Rubens is investigating how knowledge about water management is produced in the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais, focusing on the metropolitan areas of São Paulo and Belo Horizonte by comparing initiatives inside and outside participatory institutions governing water. The overarching argument is that knowledge production about water management follows distinct patterns inside and outside participatory institutions. In formal participatory institutions, Rubens argues that state control over the participatory design and access to resources, clash of values between stakeholders, and a limited scope of issues discussed hinders knowledge production about water management and it has minimal impact on formulating solutions to environmental problems related to water management. On the other hand, Rubens observed that initiatives outside participatory institutions has a greater impact on solving environmental problems because they involve dense networks of transdisciplinary backgrounds, there is less control over the scope of issues discussed, and access to resources. Rubens is studying in the Department of Political Science at Concordia University under the supervision of Dr. Tina Hilgers.
The title of Ruben's thesis is The politics of knowledge production in natural resources management: an analysis about water management in the Brazilian states of Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais.
Contact Rubens at rubenslimamoraes AT gmail.com