Challenges of water resources management in Brazilian semi-arid region

This paper is an attempt to identifying and analyzing the main challenges of the integrated water resources management in the Brazilian semi-arid region. Some local peculiarities are presented: precipitation 650 mm, runoff coefficient of variation 1.4, evapotranspiration almost 2000 mm, intermittent rivers, droughts frequency > 20%, reservoirs efficiency about 25%. The basic challenges are discussed in a regional context: dams safety, integrated planning, institutional coordination, water as an economic good, environmental control, institutional capacity, community participation, water ownership and permits, extreme events, risk management. Strategic lines of action and conclusions are finally posed, such as: need of implementation of a regional water management system, improvement of the hydraulic infrastructure, optimization of water uses, human capacity building.