Água e espaços transfronteiriços na América do Sul:

questões a partir do território

Abstract

Many countries remain reticent to the introduction of new institutions and arenas of negotiation in
transboundary spaces. Admitting the existence of a peculiar transboundary dynamics, this article
presents and discusses issues on water management in transboundary spaces, in order to foment
the debates on actual cooperation/conflict situations in South America. We assume that a turbulence
of scales is characteristic in these areas. This turbulence of scales is the possibility of the
manifestation of cooperation, tensions, conflicts and disputes in multiple scales. The parameters
to reflect upon South American reality were defined using examples recently discussed in geographic
literature in different regions of the world. These parameters refer to manifestations of agreement
and disagreement in the implementation of water management devices through hydrographic
basins. In addition to the literature review, documents from international organisms were analyzed
in order to identify situations that are projected in various geographical scales. The analysis is
focused on raising particular issues to the South American context, offering an agenda for research.
In the final section we present the challenges that seem to be more significant to the construction
of institutional proximity in transboundary spaces.