Águas e territorialidades: judicialização de conflitos na região da barragem do João Leite, no âmbito do Tribunal de Justiça de Goiás

Abstract

In the urban-environmental context, there are numerous debates about territories, considering times and spaces, according to the social actors who dispute them. As a theoretical approach, we chose to study water and its multiple dimensions from an interdisciplinary perspective, especially based on the interactions between History, Geography, and Law. In 2021, the United Nations highlighted that, over the last hundred years, global freshwater use has increased sixfold, and currently about 1.6 billion people in the world face economic water scarcity. It means that, although there may be physical availability, there is not enough infrastructure for many people to access this water (UNESCO, 2021). In 2010, the human right to water was recognized by the United Nations as essential to life, but, until today, it has not been recognized, in itself, as a human right. From the analysis of Brazilian regulations, it is noted that there is not even express recognition of the right to water in the country. In a context of uncertainty, crises and disputes over water generate legal and institutional insecurity. Looking at the city of Goiânia, Goiás, the conflicts around the region of the João Leite river reservoir, stand out, as it is the main water source for local human supply. Some of these conflicts, without institutional responses at the administrative level, amid political and legal nuances, are raised to the Judiciary. Considering this thematic delimitation, the question arises to what extent the Goiano Judiciary promotes the protection of water, in a dimension of human right or commodity, for each of the different social actors who seek it. To answer this question, a qualitative approach was used, through a dialogical analysis between History, Geography, and Law, anchoring it in bibliographical, documentary, and secondary data research. The research focused on understanding territorialities and the relationship between nature and the city, with a focus on the region of the João Leite river reservoir, in Goiânia, Goiás, taking some judicialized conflicts as a basis. The aim was to understand the legal elements involved in the João Leite river reservoir installation, based on the analysis of the administrative environmental licensing process, including all the stages necessary for its construction (preliminary license, installation license, and operation license). Afterwards, the behavior of the Goiás State Court of Justice (TJGO) was analyzed in the face of the disputes that revolved around water and territorialities in the region of the reservoir, categorized into three distinct classes: compensation for failure to provide the public supply service of water; writ of mandamus with requests for granting the use of water resources for irrigation; and environmental public civil action, as its higher incidence among the located processes. From the research, it is inferred that there is a normative legitimization of the narrative of monetization of nature associated with a perspective of environmentally efficient measures. Thus, despite the fact that legal norms often make it impossible to achieve a balanced performance between economic agents and water users, the Judiciary, through its activism, has played a fundamental role in protecting water resources. Finally, it is worth highlighting that the resolution of environmental conflicts, such as those caused by the João Leite river reservoir, requires a structural reform, which involves institutional redesign, as well as the implementation of public policies, with emphasis on the involvement of the entire society in discussions aimed at socio-environmental development, with the fundamental right to water as the main foundation