Leia na íntegra… - Projeto Rede Guarani/Serra Geral

I CONGRESSO INTERNACIONAL
O FUTURO DA ÁGUA NO MERCOSUL
Relatório do I Congresso Internacional
O FUTURO DA ÁGUA NO MERCOSUL
Relatório do I Congresso Internacional
O FUTURO DA ÁGUA NO MERCOSUL
Local: Auditório Antonieta de Barros
Assembléia Legislativa do Estado de Santa Catarina
Período: 09 e 10 de novembro de 2011.
Realização:
Grupo de Estudos “A Geopolítica da Água e os Bens Comuns”
Projeto Rede Guarani/Serra Geral (RGSG)
__________________________________________________________________
Apoio institucional, logístico e financeiro:
Assembléia Legislativa do Estado de Santa Catarina (ALESC)
Comissão de Relacionamento Institucional, Comunicação, Relações Internacionais
e do MERCOSUL/ALESC
Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC)
Programas de Pós Graduação em Geografia (PPGG), em Direito (PPGD) e
Interdisciplinar em Ciências Humanas (PPGICH) da UFSC
Universidade Regional de Blumenau (FURB)
Programa de Pós Graduação em Direito da UCS
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Extensão Universitária (FAPEU)
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação do Estado de Santa Catarina
(FAPESC)
Comissão Organizadora
Profa. Dra. Maria de Fátima S. Wolkmer (Coordenadora do Congresso);
Prof. Dr. Luiz Fernando Scheibe (Coord. RGSG/UFSC);
Profa. Dra. Milena Petters Melo (Pesquisadora RGSG);
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Prof Dr. Sérgio Augustin (RGSG/UCS)
Prof. Dr. Antonio Carlos Wolkmer (UFSC)
Luciano A. Henning (Mestrando em Geografia RGSG/UFSC);
Apoio administrativo e operacional
Gabinete dos deputados Dóia Guglielmi e Edison Andrino
Ligia de Oliveira Stoeterau - Chefe de Secretaria da Comissão do MERCOSUL da
ALESC
Heldilen Cirimbelli Giassi (RGSG/FAPEU);
Tatiana Vieira Fernandes (RGSG/FAPEU);
Andréa R. B. C. Lopes (Doutoranda em Geografia RGSG/UFSC);
Leônidas Luiz Volcato Descovi Filho (Doutorando em Geografia RGSG/UFSC)
Geisa Silveira da Rocha (Bolsista do Laboratório de Análise Ambiental
(LAAm/RGSG/UFSC);
Karine Fernandes Monteiro (Bolsista do Laboratório de Análise Ambiental
LAAm/RGSG/UFSC);
Emanuela Francisca Wenning (Bolsista da Revista GEOSUL do Departamento de
Geociências/ UFSC);
Renan Roldão Bittencourt (Graduando em Geografia UFSC);
Simoní de Souza Crescêncio – Graduando em Geografia UFSC/.
Comissão de Divulgação e Imprensa
Arley Reis – Jornalista AGECOM/UFSC
Equipe de Comunicação Social da ALESC
Evory Pedro Schmidt – Jornalista
Apresentação
No âmbito do MERCOSUL entrelaçam-se duas fontes aparentemente
inesgotáveis de água, com interesse para toda a humanidade: os rios Paraná,
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Paraguai e Uruguai, que constituem a bacia do Prata, e o Sistema Integrado
Aquífero Guarani/Serra Geral, uma das maiores reservas conhecidas de água
subterrânea.
Esses recursos hídricos, essenciais para o bem viver de todos os povos
dessa área, têm sua qualidade e a fruição comum ameaçadas pelas monoculturas
extensivas, pelos usos industriais e pela falta de sistemas adequados de
saneamento e de gerenciamento participativo das bacias e sub-bacias
hidrográficas nos quatro países abrangidos: Argentina, Brasil, Paraguai e Uruguai.
Na certeza de que a água poderá representar, pela sua importância internacional e
por seu simbolismo, um forte elo de integração de todos os países do
MERCOSUL, o Grupo de Estudos “A Geopolítica da Água e os Bens Comuns” e o
Projeto Rede Guarani/Serra Geral, ligado à Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e
Extensão Universitária - FAPEU, instituição de apoio junto à Universidade Federal
de Santa Catarina, conjuntamente com a Assembléia Legislativa do Estado de
Santa Catarina, Universidade Regional de Blumenau (FURB) e a Universidade de
Caxias do Sul (UCS), promoveram o I CONGRESSO INTERNACIONAL “O
FUTURO DA ÁGUA NO MERCOSUL”, nos dias 09 a 10 de novembro de 2011, na
Assembléia Legislativa do Estado de Santa.
O evento foi dirigido a estudantes, professores, cientistas, entidades
governamentais, comitês de bacias, organizações não governamentais, políticos,
autoridades e pesquisadores nacionais e estrangeiros e ao público em geral. Teve
como objetivo congregar pesquisadores e autoridades nacionais e estrangeiros
preocupados com o tema "O FUTURO DA ÁGUA NO MERCOSUL", envolvendo
estudo de relações de cooperação e conflito sobre o uso sustentável das águas
superficiais e subterrâneas, e em especial do Sistema Aquífero Integrado
Guarani/Serra Geral (SAIG/SG), na Bacia do Prata; e propiciar a colaboração e
intercâmbio de pesquisas e experiências entre o Projeto Rede Guarani/Serra
Geral e os países do Mercosul e organismos internacionais, como a União
Européia, sobre a importância do uso integrado e sustentável das águas
superficiais e subterrâneas.
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Para a realização do Congresso, a Rede Guarani/Serra Geral contou com o
apoio institucional, logístico e financeiro da Assembléia Legislativa do Estado de
Santa Catarina (ALESC), através do Gabinete da Presidência, da Comissão de
Relacionamento Institucional. Comunicação, Relações Internacionais e do
MERCOSUL, do Gabinete do Dep. Dóia Guglielmi e do Gabinete do Dep. Edison
Andrino.
Após as apresentações e discussões promovidas pelos representantes
políticos e institucionais componentes da mesa de abertura, os trabalhos foram
organizados em quatro conferências/mesas redondas com os seguintes temas:
•
“Uma Nova Cultura da Água”;
•
“Água e Mudanças Climáticas” ;
•
“MERCOSUL : Cooperação e os Conflitos da Gestão da Água”; e
•
“Água e Políticas Públicas”
Este congresso reuniu representantes do Brasil, Argentina e Paraguai, e
conferencistas do Brasil, Canadá, Espanha, Alemanha e Portugal.
O evento contou com a presença significativa de estudantes, professores,
pesquisadores, políticos e público em geral, contando um total de 524 inscritos
(anexo lista de inscrições).
ATIVIDADES DESENVOLVIDAS:
Dia 09/11 – QUARTA-FEIRA
14:30h – Mesa de Abertura com a presença das autoridades:
• Deputado Gelson Luiz Merisio: Presidente da Assembléia Legislativa do
estado de Santa Catarina - ALESC
• Deputado Dóía Guglielmi: Presidente da Comissão de Relacionamento
Institucional. Comunicação, Relações Internacionais e do MERCOSUL da
ALESC
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• Deputado Edison Andrino: Membro da Comissão de Relacionamento
Institucional. Comunicação, Relações Internacionais e do MERCOSUL da
ALESC
• Senhor Júlio Thadeu Kettelhut: Representando o Ministério do Meio
Ambiente (MMA);
• Senhor Enio Luiz Pedrotti: Secretário de Relações Internacionais da UFSC,
representando o Reitor Álvaro Toubes Prata;
• Profa. Dra. Maria de Fátima Wolkmer: Coordenadora do Congresso
(UCS/RGSG)
• Prof. Dr. Luiz Fernando Scheibe: Coordenador da Rede Guarani/Serra
Geral (UFSC/RGSG);
• Senhor Pedro Borges Graça: Vice Presidente do Instituto Superior de
Ciências Sociais e Políticas da Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Portugal;
• Senhor Etevaldo Rodrigues: Capitão de Corveta, representando o senhor
Cláudio da Costa Lisboa – Capitão de Mar e Guerra dos Portos de Santa
Catarina;
• Senhor Luiz Pimentel: Coordenador do Programa de Mestrado em Direito
da UFSC.
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Foto 1. Mesa de abertura composta por representantes do Projeto Rede Guarani/Serra Geral e
autoridades. Da esquerda para a direita: Prof. Luiz Fernando Scheibe, Profa. Maria de Fátima S.
Wolkmer, Deputado Estadual Dóia Guglielmi, Deputado Estadual Edison Andrino, Sr. Júlio Thadeu
Kettelhut, Prof. Dr. Pedro Borges Graça, Cap. Etevaldo Rodrigues, Prof. Dr. Luiz Pimentel e Prof.
Dr. Enio Luiz Pedrotti.
Após o Hino Nacional foi registrada a presença das autoridades, que contou
com diversos Deputados Federais e Estaduais, aproximadamente 40 vereadores
de vários municípios do Estado, e representantes de organizações públicas e
privadas (fichas das autoridades em anexo).
Na cerimônia da abertura, todos os participantes fizeram uso da palavra,
destacando a importância do evento, o comprometimento das respectivas
instituições com o sucesso do mesmo e o agradecimento da Comissão
Organizadora a todos os que colaboraram com a sua realização.
Em seguida o professor Dr. Álvaro Sanchez Bravo, da Universidade de
Sevilla, Espanha, fez a entrega do Prêmio Internacional do Meio Ambiente
referente ao ano de 2011, concedido pela Associação Andaluza de Direito, Meio
Ambiente e Desenvolvimento Sustentável, da qual é o presidente, à professora
Dra. Maria de Fátima S. Wolkmer, Coordenadora do evento, em vista de seu
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interesse pela questão das águas como direito humano e de sua experiência em
assessoria parlamentar e na área jurídica, com ênfase em cidadania e meio
ambiente.
Foto 2: Entrega do Prêmio Internacional do Meio Ambiente. Profa Dra. Maria de Fátima S. Wolkmer
e Prof. Dr. Álvaro Sanchez Bravo (Universidade de Sevilha).
16:00h: Conferência “Uma Nova Cultura da Água”
Presidência de mesa:
Profa. Dra. Maria de Fátima Wolkmer (UCS/RGSG) e;
Prof. Dr. Luiz Fernando Scheibe (UFSC/RGSG).
Conferencista:
Dra. Maude Barlow (Canadá): principal palestrante do evento. É chefe do Council
of Canadians, ou Conselho dos Canadenses, a maior organização canadense de
militância pública. É também fundadora do Blue Planet Project, que trabalha
internacionalmente a favor do direito humano à água. Entre 2008 e 2009 atuou
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como consultora-sênior em água do presidente da 63ª Assembléia Geral da
Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU). É autora e co-autora de 16 livros,
incluindo os best-sellers “Água: Pacto Azul” e “Água, o Ouro Azul”. Preside o
conselho do Food & Water Watch, baseado em Washington, e é membrofundadora do Fórum Internacional sobre Globalização de São Francisco, além de
conselheira do Conselho Futuro Mundial, com sede em Hamburgo. A ativista já
recebeu 11 títulos de doutora honoris causa, além de gratificações como o
Livelihood Award Rights 2005 (conhecido como o “Nobel Alternativo do Meio
Ambiente”). Em anexo, texto da sua conferência.
Foto 3 Palestra da profa. Maude Barlow, convidados, pesquisadores, políticos e público em geral.
A presença de convidados, pesquisadores, políticos e público em geral, no
dia 09 de novembro, estão registrados nas imagens a seguir.
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Foto 4: Conferencista Maude Barlow (Canadá) e Deputado Edison Andrino, na platéia.
Foto 5. Convidados, pesquisadores, políticos e público em geral.
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Foto 6. Convidados, pesquisadores, políticos e público em geral.
Foto 7. Convidados, pesquisadores, políticos e público em geral.
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Segundo dia 10/11 – QUINTA-FEIRA
09hs – Mesa Redonda 2 “Água e Mudanças Climáticas”
Presidência da Mesa:
Profa. Dra. Beate Frank (Projeto Piava) e;
Prof. Dr. Tássio Dresch Rech (EPAGRI/RGSG).
Palestrantes:
Empr. Bernhard Vormann (Alemanha): Empresário especialista em perfuração
de poços profundos;
Geól. Dr. Franz-Josef Struffert (Alemanha) consultor na Europa sobre água
subterrânea;
Prof.
Dr.
Luis
Filipe
Tavares
Ribeiro
Hidrogeólogo
–
Professor
no
IST/Universidade Técnica de Lisboa – Portugal: Gestão das águas e mudanças
climáticas;
Prof. Dr. Ricardo Hirata: Hidrogeólogo - Professor do Departamento de Geologia
Sedimentar e Ambiental do Instituto de Geociências da Universidade de São Paulo
– USP: Comportamento das águas subterrâneas em cenário de mudanças
climáticas.
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.
Foto 8: Presidência da mesa: Prof. Dr. Tássio Dresch Rech (EPAGRI/RGSG) e Profa. Dra. Beate
Frank (Projeto Piava).
Foto 9. Da esquerda para a direta: Geól. Dr. Franz-Josef Struffert (Alemanha) e Empr. Bernhard
Vormann (Alemanha).
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Foto 10: Prof. Dr. Luis Filipe Tavares Ribeiro (IST/Universidade Técnica de Lisboa – Portugal)
Foto11: Prof. Dr. Ricardo Hirata: Hidrogeólogo - Professor do Departamento de Geologia
Sedimentar e Ambiental do Instituto de Geociências da Universidade de São Paulo – USP:
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Foto 12: Convidados, pesquisadores, políticos e público em geral, no dia 10 novembro.
14hs – Mesa Redonda 3 - “MERCOSUL : Cooperação e os Conflitos da
Gestão da Água”.
Presidência da Mesa:
Prof. Dr. Joel Pellerin (RGSG/UFSC);
Prof. Dr. Vilmar Comassetto (Presidente do Comitê da Bacia do Jacutinga/
EPAGRI/RGSG).
Palestrantes:
Deputado Federal por Santa Catarina, Pedro Uczai;
Dr. Jorge Santa Cruz, Sub-Secretaria de Recursos Hídricos, Argentina;
Dra. Ana Maria Castillo Clérici, Sub-Directora de Recursos Hidricos de La
Secretaria del Medio Ambiente, Paraguai;
Dr. Júlio Thadeu Kettelhut, Diretor de Recursos Hídricos da SRHU/MMA, Brasil.
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Foto 13: Prof. Dr. Joel Pellerin (UFSC).
Foto 14: Deputado Federal Pedro Uczai.
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Foto 15: Dr. Jorge Santa Cruz, Sub-Secretaria de Recursos Hídricos, Argentina.
Foto 16: Dra. Ana Maria Castillo Clerici, Sub-Directora de Recursos Hidricos de La
Secretaria del Medio Ambiente, Paraguai.
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Foto 17: Dr. Júlio Thadeu Kettelhut, Diretor de Recursos Hídricos da SRHU/MMA, Brasil.
17:00h Mesa Redonda 4 - “Políticas Públicas”.
Presidência da Mesa:
Profa. Dra. Maria de Fátima S. Wolkmer (UCS/RGSG) e;
Profa. Dra. Milena Petters Melo (Itália).
Palestrantes:
Prof. Dr. Álvaro Sanchez Bravo (Universidade de Sevilha);
Prof. Dr. Pedro Borges Graça (SCSP/UTL/Portugal);
Prof. Dr. Antonio Carlos Wolkmer (UFSC);
Profa Dra. Noemia Bohn (FURB/RGSG);
Prof. Dr. Rogério Portanova (UFSC/RGSG).
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Foto 18: Profa. Dra. Milena Petters Melo (Itália).
Foto 19: Prof. Dr. Álvaro Sanchez Bravo (Universidade de Sevilha);
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Foto 20: Prof. Dr. Antonio Carlos Wolkmer (UFSC);
Foto 21: Prof. Dr. Pedro Borges Graça (SCSP/UTL/Portugal);
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Foto 22: Profa Dra. Noemia Bohn (FURB/RGSG);
Foto 23: Prof. Dr. Rogério Portanova (UFSC/RGSG).
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Foto 24: mesa de inscrições, entrega dos crachás e fones para tradução simultânea.
Foto 25: mesa de inscrições, entrega dos crachás e fones para tradução simultânea.
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Foto 26: cobertura da imprensa.
Foto 27: Reunião preparatória do congresso, da esquerda para direita, em sentido horário: Prof.
Dr. Luiz Fernando Scheibe, Dep. Dóia Guglielmi, Mestre de cerimônias da Alesc, Jornalista Pedro
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Schmidt, Sra. Ligia de Oliveira Stoeterau, Assessor Jurídico da Alesc, Tradutor da Alesc, Profa.
Dra. Milena Petters Melo, Dep. Edison Andrino e Prof Dra. Maria de Fátima Wolkmer.
Foto 28: Divulgação: Programa Educação e Cidadania News, da TV Record, apresentado por
Maria Odete Olsen, ao vivo dia 09/11 às 12:30hs, com participação do conferencista Prof. Dr. Luis
Filipe Tavares Ribeiro (IST/Universidade Técnica de Lisboa – Portugal).
Avaliação do Congresso
O I Congresso Internacional O Futuro da Água no Mercosul alcançou de
forma satisfatória seus objetivos, propiciando debates e fomentando a colaboração
e intercâmbio de pesquisas e experiências desenvolvidas sobre a temática da
Gestão Integrada dos Recursos Hídricos superficiais e subterrâneos na área do
MERCOSUL, que abrange a Bacia do Paraná e o Sistema Aquífero Integrado
Guarani/Serra Geral, tema principal de estudos da REDE GUARANI/SERRA
GERAL
Com o encontro entre gestores públicos, estudantes e a população em
geral, e pesquisadores renomados sobre o tema de gestão das águas, de modo
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geral, e das águas subterrâneas, de modo particular, foi possível identificar os
avanços no conhecimento científico com vistas à gestão das águas subterrâneas
adquiridos, sobretudo, a partir do Projeto para a Proteção Ambiental e
Desenvolvimento Sustentável do Sistema Aquífero Guarani (Projeto SAG) e do
projeto da REDE GUARANI/SERRA GERAL (RGSG), bem como as lacunas no
conhecimento científico dessas importantes temáticas.
Evidenciou-se, assim, a necessidade de investimento em estudos e
trabalhos para subsidiar o uso integrado das águas superficiais e subterrâneas,
tendo em vista sua relação de mútua influência quali-quantitativa. Diante disso,
reforça-se a importância e o potencial do Projeto Rede Guarani/Serra Geral, em
contribuir para o bom encaminhamento das questões relacionadas à água, em
virtude de sua preocupação de gerar conhecimento, mas, sobretudo, formar
capacidades locais para pesquisar e gerir as águas superficiais e subterrâneas de
forma integrada.
Certamente o evento contribuiu para o avanço das reflexões da sociedade
em relação aos conhecimentos teórico-práticos e possibilidades políticas no que
se refere à gestão de recursos hídricos, em toda a área do MERCOSUL.
Agradecimentos
São devidos a todas as pessoas e instituições que, direta e indiretamente,
contribuíram para o bom êxito do Congresso.
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Anexos:
1 – Texto da conferência da Dra. Maude Barlow (Canadá);
2 – Lista de presença no I CONGRESSO INTERANCIONAL O FUTURO DA
ÁGUA NO MERCOSUL;
3 – Lista de Autoridades;
4 – 4 DVDs com a gravação do Congresso pela TVAL, transmitido ao vivo
via TV a cabo e reprisado posteriormente.
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ANEXO 1: Texto da conferência da Dra. Maude Barlow (Canadá);
MAUDE BARLOW - REMARKS FOR KEYNOTE ADDRESS
FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS
THE FUTURE OF WATER IN MERCOSUR
FLORIANOPOLIS BRAZIL, NOVEMBER 9, 2011
It is a very great honour to present at the founding conference on the future of
water in the Mercosur countries. I will turn to this region shortly, but first want to
remind us of the global situation regarding water, as no country or region exists in
a vacuum.
Quite simply, the planet is running out of available fresh water, something we were
all taught, as children, could never happen. Water use has grown at twice the rate
of population in the last century and, unless we change our ways, water demand
will continue to dramatically outpace population, now expected to reach 10 billion
by 2021.i If properly managed, there would be sufficient water for all. However,
humans are polluting, mismanaging and displacing water all over the world.
Using giant dams and deep bore well technology we didn’t have 50 years ago, we
are extracting rivers and pumping ancient aquifer water at a relentless rate. Much
of this water gets exported out of local watersheds and even countries in the form
of “virtual water” – water used to grow commodities (like biofuels) that are then
exported along with the water it took to produce them. The global food trade is
relentlessly exhausting water supplies; by 2050, the world will deplete 2.6 billion
cubic miles of freshwater for agriculture production alone. ii
A recent global study of groundwater takings found that the rate of extraction has
doubled in the last few decades, causing massive disruptions in communities
where water supplies are running out. As well, land based water, having been used
to quench the thirst of mega-cities, gets dumped into the oceans as waste,
accounting for as much as one quarter of the rising seas.iii
Perhaps the most frightening study is one done by the extractive industries
themselves. Unless something dramatically changes, by 2030, global demand for
freshwater will outstrip supply by 40 per cent.iv Demand for water is going straight
up. Supply, straight down.
It can come a no surprise then that conflicts around water sources are growing.
Perhaps the most startling conflict is between those who have access to all the
water they want and those who do not have access to clean water at all. A child
born in the global North will use 40 to 70 times more water in his or her lifetime
than one born in the global South. Today in the global South, every 3 and 1/2
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seconds, a child will die of water borne disease.v Lack of access to clean water is
by far the greatest killer of children and totally preventable.
As well, there is growing conflict between large urban centres who have depleted
their water sources and rural communities who are finding their water supplies
used to meet the demands of the larger population areas. Hardest hit are
indigenous, peasant and tribal peoples whose water sources are directly
confiscated or stolen, often forcibly, or whose waters are being destroyed as their
territories are invaded for monoculture crop production.
Then there are the geopolitical realities of superpowers looking outside their
borders to secure new sources of water as their own decline. China is taking the
waters of the Himalayan glaciers – waters that feed the great rivers of Asia – by
pipelines and dams to replace its own water sources, so much of it exported away
in trade. Wealthy countries and hedge funds have bought up land twice the size of
Great Britain in Africa alone, seeking to secure future cropland and water supplies
as both run out.
But perhaps the most intense struggle – and the one in which I have been most
involved – is political. Is water a commodity to be put on the open market for sale
like oil and gas and used to make profit for some, or a common heritage of
humanity to be shared equitably for the good of all?
The private sector knew before anyone that a global water crisis was coming. One
investment analyst told a business conference on the world’s water that the crisis
would yield “buckets and buckets” of money to smart investors.
Private control of water comes in several forms. Large utilities like Suez and
Veolia run municipal water services on a for-profit basis, denying water to those
who cannot pay their high water rates. Some countries have converted water
licenses to water rights, promoting a market where water shares are bought, sold
and traded. Others are putting whole watersheds up for sale to corporate buyers.
Some corporations are gaining control of water through technology such as
desalination or recycling, while others control food production and therefore the
water used in that industry. Others bottle massive amounts of water and ship it in
plastic all over the world.
All of these issues are present here in the Mercosur countries, even though you
are blessed with two very important water sources: the Plata River System and the
Guarani Aquifer. In fact because of these water sources in an increasingly thirsty
world, I would argue that your region is fast becoming one of geo-political interest
to the whole world and it is time to make an assessment of the state of
guardianship of these waters.
I see six major concerns regarding the waters of the Plata and Guarani.
1) Over-extraction
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Brazilians like Canadians, have grown up with what I call the “myth of abundance.”
We think we have so much water, we can never run out. This is simply wrong.
That’s what they thought about the Aral Sea in the former Soviet Union, once the
world’s fourth largest lake, and Lake Chad in Africa, once the world’s sixth largest,
both almost gone now from over-extraction. The Ogallala Aquifer in the United
States, once thought to be the largest in the world, has been pumped so
mercilessly, scientists say it is only a matter of time before it is dried up altogether.
vi
And the same study on global groundwater takings said that if the Great Lakes of
North America are being pumped at the same rate as groundwater around the
world, they might be bone dry in 80 years!
So even the mighty Guarani is not safe from abuse. Already, water is being
extracted from the aquifer faster than it can be recharged with the resulting
problems of high salt levels and reduced water pressure, which could render the
extraction process very difficult in the future.
2) Pollution
While it is commonly known that there is a lot of pollution in the water systems of
this region, it must be stated again. Heavy metals, toxics from the mining and
forestry industry, urban sprawl, poorly treated sewage, phosphorus, fertilizers,
agro-chemicals, and multi-point contamination combine to spill a witch’s brew of
poison into the water sources of the Mercosur countries. About 30 million people in
Brazil’s two major cities alone are affected by contaminated water. The Guarani is
under threat from contamination and the situation is urgent.
3) Biofuel production
The growth of sugarcane biofuels production in Brazil has steadily risen and Brazil
is now the word’s leading exporter of biofuels. But this industry is set to explode.
Brazil currently produces 28 billion litres of sugarcane ethanol (20% of it for export)
but will be producing 64 billion litres by 2018. vii
It takes a great deal of water to produce biofuels; for every litre of sugarcane
ethanol produced in Brazil, at least 1,000 litres of water is used if we count the
water that was used to grow the sugarcane as well as the water used in the
production process. viii Currently, 7 trillion litres of water are extracted every year to
produce ethanol in Brazil. Within less than a decade, 65 trillion litres of water will
be extracted every year to produce ethanol in Brazil, a huge drain on your region’s
water supply and one that I bet is not factored in when governments make their
economic plans. All of that water is lost to your watersheds.
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Biofuel production is also threatening the Amazon and the savannahs of the area,
which may, in turn, reduce the amount of rainfall, as we now know beyond doubt
that rainforests bring rain and maintain a healthy hydrologic cycle.
4) Inequitable access
This deliberate push to be the world’s leading exporter of biofuels has led to a
situation where the big agro-companies are given preferential access to the waters
of the region over local needs. Potable water and sanitation services are not
reaching at least 25% of the people of the region and, as elsewhere, it is the
indigenous, the poor, the Favela dwellers who are left behind in the rush to use the
region’s water resources for export and profit.
While there has been some improvement in services to the rural poor,
governments of the region, like the UN, often count the number of pipes that have
been installed instead of actual access to water. Private water companies are
delivering water now in many communities in the region and the poor are often not
able to pay their rates. “Access” to unaffordable water is not real access at all.
5) Government neglect
Although the governments of the Mercosur have a treaty to protect the Rio Plata
and have assumed full and shared responsibility for the Guarani, they are not
putting high enough priority on protecting these water resources or making sure
they are equitably shared by all. Like governments everywhere, they have other
priorities. Watershed protection and pollution prevention is terribly underfunded.
Laws are routinely broken. Competing visions promote economic projects that will
further damage the ecosystems and watersheds.
The Hydrovia Project, which calls for the transformation of the Paraguay, Parana,
Uruguay, La Plata River system into a 3,400 kilometre long shipping canal, is a
perfect example and will have a profound negative effect on the environment,
biodiversity and water levels and quality of the entire region. Local planners should
take a long look at the St Lawrence Seaway, which was built in 1959, opening up
the interior of North America for shipping and trading, but has had serious
environmental consequences for the Great Lakes.
Says Karin Kemper, a senior water resources specialist with the World Bank, “The
Guarani is a striking example of an international water body that is threatened by
environmental degradation. Without better management, the aquifer is likely to
suffer from pollution and rapid depletion. Uncontrolled exploitation could reduce it
from a strategic water reserve to a degraded resource that is the focus of conflict in
the region.”
6) Corporate control
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So this leads me to my biggest concern and that is the potential for the Guarani to
become controlled by private interests. Already, corporations have preferential
access to these waters.
Here is the argument I hear all over the world, from the World Bank and some
parts of the UN and from neo-liberal politicians:
Local governments, especially in the global South, are too poor or too weak to care
for their water resources and are squandering the local water systems. Only the
“efficiency” of the private sector can save them. Corporations have the money
governments do not have and form a necessary partnership to governments.
Alas, there is little in the way of partnerships when corporations move in to control
water. Global energy giants such as Royal Dutch Shell and BP are piling into Brazil
in anticipation of huge growth in the biofuels industry. They are vying to control the
sugarcane fields and will need access to massive amounts of water. Even the
Global Environment Facility (GEF), which conducted an in depth research project
on the Guaraní and worked with the four governments to come up with a
framework for joint action, openly promotes private sector involvement in water
projects it funds through the World Bank. The GEF claims to be discussing
mechanisms with the Brazilian government to ensure that private companies can
participate in future projects it funds in the region.
These corporations include engineering, food and water giants such as Bechtel,
Monsanto, Suez and Veolia, which seek to gain control of these water resources
for their own profit. If these and the energy companies gain control and privileged
access to the waters of the Guarani, these waters will become a private commodity
like oil and lost to any greater public good forever.
Adolfo Esquival, the Argentinian Nobel Prize Laureate, says the corporate interest
in the waters of the Guarani Aquifer is just the latest in a history of resource
exploitation in Latin America.
And, a warning: under most trade agreements, corporations from other countries
have the right to sue for compensation if governments try to impose stricter
environmental rules. Some are now even claiming ownership of the water
resources they use in their business operations. Canada recently paid an American
pulp and paper company $130 million for the “water rights” the company claimed
they had to leave behind when they abandoned their Canadian operations. This
has set a dangerous precedent, whereby transnational corporations are claiming
ownership of domestic water sources.
Many of these companies are also gaining access to run local water services in the
Mercosur countries. And recently, the Brazilian government opened the door to
land and water grabs by foreign investors. This is a dangerous development.
So in case I have not been clear:
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You are sitting atop a vast reserve of water in a very thirsty world, a reserve that is
not only vital to the health and future of this region but to all of humanity. It is a
treasure that must, must, must be protected by governments on behalf of the
people and the ecosystems of the region.
I suggest here the need to call for a Mercosur Watershed Covenant based on the
following three principles.
1) The waters of the Rio Plata and the Guaraní Aquifer are a “Common
Heritage” that belong to all the people of the region and to future
generations and must be managed by governments for the wise use of all.
(Here I think it is important to specify that we are talking about the surface waters
as well as the groundwater as they are connected and must be protected under the
same laws and regime.)
These waters cannot be owned. They belong to the people and must be shared,
protected, carefully managed and enjoyed by all. They must be governed as a
public trust to ensure that the primary function of these waters is to serve the public
good, not the interests of a privileged few. While there is a role for the private
sector in solving the water crisis, and while we know that industry needs water, all
water activity, public and private, must come under strict public oversight and
operate within a mandate whose goals are the restoration and preservation of the
waters of the region and water justice for all members of the community.
2) The waters of the Rio Plata and the Guarani Aquifer are a human right and
priority must be given to providing water services to those currently without
them.
The United Nations has recently recognized the human right to water and
sanitation, and this has been a huge breakthrough in the struggle for water justice.
In July 2010, the General Assembly voted to adopt a resolution put forward by the
Bolivian Mission; the vote was 122 countries in favour and 41 abstentions. No
county voted against the resolution even though many (such as Canada and the
U.S.) were strongly opposed. Brazil voted in favour. Two months later, the UN
Human Rights Council adopted a similar resolution, this one spelling out the
obligations of governments. What this means is that the countries of the world have
agreed that no one has the right to appropriate water for personal gain while others
go without.
All governments are now required to come up with a plan of action based on three
obligations: the right to respect, whereby this right cannot be removed once given,
such as cut offs for people who cannot pay for privatized water; the right to protect,
whereby governments must protect people and communities from third party
destruction of their water, such as industrial or extractive industry pollution; and the
right to fulfil, whereby governments are obligated to start the process of delivering
31
safe water and sanitation services to people and communities not presently
served.
3) The waters of the Rio Plata and the Guarani Aquifer have rights in and of
themselves beyond their use to humans and must be respected and
protected.
These precious waters should be named a Protected Bioregion and strictly
defended by law. We have seen water as a resource for human convenience,
pleasure and profit, not as part of a living ecosystem that gives us life. It is time to
change our attitude or we will not survive. We must fiercely protect water from
those who would pollute or steal it. Martin Luther King said, “Legislation may not
change the heart but it will restrain the heartless.” Conservation, rainwater
harvesting, watershed restoration, forest and wetland protection, these are the
steps to a water secure future.
We must also recognize the right of other living beings – plants and animals – to
survive and thrive. Recently, climate justice activists have created the Universal
Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth (Pachimama) and hope to see it
enshrined alongside the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the founding
covenants of our time.ix To ensure there will be adequate supplies of clean
accessible water for all, we will have to create a body of law for the natural world
and adopt laws, as Ecuador has done, asserting that natural communities and
ecosystems possess the inalienable right to exist, flourish and evolve.
A Mercosur Watershed Covenant would require watershed wide, consistent laws,
regulations and definitions if it is to work. This is, in my opinion, the greatest
challenge the Mercosur countries have ever faced. But let me say it once again:
You must take steps to protect the jewel that is the Guarani Aquifer from plunder,
for if you do not, plunder is coming.
Maude Barlow is a Canadian writer and water justice activist and served as Senior
Adviser on Water to the 63rd President of the UN General Assembly.
1
Water Unit, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
International Water Management Institute
1
American Geophysical Union, Groundwater Depletion Rate Accelerating Worldwide
1
McKinsey and Company, World Bank, Charting our Water future, 2009
1
World Health Organization
1
Dr. David Brauer, Ogallala Research Service, US Agriculture Department
1
Constanza Valdes et al, US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service
Division
1
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Minneapolis
1
The Rights of Nature, The Case for a Universal Declaration on the Rights of Mother
Earth, available at Canadians.org
1
32
ANEXO 2 – Lista de presença no I CONGRESSO INTERANCIONAL O
FUTURO DA ÁGUA NO MERCOSUL;
33
ANEXO 3 – Lista de Autoridades;
34
ANEXO 4 – 4 DVDs com a gravação do Congresso pela TVAL, sendo que
foi transmitido ao vivo via TV a cabo e reprisado posteriormente.
35
i
Water Unit, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
International Water Management Institute
iii
American Geophysical Union, Groundwater Depletion Rate Accelerating Worldwide
iv
McKinsey and Company, World Bank, Charting our Water future, 2009
v
World Health Organization
vi
Dr. David Brauer, Ogallala Research Service, US Agriculture Department
vii
Constanza Valdes et al, US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service
Division
viii
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Minneapolis
ix
The Rights of Nature, The Case for a Universal Declaration on the Rights of Mother Earth,
available at Canadians.org
ii
36