Modelli partecipativi nella gestione delle risorse idriche: Italia e Brasile a confronto

Abstract

Participatory models in water resources management: Italy and Brazil compared - The article analyses water governance in Italy and Brazil, focusing on the interplay between common regulatory principles and divergent institutional frameworks. Both countries have embraced integrated basin management, participation, subsidiarity, and sustainability, but with distinct legal and administrative translations. In Brazil, the 1997 Water Law established the Comitês de Bacia Hidrográfica (River Basin Committees, CBH) as tripartite deliberative bodies with representation of public authorities, users, and civil society. In Italy, the Contratti di Fiume (River Contracts, CdF) developed as voluntary and experimental instruments of multi-level cooperation, later recognised in national legislation. The comparison highlights Brazil’s institutional stability, but at the risk of bureaucratisation, and Italy’s local flexibility, yet coupled with fragmentation. Participation emerges as the central condition for effective water policies, suggesting possible complementarity between voluntary and institutionalised models.

Keywords: Water governance; Environmental participation; River contracts; River basin committees; Comparative environmental law