André Henrique Moura Rocci,Mário Cicareli Pinheiro,Damian Joseph Barrett, Sustainable Minerals Institute / The University of Queensland, Centre for Water in the Minerals Industry, a.rocci@smi.uq.edu.au
ABSTRACT
Due to the need to safeguard access to water and avoid future conflict, water management strategies in Brazil have made significant improvements regarding governance over the past fourteen years towards Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). The main improvements began in 1997 within government, then within the mining industry where water policies were created and implemented. Use of IWRM principles has led to the development of water resources management plans that consider the whole river basin and scenarios of water supply and consumption instead of the mine site in isolation. Due to the large number of agents involved, the uncertainties with water data for both availability and use and the complexity of the region, an adaptive water management strategy can avoid conflict and limit negative cumulative impacts where multiple users access this resource. An example is presented here showing congruence between the Brazilian regulatory processes and IWRM for development of new iron ore mine sites in the western portion of the Iron Quadrangle, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Keywords: Integrated Water Resources Management, Cumulative Impacts, Mining Industry