The Paraná River Basin. Managing water resources to sustain ecosystem services.

METCALFE, CHRIS D.; COLLINS, PABLO A.; MENONE, MIRTA LUJÁN ; TUNDISI, JOSÉ G

Routledge-Taylor and Francis Group

Año: 2020 p. 180

978-0-367-27704-8

The Paraná River Basin extends over large areas of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, including the basin of the Paraguay River. The Paraná River Basin has a large socio-economic influencedue to the fact that it is located in one of the most developed, industrialized and densely populated regions of South America.Besides the large population and many economic activities within the basin (industry, navigation, agriculture, livestock, fish farming, mining, recreation and tourism), the huge demand for hydro-power generation increases the dependence of countries on the basin?s water resources. An example of this is the Itaipu Binational Power Plant, one of the biggest hydroeletric plantsin the world. Located along the upper reach of the Paraná River along the Brazil-Paraguay border, it is one of the most important sources of electricity consumed by both countries. Because of this scenario of intricate socio-economic interdependence among the basin?s water resources and its multiple users, this book makes a key contribution to deepen our reflections about the future of this extremely important South American river basin. In describing the social, political and institutional aspects, the book points out the existing institutional weaknesses and offers clear pathways to improve the instruments of governance to achieve a more balanced use of water resources. As a transboundary river basin shared by Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, the establishment of a consistent and long-term cooperative relationship among the key stakeholders is essential. As the book rightly points out, the combined effort required to develop an integrated and efficient water resources management framework among federal entities and countries is the only choice to achieve an equitable and fair sharing of the benefits that arise from the water resources. This is an extremely important global issue since nearly 56% of the world?s land masslies in river basins that are shared by two or more countries. The challenges and opportunities for sustainability of water resources are also appropriatelyaddressed in this book by describing issues related to the basin?s hydrological cycle, water quantity/ quality, biodiversity, geomorphological richness, surface and groundwater resources,water infrastructure and climate changes impacts.Regarding pollution in the basin from diffuse sources and from domestic/industrial effluents, solutions go beyond the issue of sanitation in the basin, reflecting the situation regarding sewage collection and treatment in these countries