São Francisco River Basin


 Inception workshop Stakeholder consultation Commercial agriculture  DSC01470 Commercial agriculture forms a strong driver of change in the Sao Francisco basin Where is my water? propria2  More Photos.....

Recent economic development in the Sao Francisco basin in Brazil has brought major benefits to its primarily urban population of 16 million people. The price, however, has been high. Pollution and land degradation threaten not only natural habitats but also people’s livelihoods, water supplies and health. 

 

Urban sewage, industrial effluents and agrochemicals (mainly in irrigated areas) have seriously polluted some of the major tributaries of the Sao Francisco river. The region’s traditional fishery is in decline due to lower fish populations, and reports of conflicts over competing uses of water are becoming more frequent as the quality and quantity of the available supply decreases. There is also a drastic reduction of water in the dry periods. Moreover, land degradation is undermining the region’s rich biodiversity of both plants and animals and is adversely affecting agricultural production.

 

Brazilian authorities and scientists are fully aware of these problems and anxious to reverse the decline. The necessary political will, institutional framework, and funding mechanisms for rehabilitating the Sao Francisco river basin are well established and provide a conducive environment for research and development under the Challenge Program for Water and Food.

 

The Sao Francisco Basin Focal Project produced valuable insights about the specific nature of the food and water crisis at basin scale.

 

Click here & download research reports and policy briefs on water poverty, water productivity, hydro-economic modelling, hydrology and water use in the Sao Francisco Basin

 

The Integreated Database Information System [IDIS] Basin Kits provide baseline data layers (vector and grid) for the Sao Francisco Basin covering various domains such as climate, agriculture, soil, land use, topography, etc.

 

Relevant links:

The GEF Sao Francisco Project: The objective of the GEF São Francisco Project is to prepare a Strategic Action Program for the Integrated Management of the São Francisco River Basin and its Coastal Zone - SAP, considering root causes for the progressive degradation of the Basin and coastal ecosystems, complementing large scale projects of the Brazilian Government. The GEF São Francisco Project developed 28 Activities in 2001 and 2002, which contribuited to the preparation of the Diagnostic Analysis of the São Francisco River Basin and its Coastal Zone - DAB, which subsided the elaboration of the SAP. Read More...

 

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