Name: Karlla Cristina Gaiba Rebuli
Type: MSc dissertation
Publication date: 03/04/2023
Advisor:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| Marta Zorzal e Silva | Advisor * |
Examining board:
| Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| Cristiana Losekann | Internal Examiner * |
| Marta Zorzal e Silva | Advisor * |
| Rebecca Neaera Abers | External Examiner * |
Summary: The multiple impacts arising from the Samarco S/A dam disaster in November 2015,
including the interruption of water collection from the Doce River for public supply
and other uses, is the subject of this research. Considering that such impacts
resulted in a serious problem for the water management bodies in most of the
affected municipalities, we chose the municipality of Colatina-ES among them, as an
empirical reference to study how managers dealt with the problems created to
respond to water demands. in this context of a sudden crisis. To this end, we mobilize
as theoretical lenses the contributions of Constructivist Institutionalism (HAY, 2006;
BOIN 't HART, 2003) combined with those coming from the theory of Public Action
(LASCOUMES, LE GALES, 2007, HALPERN, LASCOUMES, LE GALES, 2021) with
the aim of understanding: a) how the Water Policy Instruments were (if they were)
mobilized to respond to the critical situation of the disaster and b) how the
interpretation of institutional actors in the face of the sudden crisis influenced their
actions. Methodologically, the theme was approached as a case study, through
exploratory research, using qualitative methods for document analysis and empirical
data collected through the application of semi-structured questionnaires to the group
of managers who acted at the critical moment. As a result, it was evidenced that the
ideas about the sudden crisis, that is, the interpretation of the disaster, guided the
institutional actors to seek in instruments means to base their actions or, in certain
cases, inactions. Ideational contestations were present in the intersubjective ideation
processes, especially in the decisions about who should act and about the return of
the Doce river capture. Finally, the actions undertaken in the municipality of
Colatina/ES to mitigate the impacts during the period of suspension of water
collection from the Doce river revolved primarily around the construction of
alternative solutions to supply the population, the focus of responses revolved around
public supply, which left other demands for use unattended, especially in rural areas,
causing serious damage especially for small rural producers.
Keywords: Constructivist Institutionalism. Water Management Instruments. Disaster
at Samarco S/A. Rio Doce. Colatina-ES.
