Roberto Luiz Do Carmo,Ana Claudia Chaves Teixeira, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Demografia, bobcarmo@uol.com.br
In 1991, it was implemented the State Policy of the State Policy on Water Resources of the State of São Paulo, Brazil. The policy was founded on two main concepts: administrative decentralization and social participation in management. This paper discusses in greater detail the case of the River Basin Committee of Piracicaba / Capivari / Jundiaí (PCJ), organized at both the state and federal levels, and one of the first to institutionalize and install charging for water use. In twenty years, to what extent the policy actually achieved decentralization and participation that was established by water law? In this paper, we analyze two aspects of decentralization: the challenge of creating a new scale of management beyond the municipality, which is the river basin, and the necessary coordination between the administrative entities (municipality, state and federal). In terms of participation, two aspects are evaluated, the representation of actors and their responsibilities in committees. Palavras-chave: recursos hídricos, participação, descentralização.