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In this paper we build a water conflict typology and discuss some applications for water resources planning and management. To show how a typology was built we highlight twelve well documented water conflicts historical cases in the semiarid region of Ceará state and water conflicts collectively identified by river basin committee members in four water resources river basin plans. To show how the typology works we applied it to contemporary cases of water conflicts headlined in the national media. Conflicts are separated into component characteristics such as triggers, actors, length, coverage area, mediation arena, and other useful information. As the complexity of social-environmental issues increases new tools for organizing data into useful information increase in demand. We believe that this water conflict typology can be employed as an analytical instrument capable of providing a "bird's-eye view" of diffuse sources of conflict. [Display omitted] • Typologies can play a key role in organizing diffuse but crucial information for water management. • Few typologies focus on water conflicts. • We show how a water conflict typology can reveal patterns that are vital for water management decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The State of Ceará is located in the Northeast of Brazil, characterized by a semi-arid climate, with a pronounced time and space variability of its rainfall. Recurrent droughts have been plaguing the region, and as a result, water is stored in reservoirs as much as possible. However, it is has been shown that, despite the large amount of water stored in reservoirs, the water shortages still persisted. After years of having water resources management based only on supply side, Ceará State's current water policy emphasizes the demand side, including legal water rights, charging for water educational campaigns, and the decentralized decision making of the users through their participation in river basin committees. This policy is carried out by Secretariat of Water Resources (SRH), who motivates, analyzes, and formalizes the requests for water use rights, and the Company of Water Management of the State (COGERH), which acts as a catalytic agent in activities that support users' organization in river basins. This paper shows how Ceará is dealing with the initial allocation of water rights and analyzes the obstacles and challenges of that new way of managing water in the state. The model is still being implemented, but the differences in the results for overcoming the 1993 and 1998 droughts show the importance of having a dedicated institution for water management. A conceptual model is also presented representing the steps that could be followed for the implementation of a water market that is limited in space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]