The river we want: awareness raising and community participation as tools for water framework

Resumen

This article explores the integration of pedagogical and philosophical principles into the water resources classification framework, with a specific focus on the concept of the "River We Want." The study presents a real case conducted by the Interdisciplinary Center for Environmental Sanitation Studies (NIESA), in collaboration with the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the State of Mato Grosso (MPMT) and the “Alto Rio Cuiabá Basin Committee” (CBH Alto Rio Cuiabá), where an approach based on the ethics of community participation and the construction of participatory knowledge was applied with the aim of defining the desired water uses in the UPG-P4 basin, involving relevant stakeholders to support alternative classifications in the regions of Cuiabá, Barão de Melgaço, and Nobres. The methodology involved educational presentations on the conceptual aspects of water resources classification, the availability of supporting material on the NIESA website, and interactive in-person sessions where participants were guided to use basin maps and stickers representing different water uses to express their desired future scenarios. The results reveal the influence of users' socioeconomic interests on their desired water uses for the rivers in their respective regions. The study discusses how the applied methodology promoted collective socio-environmental awareness and responsibility among users regarding the multiple uses of water resources. The article concludes by reflecting on the implications of this approach for future water resources classification initiatives.