Facing water scarcity: A critical analysis of resilience and vulnerability of irrigation systems in Ceará, Brazil

Resilience of semi-arid rural socio-environmental systems - Crossed points of view from Brazil and Africa / Résilience des systèmes socio-environnementaux ruraux semi-arides - Regards croisés Brésil et Afrique. Coordonnateurs : Julien Burte, Eduardo SPR Martins, Marcel Kuper, Sami Bouarfa, Jean-Yves Jamin

Open Access

Issue		Cah. Agric. Volume 35, 2026 Resilience of semi-arid rural socio-environmental systems - Crossed points of view from Brazil and Africa / Résilience des systèmes socio-environnementaux ruraux semi-arides - Regards croisés Brésil et Afrique. Coordonnateurs : Julien Burte, Eduardo SPR Martins, Marcel Kuper, Sami Bouarfa, Jean-Yves Jamin


Article Number		8
Number of page(s)		8
DOI		https://doi.org/10.1051/cagri/2026005
Published online		06 April 2026

Adger W. 2000. Social and ecological resilience: are they related? Prog Hum Geogr 24 (3): 347–364. https://doi.org/10.1191/030913200701540465. [Google Scholar]
Almeida E. 2022. Estratégias de adaptação à seca: um estudo de caso em Tabuleiro de Russas. https://repositorio.ufc.br/bitstream/riufc/72457/3/2022_tcc_eblalmeida.pdf. [Google Scholar]
Alves H, Jardim A, Júnior G, Souza C, Leite R, Silva G, et al. 2022. Uma abordagem sobre práticas agrícolas resilientes para maximização sustentável dos sistemas de produção no Semiárido brasileiro. Rev Bras Geogr Fís 15 (1): 373–392. https://doi.org/10.26848/rbgf.v15.1.p373-392. [Google Scholar]
Benton T, Gallani B, Jones C, Lewis K, Tiffin R. 2012. Severe weather and UK food chain resilience. Global Food Security. https://www.foodsecurity.ac.uk/publications/severe-weather-uk-food-chain-resilience-detailed-appendix-synthesis-report.pdf. [Google Scholar]
Boelens R, Vos J. 2012. The danger of naturalizing water policy concepts: Water productivity and efficiency discourses from field irrigation to virtual water trade. Agric Water Manag 108: 16–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2011.06.013. [Google Scholar]
Carvalho JM, Guerra B, Oliveira A, Neto F, &Segundo A. 2019. DNOCS: Desenvolvimento e gestão dos recursos hídricos no semiárido nordestino. Ed. DNOCS. Fortaleza, CE [Google Scholar]
Cavalcante L. 2023. Entre fazendas e firmas: Agronegócio da fruticultura e concentração fundiária no Baixo Jaguaribe. Revista Campo-Território 18 (49): 216–240. https://doi.org/10.14393/RCT184967055. [Google Scholar]
Cleaver F. 2007. Understanding agency in collective action. J Human Dev 8 (2): 223–244. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649880701371067. [Google Scholar]
da Silva RMA. 2007. Entre o combate à seca e a convivência com o semi-árido: políticas públicas e transição paradigmática. Rev Econ Nordeste 38 (3): 466–485. https://doi.org/10.61673/ren.2007.539. [Google Scholar]
da Silva FJC. 2024. Lagoa dos Cavalos e o Perímetro Irrigado de Tabuleiro de Russas: Tecendo memórias de re-existência. Universidade Estadual do Ceará. Limoeiro do Norte. [Google Scholar]
DNOCS. 2020. Perímetro Irrigado Morada Nova. 50 Anos Irrigando o Desenvolvimento. Ed. RDS, Fortaleza, CE. [Google Scholar]
DSP. Dossiê Perímetros Irrigados. [2025/07/16]. https://dossieperimetrosirrigados.wordpress.com/. [Google Scholar]
Elias D. 2005. Territorialização do capital no espaço agrário cearense. GEOGRAFIA 30 (2): 223–239. https://www.periodicos.rc.biblioteca.unesp.br/index.php/ageteo/article/download/658/5033/36084. [Google Scholar]
Harrison E, Chiroro C. 2017. Differentiated legitimacy, differentiated resilience: beyond the natural in ‘natural disasters’. J Peasant Stud 44 (5): 1022–1042. https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2016.1193011. [Google Scholar]
Holling CS. 1973. Resilience and stability of ecological systems. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 4: 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.es.04.110173.000245. [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]
IPCC. 2022. Contribution of Working Group II to the sixth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Summary for policymakers. In: Pörtner H, Roberts D, Poloczanska E, et al. eds. Climate change 2022: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Cambridge (UK): University Press. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.es.04.110173.000245. [Google Scholar]
Lira J. 2016. Resiliência da agricultura familiar no nordeste brasileiro. Fortaleza: Universidade Federal do Ceará. https://repositorio.ufc.br/bitstream/riufc/19395/1/2016_dis_jslira.pdf. [Google Scholar]
Manyena SB. 2006. The concept of resilience revisited. Disasters 30 (4): 434–450. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0361-3666.2006.00331.x. [Google Scholar]
March H, Swyngedouw E. 2022. Resilience for all or for some? Reflections through the lens of urban political ecology. In: Ruiz-Mallén I, March H, Satorras M, eds. Urban resilience to the climate emergency. Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 3–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-07301-4_1. [Google Scholar]
McDonnell S. 2020. Other dark sides of resilience: politics and power in community-based efforts to strengthen resilience. Anthropol Forum 30 (1–2): 55–72. https://doi.org/10.1080/00664677.2019.1647828. [Google Scholar]
Mendes P, Almeida A, Litre G, Rodrigues Filho S, Saito C, Dávalos N, et al. 2022. Public policies and adaptation to climate change: three case studies in the Brazilian semi-arid region. Sustain Debate 13 (3): 209. https://doi.org/10.18472/SustDeb.v13n3.2022.46064. [Google Scholar]
Methmann C, Oels A. 2013. Vulnerability. In: Death C, ed. Critical environmental politics. Routledge, 368 p. https://www.routledge.com/Critical-Environmental-Politics/Death/p/book/9780415631228. [Google Scholar]
Molle F. 2008. Why enough is never enough: the societal determinants of river basin closure. Int J Water Resour Dev 24 (2): 217–226. https://doi.org/10.1080/07900620701723646. [Google Scholar]
Olsson L, Jerneck A, Thoren H, Persson J, O’Byrne D. 2015. Why resilience is unappealing to social science: theoretical and empirical investigations of the scientific use of resilience. Sci Adv 1(4). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1400217. [Google Scholar]
Queiroz C, Aragão P, Pakman E. 1996. Perímetros irrigados e modernização agrícola. Raízes (12): 15–32. https://doi.org/10.37370/raizes.1996.v.506. [Google Scholar]
Quijano A. 2000. El fantasma del desarrollo en América Latina. Revista del CESLA (1): 38–55. https://bibliotekanauki.pl/articles/938091.pdf. [Google Scholar]
Rey D, Holman IP, Knox J. 2017. Developing drought resilience in irrigated agriculture in the face of increasing water scarcity. Reg Environ Change 17 (5): 1527–1540. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-017-1116-6. [Google Scholar]
Sabourin É. 2014. L’agriculture brésilienne en débat: évolutions récentes, controverses et politiques publiques. Problèmes d’Amérique latine 95 (4): 33–55. https://doi.org/10.3917/pal.095.0033. [Google Scholar]
Sapountzaki K. 2014. “Resilience for All” and “Collective Resilience”: Are these planning objectives consistent with one another? In: Gasparini P, Manfredi G, Asprone D, eds. Resilience and sustainability in relation to natural disasters. Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 39–53. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04316-6_4. [Google Scholar]
Sousa EMdO. 2005. O « Novo Modelo de Irrigação » e os colonos de Morada Nova: Política para qual público? Fortaleza: Universidad Estadual do Ceará. https://www.uece.br/wp-content/uploads/sites/56/2019/12/elisangela_maria_de_oliveira_souza1.pdf. [Google Scholar]
Urruty N, Tailliez-Lefebvre D, Huyghe C. 2016. Stability, robustness, vulnerability and resilience of agricultural systems. A review. Agron Sustain Dev 36 (1): 15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-015-0347-5. [Google Scholar]
Valles M. 1997. Técnicas cualitativas de investigación social: reflexión metodológica y práctica profesional. Madrid (Spain): Síntesis. http://www.isel.edu.ar/assets/it_valles%5B1%5D.pdf. [Google Scholar]
Zahnow R, Yousefnia AR, Hassankhani M, Cheshmehzangi A. 2025. Climate change inequalities: A systematic review of disparities in access to mitigation and adaptation measures. Environ Sci& Policy 165: 104021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104021. [Google Scholar]
Zwarteveen M, Boelens R. 2014. Defining, researching and struggling for water justice: some conceptual building blocks for research and action. Water Int 39 (2): 143–158. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2014.891168. [Google Scholar]

Current usage metrics show cumulative count of Article Views (full-text article views including HTML views, PDF and ePub downloads, according to the available data) and Abstracts Views on Vision4Press platform.

Data correspond to usage on the plateform after 2015. The current usage metrics is available 48-96 hours after online publication and is updated daily on week days.

Initial download of the metrics may take a while.