Experience Note: Lessons-learned Reporting on Stakeholder Involvement: Pantanal and Upper Paraguay

The new Brazilian Water Law placed special emphasis on the implementation of decentralized and participatory management of water resources at the basin level. The approach taken during the early project preparation phase was based on the assumption that the most effective way to actively involve main stakeholders in the project is to involve them directly in the formulation and execution of project activities. The established collaboration with universities, research institutes, NGOs, consultants, local governments, and governmental institutions during the SAP formulation phase creates the basis for the institutional arrangements required to implement the SAP, and ensures the active and effective participation of local stakeholders in the implementation process. The Pantanal experience in involving basin stakeholders was implemented in the conditions of a single country and in the context of relatively wellestablished and qualified institutions, social organizations, and water users which were capable of mobilizing technical and research resources for their direct participation in the proposed demonstration projects and feasibility studies. Isabelle Vanderbeck, isabelle.vanderbeck@unep.org Nelson da Franca, nelsonf@oeabrasil.com.br Maria Apostolova, mapostolova@oas.org