Pagamento por serviços ambientais: análise do programa “Produtor de Água no Ribeirão João Leite”

Abstract

In 2015, Saneamento de Goiás S / A - SANEAGO, with the support of the National Water Agency - ANA and other federal, state and municipal agencies, initiated the payment program for environmental services - PES to rural producers located in the Ribeirão João Leite watershed, with the primary objective of environmentally revitalizing the basin and obtaining improving the quantity and quality of water. The choice of this location was motivated by being a very anthropized area, with high environmental degradation, the scene of conflicts over the use of water and where the main reservoir for supplying Goiânia-GO, capital of the State of Goiás, is located. Nevertheless, there were programs all over the world that used the PES name but that were not true PSAs from the perspective of environmental economics, which portrays the mainstream of economic thought and exerts a strong influence with international multilateral organizations, in addition to being more likely to attract private investment. In addition, since the early 1990s, hundreds of PES schemes have been implemented around the world with varying levels of success. In many countries there have been totally or partially failed experiences of PES, either because they have not achieved the objectives they set themselves, or because they have not achieved general improvement in the ecological, economic and social conditions of the region, or even because they have compromised ecosystem services even more, the economy or the well-being of participants and others. Another problem is that Brazil does not yet have a national PES policy that establishes the legal frameworks to be observed by program participants and formulators. Thus, the objective of this study was to compare the Water Producer Program in Ribeirão João Leite - PPARJL in the face of these issues. For this purpose, bibliographic and field research were carried out, based on the analysis of the program's documentary collection and on semi-structured questionnaires applied to the main representatives of the agencies participating in the program. The results demonstrate that the PPARJL is a Coasian-type program, formulated from the perspective of environmental economics, a branch of neoclassical economic theory. Regarding the chances of success, it was found that the design and praxis of PPARJL bring it closer to the definition of success than that of partial success or failure. However, the survey also revealed notable failures and problems that can mitigate the program's success. Finally, it was also possible to conclude that the legal format adopted by PPARJL is sufficient to provide legal certainty to the public entities and producers that make up the program.