Water Resource Charging in the São Francisco River Basin of the period 2011-2020

Abstract

Water resource charging can be understood as a way to incentivize rational water use and raise funds for investments in environmental recovery and conservation actions. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze water use charges in the São Francisco River Basin (BHSF) between the years 2011 and 2020. This study was based on master’s and doctoral research related to the study of water resources, in addition to scientific articles, legislation, application plans, management reports, deliberations, and information on charging, collection, and projects carried out in the BHSF through the electronic pages of the São Francisco River Basin Committee and the Peixe Vivo Basin Agency. The research results demonstrate that the referred basin charge is effectively and institutionally achieving its objectives. However, the available resources are not enough to meet the investment demands necessary to mitigate the main challenges of the São Francisco river basin. It was also observed that there was a constant increase in the collection of resources from various uses between 2011 and 2018, as well as a significant growth in the charge with the new methodology, started in 2019, mainly for irrigation and transposition uses. Finally, despite the efforts and commitment of the São Francisco river management agencies, the mentioned basin faces significant obstacles, marked by high demand for water resources and the irregular distribution of recovery actions in the basin.