Brazil recently became the first Latin American country to approve its National Plan for Water Resources for the sustainable use, which will be presented at the 4th World Water Forum, in Mexico Mar. 16-22. Because of its participatory process, it is a big step forward in “democratic management of natural resources,” says Gustavo Cherubine, representative of the Forum of Non-Governmental Organizations and Social Movements in the discussions, which ultimately involved more than 7,000 interested persons.

The plan takes up policies in development for several years, with “a view of ecosystems as generators of water,” Cherubine explained to Tierramérica.

But its application will be complicated because Brazil has poor distribution of its water resources, enormous waste, contamination and political and legal conflicts that make solutions difficult, according to Rui Vieira da Silva, president of the Brazilian Association of Hydric Resources.