both politicization and scientificization, through its strategies of insertion and participation in water governance. But throughout the research we also identified the existence of conjunctural factors that may have influenced decisively the result of the water management reform process. The research methods used were bibliographic and documentary research.