Brazil's National Water Resources Policy emphasizes that land use and occupation control instruments should be used in a complementary manner to water resources management instruments. However, the juncture between these tools is not evident, hence a gap to be faced. In this study the goal was to analyze the relationship between the Watershed Plan and the Master Plans. The empirical objects are the Tiete-Jacare Watershed Plan (UGRHI-13) and the Master Plans of Araraquara, Bauru and Sao Carlos, SP, the municipalities included in this Watershed. Surveys, bibliographic and documentary analyses, and semi structured interviews were carried out. The results show that the Watershed Plan can contribute to the municipal management's guidelines, albeit the land use conflicts should by identified and acknowledged as a vulnerability. The Master Plans present conditions that indicate actions to protect the water resources, but regional issues still lack proper handling. High potential instruments for water resource protection remain largely underexplored, such as Zonings, Special Protected Areas and Urban Coefficients. There are also technical, political-institutional and legal barriers that hinder the integrated territorial management. The creation of new instruments, local and regional management and planning strategies are proposed, as well as negotiation mechanisms between organizations in different spheres and integrated public policies, which include public involvement and innovative actions.
water management; urban management; watershed plans; master plans; integrated territorial management
