To encourage the rural man to adopt conservation practices on his property, researchers from Embrapa Solos (RJ) have joined collaborators from other research centers of the Company and external partners – Agência Nacional de Águas (ANA), The Nature Conservancy ) and Fundação Boticário. The objective is to show the advantages of the Payment for Water Environmental Services (PSA Hídrico). It is a compensation instrument that is becoming more common in Brazil and, in the field, contributes to the provision of environmental services, valuing the role of the producer in conservation, rewarding those who conserve the soil, protect the forests and recover springs and riparian forests.
To guide producers, researchers from Embrapa Solos have produced the “Manual for Payment for Environmental Water Services: Area Selection and Monitoring”, which is being followed by communities in Rio de Janeiro and is an example of the Water and Forest Producers (PAF) . “The publication presents the three sets of methods capable of guiding an initiative in PSA Hydric: selection of indicators, monitoring and selection of priority areas,” explains Embrapa Solos researcher Rachel Bardy Prado.
The PAF began in 2007 with producers of the Guandu River micro-basins, responsible for supplying 80% of the water consumed in the city of Rio de Janeiro and in other municipalities located in its metropolitan region.
Producers began to use many of the methods and knowledge obtained from the research and compiled in the manual, based on partnerships with several institutions in Rio de Janeiro. The results were encouraging. “In the first moment, the arrival of the PAF brought employment to the community, since we ourselves were in charge of the enclosure of the areas and the preparation of the land,” says Benedito Bernardo Leite Filho, representative of a quilombo in the district of Lídice (Rio Claro, RJ). “The program has improved the quality of our water, the rivers are no longer silted. In addition, the increase in tourism has brought income and employment to the community, “concludes Benedito.
The researchers point out that the water crisis is worsening over time and public and private bodies around the world are looking for solutions that can at least minimize the problem. It is not today that the world population has been receiving warnings about the risks of a major water crisis.
In Brazil, metropolis such as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, with millions of inhabitants, need enormous amounts of water in their daily lives. Cariocas, for example, consume 330 liters of water per day. The UN says 110 liters would be enough. The growing demand for water by the urban and rural population is large and puts pressure on water sources, often located in rural areas. In this way, the management of water by the rural producer is fundamental for the maintenance and supply of the resource.
The manual
In order to seek support for the preparation of the manual and to consolidate partnerships, four events were held on the theme, bringing together 66 institutions (governmental, universities, research institutes and NGOs). “We developed a methodology for the selection of indicators for the monitoring of water PES,” recalls Embrapa Solos researcher Ana Paula Turetta. “The methodology was validated in a workshop that was attended by more than 40 specialists related to the different environmental services associated with water, as well as actors involved in the implementation and management of different types of water PES initiatives in Brazil.”
In addition, PSA Hidro initiatives were visited in the states of Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catarina and São Paulo, seeking to identify research demands to make this instrument more robust and to bring science closer to decision making, as well as to know the reality of implementation of PES in the field.
One question that still raises doubts about the issue is who “pays” the rural producer. “Producer remuneration may come from a sector or individual willing to pay for the environmental services rendered. Generally speaking, in Brazil these PES sources of water can be divided into four categories. In the first case, the Watershed Committees allocate resources that come from the collection for the use of water. In the second category the states and municipalities create legislation that allows the use of public resources for payment. The third case is when the private sector is convinced of the importance of water for its production, as it is the case of the beverage industries, and decides to pay to have quality water. And the latter category involves water utilities, which pay to encourage good environmental practices to improve water quality and reduce treatment costs, “says Fernando Veiga of The Nature Conservancy.