Department of Civil Engineering, Federal University of Campina Grande, Mail Box 505, Campina Grande, Paraíba, ZIP Code 58429-140, Brazil.
Water Sci Technol. 2012;66(9):2007-13. doi: 10.2166/wst.2012.414.
The Brazilian Water Resources Policy (Law 9433/1997) establishes participatory and decentralized management, involving civil society, water users and governmental bodies, with the basin committees as the basis of this process. Fifteen years after its implementation, it is possible to perceive accomplishments, but, at the same time, there are some difficulties in regards to the operation of the basin committees in the country. Considering the North Paraíba River Basin - which is completely included in the State of Paraíba, Northeastern Brazil, and presents great social and economic importance for the state - this article analyzes the process of formation, installation and functioning of its Basin Committee (CBH-PB), focusing on its composition, the reasons for the mobilization and demobilization of its members, the intra-relations between segments, and the inter-relations between the CBH-PB and other entities of the State Water Management System (the Water Executive Agency and the State Water Resources Council). The level of decentralization and the quality of participatory management (as it is being performed at the CBH-PB) are discussed and guidelines are suggested in order to allow greater effectiveness to the committee.
巴西水资源政策（1997 年第 9433 号法案）确立了参与式和分散式管理模式，涉及民间社会、水用户和政府机构，以流域委员会作为该进程的基础。该政策实施 15 年后，已经取得了一定成就，但流域委员会在巴西国内的运作仍存在一些困难。本文以完全位于巴西东北部 Paraíba 州的北 Paraíba 河流域为例，分析了其流域委员会（CBH-PB）的形成、设立和运作过程，重点关注其组成、成员动员和退出的原因、各部门之间的内部关系，以及 CBH-PB 与州水资源管理系统其他实体（水执行机构和州水资源委员会）之间的关系。本文还讨论了权力下放的程度和参与式管理的质量（在 CBH-PB 中的执行情况），并提出了一些建议，以提高委员会的效率。
