Land and Water in Rural São Paulo: Case Study of Environmental Inequalities in Brazil

Abstract

The governance of environmental resources in rural territories is an issue that has received special attention in recent studies. This article presents research on conflicts in the management of water policies in rural territories in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The study addresses a case of tensions and conflicts in water governance promoted by River Basin Committees. The case study, carried out in the municipality of Barra Bonita between 2000 and 2010, used qualitative social research techniques, focusing on semistructured interviews, utilizing oral reports, and documentary survey. Based on the results of this research, this article discusses how different agrarian and agricultural contexts reproduce specific forms of inequalities in access to water, thus compromising the promotion of lasting standards of environmental justice at the local level.