science

Transfer of the São Francisco River

Transfer of the São Francisco River is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Transfer of the São Francisco River rather than just read about it. In short: The Transfer of the São Francisco River is a large-scale interbasin transfer to the dry sertão in the four northeastern states of Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba and Pernambuco in Brazil. The project, which was given the green light to go ahead by Brazil's government in 2005, is estimated to cost US$2 billion and is expected to improve the lives of 12 million people.

Key takeaways

Transfer of the São Francisco River belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Transfer of the São Francisco River to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Transfer of the São Francisco River from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Transfer of the São Francisco River is a large-scale interbasin transfer to the dry sertão in the four northeastern states of Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba and Pernambuco in Brazil. The project, which was given the green light to go ahead by Brazil's government in 2005, is estimated to cost US$2 billion and is expected to improve the lives of 12 million people. After legal challenges were brought against the project, the Supreme Court allowed it to go ahead in December 2007.

Technical aspects The project would divert 1.4% of the river's water for municipal water supply, industry and irrigation. Municipal water supply would receive priority over other uses, which would only be catered for when the Sobradinho Reservoir behind the Sobradinho Dam on the São Francisco River, which produces much of the region's electricity, is nearly full about 40% of the time. The project actually consists of two transfers: The East axis would transfer water to the Paraíba do Norte River, while the North axis would transfer water to the Jaguaribe and Piranhas rivers. The project includes 700 km of canals and tunnels, as well as several dams. It is expected to displace almost a million people and construction is expected to take 20 years to complete.

Criticism and controversy Critics of the project argue that beneficiary states should improve management of their own water before importing it from outside the region. Bishop Luiz Flávio Cappio from Bahia also wonders why water is being exported when 3m poor live along the Sao Francisco river's course, many of them without running water and proper sanitation. He argues that the transfer “will demand huge resources that could be spent on other projects much closer to the reality of the people”. It is also being said that the project will mainly benefit richer farmers who already have irrigation infrastructure in place and not rainfed farmers that are hardest hit by drought. The alleged insufficiency of water in the Sao Francisco River itself during the dry season, and its consequent impact on aquatic ecosystems, is another argument of critics. For example, João Alves Filho, governor of the state of Sergipe, says that there are already “signs of mortality” where the river joins the sea. Marco Antônio Tavares Coelho, a prominent opponent, says that "aridity is the natural state of the sertão" and that soaking it would be like "removing ice from the North Pole". In 2001 the World Bank reportedly refused to finance the project because of its limited impact in combating poverty and drought.

See also Water resources management in Brazil Water supply and sanitation in Brazil

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Transfer of the São Francisco River

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Transfer of the São Francisco River claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Transfer of the São Francisco River before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Transfer of the São Francisco River ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Transfer of the São Francisco River

In research: Transfer of the São Francisco River appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Transfer of the São Francisco River in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Transfer of the São Francisco River is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Droughts in Brazil, Interbasin transfer, Irrigation in Brazil, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Transfer of the São Francisco River outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Transfer of the São Francisco River in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Transfer of the São Francisco River means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Transfer of the São Francisco River out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Transfer of the São Francisco River in simple terms?

Why does Transfer of the São Francisco River matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Transfer of the São Francisco River?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Transfer of the São Francisco River.