IPC-IG's contributor Lauren Nicole Core, presented her research about different narratives pertaining to water perceptions in Brazil.

1. Negotiating Network-Narratives
for Political Comparatives
The Case of Brazilian Hydro-Imaginaries
Lauren Nicole Core
IPC-IG/UNDP
Submitted as part of a MA Dissertation in
Environment and Development
King‟s College London
Supervisor: Dr. Jamie Lorimer, Oxford University
Dr. Tony Allan, King‟s College London

2. Special Thanks to:
Professor Tony Allan, King‟s College London, University of London
Ana Carolina Coelho, The National Water Agency of Brazil
Ana Cristina, The Secretariat of Water Resources of the GoB
Luiz Zalaf, Ministry of Education of the Government of Brazil
Ana Paula Daltoe Inglez, IBAMA
Museum of Modern Art, the City of Rio de Janeiro
The Water Mark Project (Marca de Água)
Professor Rebecca Abers of the University of Brasilia
Professor Pedro Jacobi of the University of Sao Paulo
International Policy Center for Inclusive Growth, UNDP
My family (happy birthday mom!)

4. Why is water so
important?
What does it
mean to you?

5. Water
Food
Land
Energy
Climate
Change
Trade
Finance
Energy
Water
Food
Land
Energy
Climate
Change
Trade
Food
Water
Food
LandEnergy
Climate
Change
Water
Energy
Climate
Change

6. •
Encapsulating twelve percent
of the planet‟s water supply,
Brazil is the world‟s greatest
repository of accessible „blue‟
and „green‟1 water (ANA, 201
2b; Allan, 2011: 212).
• The United Nations sanctioned
a „Brazilian Decade for Wate
r‟ (Década Brasileira da Águ
a) by presidential decree in
2005 that promotes the susta
inable management of water
(de Silva, 2005; ANA, 2006).
The „Water Tower Beyond Our Imagination‟
Brazil:

7. In a “continent-
-‐sized country” such as Brazil, the task of orchestrating the water wealth among a
diverse range of „water-
-‐networks‟ may present a formidable governance challenge (Harvard Water Security Init
iative, 2012; Islam and Susskind, 2013; Garjulli, 2007; Luijendijk and Arriens, 2007)
.
The Case of Brazil
The water sector in Brazil is highly decentralized and relatively recent
ly reformed (fifteen years old), leading to a lucrative case for a conte
mporary network--‐narrative analysis (Campos and Studart, 2000).
The physical geography of the country is highly diverse, with key water
wealth tensions through uneven distribution and therefore complicated
political deliberations (Abers, 2008).
Water Resources and
the Problem of Incoherence
1
2
3

8. The Principle of Multiple-Use

9. Enter you title
What are Water Networks?

11. Ingram, Ingram, and Lejano (2012) describe „
network-
narratives‟ as the way networks craft a colle
ctive identity and negotiate multiple knowle
dges through “collective sense-
making” (Boyce, 2005).
What are Network-Narratives?

12. It has been found that.. However…
• Narrations about water resou
rces are often inclusive of
“...faith, tradition, and other im
pulses beyond intellectual rat
ionality...that do not easily fi
t into transaction-
-‐based models...”
(Ingram, Ingram and Lejano,
2011).
• Water resource management
is largely compelled by a
“rational-
-‐purposive” knowledge syste
m, where water management
paradigms such as the IWR
M (Integrated Water Resourc
e Management) take preceden
ce
(Jeffrey, 2006; Saravannan and
McDonald, 2009; GWP, 2000).
On Narratives

13. Bruner (1990) o
utlines how hum
ans tend to craf
t stories to expr
ess their identiti
es, rather than
explain themselve
s through logical
listing or fact-
-‐sharing.
Networks are perp
etually faced with
pluralistic knowled
ges, such as norm
ative, technical, an
d cultural
(Ingram, Ingram and
Lejano, 2012;
Boyce, 1995;
Brown, 2006;
Fisher, 1987; 1994).
Narratives are consi
dered increasingly i
mportant to contem
porary scientific disc
ussions as Sethi an
d Briggle (2011) clai
m that “...the public
uses stories to unde
rstand science, and
so do scientists, wh
ether they‟re doing
it on purpose or n
ot...”
Applying a Narrative Analysis
Why? In line with this In sum

14. Aristotle:
Ingram, Ingram, and Lejano (201
2) liken a „good‟ and „deeply
rendered‟ narrative to Deleuze‟
portrayal of a rhizome as
“...open and connectable in all o
f its dimensions...” and “...link
[ing] heterogeneous elements i
nto one assemblage...”
(Deleuze and Guattari, 1987; cite
d in Ingram, Ingram and Lej
ano, 2012).
*Side Note: Aristotle was defeated by the problem of why hot water sometimes
freezes faster than cold, known as the Mpemba effect.
Not all narratives are Made Alike…
Deleuze:
Aristotle:

16. This research builds upon recent work in the field of
public policy that appreciates the role of narratives i
n organizational processes (Roe, 1994; Currie and Br
own, 2003; Hajer and Wagenaar, 2003).
Similarly, an emerging interest in applying narrative an
alysis to water resources has been demonstrated thro
ugh recent works such as the Hermeneutics of Wate
r by Lejano and Leong (2012).
What are Water Networks?

19. • Pre-embarking collection and
Oxbridge Seminar on Brazilian
studies to identify literature gap
• Fieldwork: 2 months in Brazil/
Sao Paulo, Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro
• Rio + 20 and the Museum of
Modern Art
• Post fieldwork secondary data
analysis
–
A lucid research experience occurred, shaped through reflection and re
ceptiveness to new insights.
• Semi-structured Interviews (58)
• Multi-sectoral Focus Groups (5
• Questionnaires (200)
• Secondary Qualitative and
Quantitative Data
• Background Activities/Emotional
• Language
• Conference Attendance (3: Rio +
20, CNRH Plenary Meetings)
• The Water Mark Project
Marca de Água: 626
respondents, derived from 14
RBCs and 4 intermunicipal
consortia
Methodology
Methodology Multi-Method Approach

21. Divergent
narratives ab
out the same
issues relate
d to water r
esource gover
nance were f
requently obs
erved.
Environmental
NGOs, inter
national, and
academia ne
tworks largel
y coalesced a
round cohere
nt narrations.
The state network
-
narrative is frau
ght with tensions
between the agric
ultural developmen
t of Brazil and t
he demands of th
e environment. Th
e internal politics
of water resource
governance seem t
o be fluctuating/
conveyed in a h
ybridized utilitaria
n--‐ecologistic
Findings
1. 2. 3.
Findings

22. Interview 03 Interview 01
Interview 03 Interview 01
I think that econom
ic growth is dange
rous in cities. The
sources of water ar
ea affected, but in
agriculture, I think,
I am not so worr
ied about the use
of water in agricult
ure. (Int. 03)
The greatest impact [on water
resources] is agribusiness. It
is difficult to control the i
mpacts because they are dif
fuse. Additional impacts fr
om agriculture include the
impoverishment of soil and
the carrying of organic ma
terial into the rivers, causi
ng not only the impact on t
he quality and quantity of
waters but also siltation of
the soil... (Int. 01)

23. They [agriculture] have built an elect
oral system so that they continue
to have disproportionate power ..
. Even if the government is from
a different party, a left party, th
ey can rule the government. (Int. 01
)
In Brazil we say something like: „each
administration lacks thought of the
other‟ ... It is not rational. But it h
appens like that. (Int. 16)
As a federal government economist,
I think that the most important pro
blem of the water system and env
ironmental system is that they ar
e not integrated ... And in the la
st decade, we are trying to integ
rate more, but it is very difficult
because people have been educated
to think about just one of them.... (I
nt. 14)
The network-
-‐narratives of government
officials frequently cited ‘a
gribusiness’ as a strong cha
racter and referred to the e
nvironmental networks as ‘s
hy.’
Government

24. eNGOeNGO
Water is the basis of life and you cannot buy
life (Int. 53)
In a more symbolic aspect, what happens is t
hat when people have more money, people
want to grow more and consume more, an
d people usually are less connected to cultu
ral perspective, symbolic perspectives, it is
more automatised, this is something that is
not talked about that should be. (Int. 52)

25. When most people think of Brazili
an water, they think of a beautifu
l view of the Amazon River, some
thing beautiful. Because I am an
engineer, I work by fixing things
that don’t work. I think of childre
n walking with a basin on their h
eads fetching for water. Children
living next to rivers that are imm
ensely polluted, barefoot. I see ba
d things, because I feel compelled
to solve these problems. (Int. 49)
Industry

26. We need a big campaign to help improve
the correct use of water ... to avoid res
idual toxic waste, industrial effluents and a
grotoxins in the rivers. (Int. 41)
I believe that economic development facilita
tes access to education and that there is b
etter ecological awareness, on the other ha
nd consumption demands more water. (Int.
33)
Farming Cooperatives

28. Concluding Ideas
• A hegemonic narrative thread was revealed that involves the hy
bridised and tense discussion between utility and conservation.
• Overall, the seven networks demonstrated a commonality in ter
ms of cooperation, forward-
-‐thinking, and historical reflexivity, despite other narrative diver
gences.
• Moreover, an information gap was illustrated, that is instead fil
led by imaginative ideas of infinite water wealth and experienti
al education.
• Finally, affective and attitudinal dimensions were found to play
a role in the way networks shape their identities and interests.
Concluding Ideas

29. This research may be complemented by a more nuanced analysis of
water network narratives, for example within a more localised context or a
s an inter--‐network investigation.
Additional points of departure include integrating a narratological analy
sis with a technical-
-‐positivist discussion to investigate the synergies of divergent water w
ays of approaching water issues.
Although the network--‐narratives were demonstrated as
discordant, the overarching Brazilian narrative is
dominated by an upbeat and forward--‐thinking tone.
Future Directions

30. Thank you very much for your
time, attention, and support!

31. questions or
comments?