The starting points of the research: regional introduction; 1.2 Residence times of water and dissolved contamination; 1.3 Impacts of potential flash floods from ephemeral and intermittent tributaries; 1.4 Limit the nutrient emissions from netcage aquaculture 4.6 Rethinking the controversial water diversion project (“transposição”)

INNOVATE was a comprehensive, collaborative, and binational research project. It ran from January 2012 through December 2016. Brazil and Brazil’s Northeast in particular suffered from a severe drought period from 2012 onwards. Management and governance of natural resources faced serious challenges related to access to water. Important long-term drivers that call for recurrent adaptation of actions are land use change, population growth, climate change, and conflicts from the multiple uses of water. The scientific project addressed this complex situation through research aimed at suggesting practices and pathways towards ecologically and socioeconomically sound management of land, water and biodiversity. The INNOVATE project had one focus on the entire watershed of the São Francisco River and another one on a portion of the watershed – the Itaparica Reservoir and the semi-arid area north of the artificial lake. Researchers with different backgrounds worked within their disciplines, in groups (interdisciplinary) and together with stakeholders (transdisciplinary). The Guidance Manual is a compilation of actor-relevant content extracted from the scientific research results. Most recommendations put forward can be adapted as principles and standards for reservoir and semi-arid regions elsewhere in the world.