WATER MANAGEMENT: CONSTRAINTS TO AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF BRAZILIAN WATERSHED MANAGEMENT COMMITTEES1

Abstract This study discusses the main contributions and limitations to the performance of Brazilian Watershed Management Committees. Two integrative reviews of the literature were conducted that revealed that most of these committees are failing to contribute effectively to the purposes for which they were created. This is mainly due to: lack of support from the state; the non-implementation of management instruments and the low participation of municipal and state public authorities and of civil society in these spaces. The committees have made contributions in environmental education and by allowing greater social participation in decisions about water management.