River basin committees can use a management tool that has already proven effective to choose priority projects in the management of water resources. The method was tested in a pilot project developed by doctoral student Marcos Sartori, from the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Urbanism (FEC), together with the Alto Tietê River Basin Committee (CBH-AT). The work was supervised by Professor Antonio Carlos Zuffo.
Of more than 100 million reais available in 2019, the Alto Tietê Committee allocated 62 million, leaving a reserve for future investments. “It is better to invest in what is actually necessary than to disperse resources that are already so scarce. This shows efficiency in applying the tool”, pointed out Marcos. Investments are related to sewage treatment, flood control, water source recovery, etc.
In summary, the method described as “multi-criteria decision support” proposes that committee members structure their points of view in graphic form, such as organizational charts and “problem trees”. From there, the so-called “decision makers”, or actors in the process, must create criteria to evaluate the projects received. The alternatives are compared and ordered, previously passing a rejection criterion. Only then is a sort of ranking of proposals created, according to the needs of the basin.
“The method is not strictly objective, it also considers subjectivity when structuring fair, transparent decisions, better committed to the values of decision makers, considering economic, social and environmental aspects”, highlights the author.
In the State of São Paulo there are 21 committees, according to research data. They are collegial bodies, formed by members of public authorities and organized civil society, responsible mainly for formulating basin plans and indicating priority projects to preserve and recover natural resources.
The research author writes: “The challenge of allocating public funds is not a trivial task. Above all in a Hydrographic Basin Committee, a collegial, decentralized, democratic body composed of representatives with aspirations and diffuse interests around the water theme”. Marcos observes that there are conflicts of values and objectives between those interested in the decisions to be made. There are different relations and asymmetries of power, just take the State and an association as an example.
The method contributes to improving the process of selecting programs and projects, but also services and works. “Some advantages are the increased commitment of the actors involved, greater transparency in the use of public resources, reduced conflicts of interest and greater agility in decisions”, he highlights.
Marcos explains the origin of the resources made available by the São Paulo State committees. The largest amount comes from charges for water use, which affects the collection, consumption and release of effluents from authorized users. Another source is compensation for hydroenergetic uses, that is, the use of water to generate energy. The criteria established by the different committees are published annually in deliberations that serve as a basis for choosing what will be financed.
The researcher was invited to join the Technical Chamber of Investment Management of the Alto Tietê River Basin Committee, the body responsible for preparing the deliberation proposal with the criteria for investments. He acted as a facilitator, guiding the group's activities according to the method proposed in the research.
The work ended up resulting in the development of a priority factor that multiplies the grade assigned to a project. The “K” factor ended up being included in the 2019 deliberations for project calls. Marcos Sartori understands that this was the greatest contribution of the research so far.
