The Impact of Scientific Knowledge on Water Management: A Comparative Perspective

本项目调查巴西在水管理中使用技术信息的情况：阐明在政策制定中使用技术信息的机会和制约因素，特别是在水管理方面，并在巴西最近实施的水管理改革的背景下，调查这种知识的使用如何影响决策。这一科学/社会互动的例子说明了应用技术知识的机构环境如何在这种信息作为政策工具的有效性方面发挥作用，以及各机构如何应对和适应新的政策工具。1997年，巴西颁布了新的国家水法，引入了一个综合的、分散的、参与性的和环境可持续的水管理系统。这导致了公众在分水岭一级参与水资源管理的几个例子，例如向公众开放的用户委员会、分水岭委员会和水政策理事会。在这样的组织中，技术信息可以扮演许多与政策相关的角色，包括为不同类型的决策、规划和执行提供支持信息。然而，这些信息可能会以不同的、有时是不必要的方式严重影响决策。这项研究试图提出的一个关键论点是，技术信息的使用依赖于上下文。在决策中使用信息的成本和收益的分配取决于信息生产者和使用者所处的社会、政治和文化背景。更好的信息可能导致更好的决策，更知情的决策可能会鼓励利益攸关方对有效性的看法，这反过来可能会鼓励利益攸关方参与。或者，使用技术信息可能会使决策与公众隔绝，从而疏远参与。由于技术信息的使用需要技术专业知识，因此它可以保护政策制定者免受政治干预和外界影响政策执行和结果的努力。在这种情况下，技术官僚使用技术信息可能会使决策不负责任，也不那么民主。本研究采用定量和定性相结合的方法，对三个流域进行了详细的案例研究。将与政策制定者、信息制作者和利益攸关方进行深入的、半结构化的访谈和焦点小组。利用参与性观察国家一级的公共会议和决策。研究结果可使政策制定者和利益攸关方了解在决策中应用以科学为基础的信息的可能性和制约因素，并向数据生产者提供有关用户数据需求的信息。通过考察在不同的政策环境中应用技术知识的政治和文化方面，这项研究有助于在政策科学中建立分析框架，如社会建构主义、政策分析和科学社会学。结果将包括英语和葡萄牙语的学术和面向政策的演讲和出版物。0135497。

This project investigates the use of technical information in water management in Brazil:To illuminate the opportunities and constraints for the use of technical information in policymaking, especially water management, and To investigate how the use of such knowledge affects decision making in the context of the recently implemented water management reform in Brazil. This example of science/society interaction illustrates how institutional settings where technical knowledge is applied play a role in the effectiveness of this information as a policy tool, and how institutions respond and adapt to new policy tools. In 1997 Brazil enacted new national water law that introduced an integrated, decentralized, participatory, and environmentally sustainable water management system. This resulted in several instances of public participation in water resources management at the watershed level, such as users' commissions, watershed committees, and water policy councils that are open to the public. Within such organizations, technical information can play many policy-related roles, including providing support information for different kinds of decision-making, planning, and enforcement. However, such information can critically affect decision-making in different, sometimes unwarranted, ways. A key argument this study seeks to advance is that the use of technical information is context-dependent. The distribution of costs and benefits of information use in policymaking depends on the social, political, and cultural context in which information producers and users work. Better information may lead to better decisions, and better-informed decision-making might encourage stakeholders' perception of effectiveness, which in turn, might encourage stakeholder participation. Or, the use of technical information can alienate participation by insulating decision-making from the public. Because technical information requires technical expertise for its use, it can shield policymakers from political meddling and efforts from outsiders to influence policy implementation and outcome. In this case, technocrats' use technical information can make decisionmaking unaccountable and less democratic. This study involves detailed case studies in three watersheds using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. In-depth, semi-structured interviews and focus groups will be carried out with policymakers, information producers, and stakeholders. Participatory observation of public meetings and policymaking at the state level are used. The findings can inform policymakers and stakeholders of the possibilities and constraints for application of science-based information in policymaking, as well as to provide data producers with information on data needs from users. By examining political and cultural aspects of the application technical knowledge in distinct policy environments, this study contributes to analytical frameworks within the policy sciences, such as social constructivism, policy analysis, and the sociology of science. Results will include scholarly and policy-oriented presentations and publications in English and Portuguese. 0135497 .