INTER-MUNICIPAL CONSORTIUM FOR THE PIRACICABA AND CAPIVARI RIVERS

The rapid increase in the human population, as well as an increasing level of industrial and agricultural activities along the basin of the Piracicaba and Capivari Rivers is increasing water consumption and contaminating the local environment. The basin covers approximately 14,400 square kilometers — equaling 5 percent of the total area of the state of Sãu Paulo. The area encompasses 51 cities in São Paulo and 4 cities in the state of Mina Gerais. The river basin is the most important industrial area after São Paulo city. Consórcio Intermunicipal das Bacias dos Rios Paracicabu e Capivarí (Piracicaba and Capivarí River Basin Consortium) is advocating improved human health through the protection of the local environment. The primary activities of the Consortium is the planning of joint activities between cities to contribute to the clean-up and preservation of the rivers. The Consortium trains local citizen sector organizations to manage drainage basins, reduce water waste in pipelines, and replant the ciliar forests (endemic trees found along river basins). The organization is also getting corporate support for their activities by enlisting the help of some of the corporations responsible for the pollution (e.g. Gessy Lever, Coca Cola, and other local petroleum and industries that produce sugar and alcohol).

The backbone of the Consortium's creative resourcing strategy is the creation of local teams responsible for environmental protection in their own communities. These teams are headed by teachers and other leaders who participate in "Water Week," a training seminar in environmental education, community organizing, and local fundraising. The strategy began as a pilot project in which 36 students from Valinhos, Sãu Paulo participated. With the success of the pilot, the full-scale project, called "Water Week" was launched in cities across Sãu Paulo and now involves over 100,000 citizens. During "Water Week" directors, teachers, and other citizens working in schools and the city water services are trained to become leaders of their environmental "team." Participants in "Water Week" receive instructional material, training in environmental protection and grassroots organizing in order to recruit the volunteers and financial resources necessary to support their local team. In 1998, there were more than 100,000 people involved in this work. What differentiates "Water Week" from other regular Environmental Education programs is that it prioritizes the necessity of local agents to organize regional structures and financial resources in order to solve their own environmental problem.