WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT IN THE PLATA RIVER BASIN B.P.F. Braga Director, National Water Agency of Brazil C. Tucci Professor, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul 2nd International Symposium on Transboundary Water Management Tucson, AZ - USA Nov 16-19, 2004

COUNTRY BASIN AREA KM 2 x10 -6 % Argentina Bolivia Brazil Paraguay Uruguay Total Population : 100 million 70% of GNP of countries

LOWER PARANA LOWER PARAGUAY UPPER PARAGUAY UPPER PARANA UPPER URUGUAY LOWER URUGUAY PLATA

Upper Paraguay PLATEAU: ~ 260,000 Km 2 ) PANTANAL ~140,000 Km 2 ) Mining and agriculture Agricultue and cattle Flooding Navigation Ecologically sensitive area

Flood Season 50 to 60 % of the water and sediment retained in the plains; Low percolation and high evapotranspiration Nutrients for aquatic life preservation

Dry Season Retained water used to keep aquatic biota that serve as food for abundant waterfowl Intensive cattle ranching ecotourism

CATTLE RANCH

Ecotourism

Farm in the rivers side Pantanal and Planalto Pantanal

Fauna

UPPER PARAGUAY Plateau and Pantanal Flows reduce downstream due to storage in Pantanal wetlands Untreated effluents discharged in rivers and creeks by cities Intensive agriculture and cattle raising together with mining – erosion in plateau and sedimentation in Pantanal (“arrombados”) New soybean frontier and navigation needs Ecotourism and sports fishing

LOWER PARAGUAY Navigation in the Paraguay river up to Caceres River floods posing risk to important cities including capital city Assuncion Untreated urban effluents discharges in rivers and creeks Erosion and river bed instability in Bermejo and Pilcomayo Headwaters contamination due to mining Biodiversity conservation in Chaco wetlands Irrigation in arid and semi-arid areas

Water Quality and Solid Waste

Risk areas and obstructions

São Paulo under water

UPPER PARANA Urban drainage and sanitation Navigation in Tiete and Parana Large number of hydropower plants (67% of the Brazilian installed capacity) Intensive agriculture with possible alteration of hydrologic cycle Water use conflicts (navigation x hydropower)

LOWER PARANA Navigation Paraguay - Parana River floods with natural flood plains rich in biodiversity Important wetlands subject to impacts due to water use for agriculture, energy and dilution of domestic effluents Balancing impacts of hydropower in the environment and society (resettlements) Erosion and intense agriculture; fertilizers and pesticides with impact in the aquatic system Flood plain management

UPPER URUGUAY Nonpoint pollution from pig and poultry industry in west Santa Catarina and Rio Grande State Urban sewage from cities in the Peixe River Need of flow regulation for sustainable water use Annual crops (soybeans, wheat and corn) producing high erosion rates Conflict between water supply and irrigation in Ibicui and Quarai River floods in several cities High installed hydropower with three large hydro

LOWER URUGUAY Navigation from Plata river up to the base of Salto hydropower plant River floods in cities near to the Uruguay river and tributaries Hydropower plants in the Uruguay and Negro rivers Irrigation in the headwaters near to the border with Brazil River bank erosion due to water level fluctuations in the Salto hydropower plant reservoir

PLATA RIVER Navigation and fluvial port activities Flooding to due high urbanization and consequent soil imperviousness Soil erosion and water contamination by agriculture activities Estuary contamination by domestic, industrial and nonpoint effluents

POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY Long time independence from European colonizers - Latin American union Plata river major gateway to South America interior lands - Mercosul River Plata river major gateway to South America interior lands - Mercosul River Location of countries upstream and downstream depending on sub-basin consideration

TRANSBOUNDARY WATER POLICY 19th century’s agreements on navigation freedom 1969 Plata Basin Treaty 1968 Intergovernmental Committee of the Plata Basin - CIC Driving forces: development, integration, water management and environmental conservation 1967 Foreign Affairs Ministers’ Conference

TRANSBOUNDARY WATER POLICY Plata Basin Treaty of 1969 (cont.) Promote navigation Equitable multiple use of water resources Preservation of Aquactic Flora and Fauna Promote common projects on survey, assessment and utilization of basin water resources

TRANSBOUNDARY WATER POLICY 1973 Asuncion Agreement In boundary contiguous rivers, where the sovereignty is shared, any water use must be preceded by a bilateral agreement between the riparians In successive transboundary rivers, where riparians do not share their sovereignty any state can use its waters according to its own needs, provided the uses do not cause appreciable harm to another river basin state

TRANSBOUNDARY WATER POLICY 1976 FUNPLATA National and international funds raised with co- responsibility of basin countries to support studies and projects Hydrologic forecasting system and water quality monitoring

ITAIPU HYDROPOWER PLANT

URGENT NEEDS TO IMPROVE TRANSBOUNDARY WATER MANAGEMENT Development of national water laws under a minimum regional regulatory framework Strengthening national institutions for water management Regional water resources management information system (monitoring supply and estimating demands for different uses) –Improving monitoring networks of countries with low density –Creation of a regional geo-referenced data base with a common interface for data sharing

CountryHidrometeorology River stage SedimentWater Quality Argentina Bolivia NA Brazil Paraguay11985 NA UruguayNA82 NA

URGENT NEEDS TO IMPROVE TRANSBOUNDARY WATER MANAGEMENT Quantify agriculture sediment yield in critical areas through adequate sampling and propose mitigation measures when needed – pilot projects Improve navigation in Paraguay river downstream of Corumbá (multi modal systems) Open discussion on navigation in the Paraguay river upstream of Corumba up to the city of Caceres Regional water resources

Navigation Paraná-Paraguay waterway: critical reach is Corumbá-Caceres shallow waters during drought years existing studies used fixed bed model with hydrologic data from the 70’s onwards reach Corumba-Buenos-Aires presents no problem for navigation

Navigation

Navigation and port for agriculture products

URGENT NEEDS TO IMPROVE TRANSBOUNDARY WATER MANAGEMENT Development of a program to increase sustainable fish production with job generation and conservation of fish species Ecotourism industry can provide means to improve the quality of life of local communities Flood zoning and flood forecasting using modern technology (satellite, radar and telemetry) available in the region Assessment of the impact of climate variability in the hydropower production in the basin

CONCLUSIONS Unique geographical location and historical background facilitated the cooperation among basin countries Common economic development needs and bi and tri-lateral agreements among basin countries Navigation and food production are the predominant future basin water uses - national regulatory agencies should play important role in sustainable use Strengthening national water resources management institutions in basin countries and CIC is fundamental for the sustainable development of the Plata River basin

OBRIGADO GRACIAS THANKS