The Governance of Hydro-electric Dams in Brazil

Bibliographic Data

ID3501709
AuthorsSabrina Mccormick (0000-0002-9473-2186, Michigan State University, corresponding author)
Year2007
Volume39
Issue2
Pages227-261
Publication date2007-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Latin American Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-216X • E-ISSN: 1469-767X
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0022216x07002374
OpenAlexW2009818669
LanguageEN
Citations received22

This paper examines the governance of hydroelectric dam planning in Brazil with a particular focus on two factors: first, governmental institutions that aim to provide participatory mechanisms for civil society, and second, new participatory institutions created by civil society to remedy the lack of meaningful participatory measures. One example of the latter are new collaborative research projects, which have changed dam building policies and governmental thinking about participation. It is argued here that these kinds of collaboration are fundamental to making dam-building policy more accountable to local citizens. The analysis demonstrates that lay/expert collaborations provide pathways through which affected people can contest inaccurate official scientific reports, in turn influencing the policy process. I examine six such participatory projects across the country: four are nationally based and two are international in scope. A four-pronged typology is used to analyse the processes and outcomes of these collaborations. This typology reveals multiple types of knowledge-sharing that constitute concrete means to implement participation in environmental policy, hence advancing the democratisation of environmental governance

Citizen journalism · Civil society · CONTEST · Corporate governance · Democracy · Democratization · Economics · Environmental planning · Geography · Management · Political science · Politics · Scope (computer science) · Sociology · Typology · Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management · Hydropower, Displacement, Environmental Impact · Public Administration · Water Governance and Infrastructure

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