Brazil

From WaterWiki.net

Brazil is part of:
Latin America and Caribbean · South America ·
Water Basins of Brazil:
Amazon · Chuy · Corantijn-Courantyne · Essequibo · La Plata · Lagoon Mirim · Maroni · Oiapoque-Oyupock · Orinoco ·

Facts & Figures

edit

Capital

Brasília

Neighbouring Countries

Argentina, Peru, Paraguay, Colombia, Uruguay, Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana, Bolivia

Total Area

8,511,965 km²

- Water

55,455 km² (0.65%) / 65 m²/ha

- Land

8,456,510 km²

Coastline

7,491 km

Population

186,404,900 (22 inhab./km²)

HDI^A

0.807 (2007)

Gini Coefficient^A

57 (1995)

Nominal GDP^B

$1,665,000 million

GDP (PPP) Per Capita^B

$10,300

National UN Presence

FAO, UNDP, UNHCR, WHO, UNICEF, UNESCO, UN-Habitat, UNIDO, UNEP, UNECLAC, WMO

Land Use^C

- Cultivated Land

661,299 km² (7.82%)

- Arable

586,036 km² (6.93%)

- Permanent Crops

75,263 km² (0.89%)

- Irrigated

29,200 km²

- Non cultivated

13,161 km² (92.18%)

Average Annual Rainfall^D

1782 mm

Renewable Water Resources^E

8,233 km³

Water Withdrawals^F	59.3 km³/yr
- For Agricultural Use	62%
- For Domestic Use	20%
- For Industrial Use	18%
- Per Capita	341 m³

Population with safe access to
- Improved Water Source	90%
- Urban population	96%
- Rural population	57%
- Improved Sanitation	75%
- Urban population	83%
- Rural population	37%

References & Remarks

^A UNDP Human Development Report

^B CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia

^C CIA World Factbook Country Profiles

^D Aquastat - FAO's Information System on Water and Agriculture

^E CIA World Factbook

^F Earthtrends

Latest 4 maps for / including Brazil (more..):

No maps (yet -> Upload some!)

1 News
2 Country Profile: Climate, Geography, Socio-Economic Context
3 Country Profile: Water Bodies and Resources
4 Country Profile: Legal and Institutional Environment
5 Country Profile: Water Sector Coordination
6 Country Profile: Trends in Water Use, Management and Sanitation
7 Country Profile: Challenges and Opportunities
8 Articles
9 Projects and Case Studies
10 Publications
11 Who is Who
12 References
13 See also
14 External Resources

News

Country Profile: Climate, Geography, Socio-Economic Context

Research by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) and the Applied Meteorological and Climatic Centre of Investigation for Agriculture indicates a likely temperature increase of up to 1ºC as early as 2020. This could have substantial implications for agricultural output in Brazil, as coffee production could fall by between 15% and 24%, soy bean production by 14%, rice by 4% and corn by 2% (Steinmetz et al., 2007).

Aside from potential effects of climate change, existing climatic variation linked to El Niño and La Niña events have a significant impact on freshwater availability, as these cycles introduce considerable fluctuation in rainfall levels. Generally El Niño brings abundant rainfall while La Niña years are associated with drought, which affects not only crop and livestock production in the larger region where the Lake Merín basin lies, but also hydropower and wind energy generation. Here again, Uruguay is more exposed to these risks, as it relies almost entirely on hydropower for electricity generation.

Country Profile: Water Bodies and Resources

Country Profile: Legal and Institutional Environment

In January 2006, the National Water Resources Council of Brazil approved the national water resources plan to establish guidelines and public policies aimed at increasing the quantity and quality of the water supply and improving demand management. The plan adopts a river basin approach and considers water to be a public good, a position essential in promoting sustainable socio-economic development. The plan, which is based on broad consultation with the public and water sector representatives, establishes guidelines, programmes and goals for the period to 2020 (MMA-SRH, 2006).

Brazil’s 1934 Water Code provides the framework for all of the country’s water-related legislation. Under the Federal Constitution of 1988, the states are responsible for all surface water resources except those lying in more than one state, which the federal government controls. This division results in implementation problems, as rivers under federal jurisdiction cannot be managed effectively without taking state-controlled rivers into consideration. The National Water Law (Law 9.433) of 1997 established the National Water Resources Policy (NWRP) and the National Water Resources Management System (NWRMS). The Law identifies water as a public good, a limited natural resource with an economic value, and gives priority for water use in the event of drought to human and animal consumption. The NWRP takes the river basin as the basic unit for water resources planning and management. A key aspect of the policy document is that it requires decentralization of, and public participation in, water resources management (Aquastat, 2000).

The NWRMS, under the Ministry of the Environment, implements the NWRP. It is made up of the National Council on Water Resources, the National Water Agency, the River Basin Committees, the River Basin Water Agencies and relevant NGOs.

The National Council on Water Resources is the highest organization in the NWRMS hierarchy. It is responsible for formulating the National Water Resources Plan. The plan, which provides guidelines on how the NWRP is to be applied, is itself put into operation by the National Water Agency, ANA (Agência Nacional de Aguas). The ANA is an executive branch of the Ministry of the Environment but with administrative and financial autonomy. The six national-level River Basin Committees include representatives of the federal, state and municipal governments, water users and civil society organizations. The committees promote and coordinate intersectoral actions regarding basin-related issues. The River Basin Agencies, which are still being formed, will function as the secretariats of the committees.

At state level, Rio Grande do Sul also applies the principles of access to information and a participatory approach in decision-making related to water resources. The State Water Resources System (Sistema Estadual de Recursos Hídricos), established in 1997, deals with water resources management in Rio Grande do Sul. It includes the formation of basin committees, which are involved in decision-making: one such committee deals with the Lake Merín basin and São Gonçalo channel. The system also requires the state to report regularly on the quantity and quality of freshwater resources.