In the Amazon, access to and use of water resources are essential for artisanal fishing activity
and the reproduction of the riverine people's way of life. Artisanal fishermen establish, through
fishing agreements, their own rules for access, use of aquatic environments and exploitation of
fishing resources. However, in the state of Pará, issues related to the management of water
resources are not discussed within the scope of the State Policy on Water Resources. This
research aims to analyze the participation of artisanal fishermen from the Tapajós river basin in
the implementation of the Water Resources Policy in Pará and its implications for the
construction of public policies in the State. Quali-quantitative research is supported by
methodological instruments of document analysis and bibliographic review using the official
websites of the federal and state government as a database, for the analysis of legislation and
technical documents on the Water Resources Policy, and the Web of Science database provided
by Periodical CAPES for reviewing the scientific literature. The participation of traditional
populations in spaces for discussion and implementation of public policies is analyzed from the
ethnographic observation of the mobilization and articulation of artisanal fishermen in the
Lower and Middle Tapajós region during the years 2020 to 2022 that resulted in the approval
and implementation of the fishing on the Tapajós River in the corresponding stretch between
the Tapajós-Arapiuns Extractive Reserve and the Tapajós National Forest. The results show
that the State of Pará follows the systemic model of participatory management of the National
Water Resources Policy, advancing slowly in the implementation of management instruments,
such as basin committees, and with the management body acting centralized in the regions close
to the capital of Pará. State. On the other hand, artisanal fishermen from the Lower and Middle
Tapajós are organized and articulated with NGOs, universities, and other municipal, state and
federal public institutions, to discuss and standardize the management of water territories
through fisheries agreements. Artisanal fishermen played a key role in the creation of the rules
of the fishing agreement of the RESEX Tapajós-Arapiuns and FLONA Tapajós and in the
monitoring of fishing and aquatic biodiversity, inaugurating a new environment of participatory
governance of water resources in Pará.
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