Which key factors can promote effectiveness of water allocation negotiation and its agreements?

Santos, Luana Alves dos; Silva, Maycon Breno Macena da; Ribeiro, Márcia Maria Rios

doi:10.1590/2318-0331.302520250065

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Scientific/Technical Article • RBRH 30 • 2025 • https://doi.org/10.1590/2318-0331.302520250065 linkcopy

Which key factors can promote effectiveness of water allocation negotiation and its agreements?

Quais fatores-chave podem promover a efetividade das alocações negociadas de água e seus acordos?

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

ABSTRACT

Water use agreements are designed to prevent, mitigate, or resolve conflicts related to these resources. Negotiations build agreements, so it is necessary to analyze the effectiveness of both negotiations and agreements. This paper considers key factors that contribute to the effectiveness of negotiations and their agreements in water resource arenas, such as the negotiated water allocation process which has been applied to critical reservoirs in Brazil. Two water systems in the Paraíba River Basin were analyzed. The results indicate that water systems with greater relevance for the negotiating state and stakeholders' presence in the negotiations tend to result in more effective agreements. While negotiated water allocations are valuable tools for participatory planning at the local level, institutional fragilities may undermine the process and hinder the fulfillment of agreed commitments.

Keywords:
Water management; Semi-arid; Planning; Monitoring; Conflict resolution

	Key factor	Meaning	Source
1	Rivers of high value to the negotiating state	Rivers with strategic locations that serve multiple uses are factors contributing to the success of the negotiation.	Brochmann & Hensel (2011)
2	Real problem and not future one	When it is a real problem, stakeholders are motivated to seek a solution	Brochmann & Hensel (2011)
3	Highly contentious issues (water quantity, navigation, water quality)	When contentious issues are debated during negotiations, they lead to greater effectiveness in those negotiations.	Tir & Stinnett (2011)
4	Opponents with closer relationships	The opponents engage in dialogue, collaborate, and seek common resolutions to reduce conflicts.	Brochmann & Hensel (2011) and Zareie et al. (2021)
5	Consideration of local needs	Negotiations must take into account the system's local potential and vulnerabilities to be successful.	Giordano et al. (2013)
6	Stakeholders participation	The actors involved in the conflicts must participate in the negotiations for them to be successful.	Giordano et al. (2013), Laurenceau et al. (2020), and Offutt (2022)
7	Inclusion of non-state actors in negotiation arenas	Actors outside state institutions, such as users and civil society, must participate in the negotiations, as they are impacted by or influence the conflict.	Haefner (2016) and Denoon et al. (2020)
8	Power distribution among local actors	When power is distributed more evenly, debates tend to seek consensus and mutual benefits, without one group dominating the others.	Mutahara et al. (2019)

	Key factor	Meaning	Source
1	Clear allocation structure	Specifying how the allocation should occur makes the agreement more effective.	Giordano & Wolf (2003) and Petersen-Perlman et al. (2017)
2	Flexible allocation criteria	Agreements should consider the possibility of adjustments.	Giordano & Wolf (2003) and Horbulyk (2017)
3	Equitable distribution of benefits	There should be an equitable distribution of benefits, taking into account the current legislation and system characteristics.	Giordano & Wolf (2003)
4	Effective monitoring	Data about the system must constantly be updated to enable effective monitoring.	Petersen- Perlman et al. (2017) and Grünwald et al. (2020)
5	Consideration of local needs	Agreements should be developed based on the characteristics of the water system.	Giordano et al. (2013)
6	Conflict resolution mechanisms	The agreements that include conflict resolution mechanisms may be more effective.	Giordano & Wolf (2003) and Hussein et al. (2023)
7	Participation of river basin organizations	The river basin committee should be directly involved in developing agreements.	Mitchell & Zawahri (2015), Schmeier & Shubber (2018), and Chilima et al. (2021)
8	Exchange of information between actors	Information about the implementation of actions should be regularly disclosed and easily to be understood, as this facilitates informed decision-making and enables more effective agreements.	Mitchell & Zawahri (2015), Hasan et al. (2023), and Lu et al. (2023)

Poções-Epitácio Pessoa Water System (PEPWS)
Poções Reservoir
Uses	Average annual flow (L/s)
Public Supply	453
Uses in the surroundings	20
Camalaú Reservoir
Public Supply	23
Uses in the surroundings	20
Downstream uses	222
Downstream perennialization	231
Epitácio Pessoa Reservoir
Public Supply	2000
Uses in the surroundings	400
Downstream uses	200
Discharge to the Acauã Reservoir	311
Total in PEPWS	3880
Sumé Water System (SWS)
Uses	Average annual flow (L/s)
Urban public supply	36.11
Rural public supply and water trucks	2.10
Irrigation	117
Uses in the surroundings	15
Total in SWS	170.21

Poções-Epitácio Pessoa Water System (PEPWS)
Planning period	Date of meeting	Meeting format	Number of participants
2019–2020	June 13^th, 2019	In person	98
2020–2021	June 30^th, 2020	Virtual	29
2020–2021	July 03, 2020	Virtual	26
2021–2022	June 29^th, 2021	Virtual	18
2021–2022	July 02, 2021	Virtual	23
2022–2023	July 04, 2022	Virtual	16
	July 07, 2022	Virtual	23
	March 17^th, 2023	Virtual	11
2023–2024	August 9, 2023	In person	35
2024–2025	July 31^st, 2024	Virtual	22
Sumé Water System (SWS)
Planning period	Date of meeting	Meeting format	Number of participants
2019–2020*	June 11^th, 2019	In person	32
2020–2021	June 22^th, 2020	Virtual	5
2020–2021	June 25^th, 2020	Virtual	10
2021–2022	June 28^th, 2021	Virtual	8
2021–2022	July 01, 2021	Virtual	13
2022–2023	July 21^th, 2022	Virtual	7
2023–2024	August 02, 2023	Virtual	9
2024–2025**	July 18^th, 2024	Virtual	-

Documents	Quantity (in numbers)
Documents	PEPWS	SWS
Allocation meetings	6	4
Water Allocation Acts	6	5
Regulatory Acts	1	1

Classification	Effectiveness	Explanation
5	Promotes with a majority influence	The key factor is fully met, and there are no failures in its fulfillment
4	Promotes in an influential way	There are a few failures in meeting the key factor, but this does not affect the promotion of effectiveness
3	Promotes partially	There are some failures in meeting the key factor, and they partially influence the effectiveness of the process
2	Promotes indirectly	There are many failures in meeting the key factor, and they compromise the effectiveness of the process
1	Does not promote	The key factor is not met

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[1] Source: Modified from Lima (2022).