THE GUARANI AQUIFER AND PUBLIC POLICIES AT THE TRIPLE BORDER

Abstract

The Guarani Aquifer Agreement is an international treaty, signed on August 2, 2010, under the auspices of Mercosur, that imposes to Argentina, Brasil, Paraguay and Uruguay some legal obligations related to the protection and management of groundwater. The article describes the existing public policies at the Triple Border area regarding the protection of groundwater in the Guarani aquifer, necessary for the fulfillment of the treaty’s obligations. As a research technique, the bibliographic and documental research is adopted, especially the analysis of the constitutional and infra-constitutional norms in force. This is exploratory research, as it seeks to identify and describe various public policies from the legal field; and explanatory, as it attempts to interpret the distinct and complex norms in the light of the commitments undertaken at the international level. As conclusions, there is no real articulation among the Federation members, despite the constitutional text. The national policy on water resources almost doesn’t mention groundwater resources, that are casted out from planning, social and the idea of the hydrological cycle’s unity, subject only to the discretionary license by the Public Power. The Paraná policy has the same parameters as the national policy, although it contains some provisions on groundwater. In Foz do Iguaçu there are some environmental policies that, if effectively implemented, can contribute positively to the preservation of underground waters and, specifically, of the Guarani aquifer, even though municipalities do not have any constitutional competence over fresh water.