The State of Rio de Janeiro

The State of Rio de Janeiro is one of Brazil’s pioneers in the creation of a water charge system and its experience is important to understanding water charges implementation. From an institutional point of view, all the conditions are in place for water charges to achieve the expected goals (e.g. technical capacity, information and monitoring system) however the state’s economic (financial crisis) and environmental (drought) health are currently barriers to implementation. As a result, there are some questions concerning the future of water charges in the state as a management instrument to enhance water resilience in a very industrialised and urbanised state.