The scope of this article is centered in analysis on the dimensions of participation and the possibilities of enlargement of citizenship in the management of environment in Brazil, with emphasis on the partaged management of water sources. The analysis is centered on the strengthening of public space and the opening of public management to the participation of civil society in the fomulation and definition of public policies. It also approaches issues linked to the always complex and contradictory institutionalization of innovative participatory practices that establish ruptures with the prevailing dynamics. The themes developed in this article are organized as to introduce the reader within a set of issues that, notwithstanding their multiplicity, are centered on the association between citizenship, participatory democracy, governance and sustainability.
environment; participative management; citizenship; sustainability; environmental public policies