Brazilian public policies analysis to support the participatory
construction of the National Plan for Soil and Water Sustainable
Management
Abstract
This article seeks to analyze relevant federal public policies in Brazil
related to soil and water conservation in order to extract the key
lessons learned upon its implementation to support the participatory
formulation of the National Plan for Soil and Water Sustainable
Management. The policy analysis was made based on six strategic axis:
Legislation, Prevention, Conservation, Recovery, Monitoring and
Integration. These analyzes results aim to contribute to subsidize the
Plan construction and identify instruments to increase the use of soil
and water resources efficiency in agricultural production according to
the different environmental, social and economic conditions of the
country’s regions. Seven public policies were selected, characterized
and analyzed. The results showed that none of the analyzed public
policies are taking enough actions to accomplish with the six strategic
axis for soil and water sustainability. These gaps were detected and
described as opportunities to be considered under the new national
policy framework. The needs for greater involvement of civil society and
other relevant stakeholders on policy design and decision making as well
as integration among federal ministries were also identified. In
conclusion, it is suggested that the new Plan should be designed under a
decentralized and participatory process to effectively gather engagement
and stronger commitment from governments and other strategic
stakeholders in public decisions towards soil and water sustainable
management in the agriculture, thus contributing to sustainable rural
development.