The debates on regional planning emphasize the role of institutions in settling the balance between economic development and environmental conservation. Cases such as that of the Vale do Ribeira, concentrating large remnants of Mata Atl‰ntica along with the lowest social indexes in the State of Sao Paulo, are particularly representative. Taking as starting point the controversy about the construction of dams in the Ribeira River, the article analyzes the quarrels within the local forums and the different regional interests involved, showing that many of the limits for changing the regional situation are to be found in the incoherence between the institutions and the characteristics of the local social structures, whose influence on the institutional results leads to outcomes not forecasted by the ideal of participation associated to the notion of sustainable development.
Sustainability; Regional development; Institutions; Social structures
