MANAGEMENT OF WATER RESOURCES AND CONFLICTS IN THE SEMI-ARID: A CASE STUDY OF AÇUDE LUCRÉCIA, STATE OF RIO GRANDE DO NORTE.

Abstract

Water management, a complex task as it is a public domain asset, must be participatory. In the Brazilian semi-arid region, water scarcity accentuates conflicts and challenges sustainable management due to the possible increase in extreme events due to climate change and the need for investments in water security and dam safety, the main device for water storage. This article is the result of a research that sought to analyze an intense conflict that started in 2021 and lasted until 2022 related to the Lucrécia reservoir, located between the municipalities of Lucrécia and Frutuoso Gomes - RN. The conflict is established between the need to store water after ten years of drought in the region and the risk of rupture of the Lucrécia dam. Literature review on the subject, analysis of technical documents, formal and informal interviews with residents of areas possibly affected in case of rupture were carried out. It can be concluded the political bias of the conflict, stimulated by local social actors, as well as the failure in the communication of Organs state agencies responsible for the reservoir with the water users, municipal managers and the delay in taking the case to the Hydrographic Basin Committee of the river Apodi-Mossoró responsible for arbitrating conflicts in the first instance.