Brazil’s and Scotland’s Water Policies: A North-South Comparison

Water management is a main public policy issue and an important matter inside of the political context of any nation. The comprehension of water policies is directly related to national development strategies. This paper examines the water policies aspects of two different but emblematic national experiences (in Brazil and Scotland) and address multidimensional and territorialized questions. Brazil has the largest stock of surface freshwater in the world and the country’s development increasingly depends on adequate water policies and improved technical and managerial strategies. By its turn, Scotland is famous for high water quality and for recently implemented of the most ambitious institutional water mechanism in Europe. Our analysis contrasts the two national water policy frameworks through a consideration of their political and territorial particularities. This comparative analysis is undertaken by the use of common matrice that helps to showing the outcomes of each country policy. The text contributes towards the international debate on water institutional reforms and their associated political-hydrological challenges.