Watersheds, interdependence, and interaction: an analysis of adaptative water governance in the São Paulo Macrometropolis
The adaptive water governance approach assumes that given the uncertainties, complexities and undesirable changes that characterize socio-ecological systems, there is an urgent need to enhance the adaptative capacity, thus making water governance more resilient. Based on a case study that focuses on the sharing of the Billings water reservoir between the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo and the Baixada Santista, the research seeks to identify the interdependencies in the use of water for various purposes and to investigate the actors involved in decision-making processes, analysing its interactions, the structure of power relations and the configuration of the governance network. Finally, due to the guiding hypothesis of the research that facing extreme events expected in the region requires new institutional arrangements for water governance in the Macrometropolis Paulista, the research aims to indicate the limits and possibilities in the implementation of a new adaptive capacity in the face of climate change.