Small and shallow alluvial aquifers in arid and semi-arid regions compose an important water system that smallholder farmers rely on for irrigation and livestock feeding. Geological settings and the small scale of these aquifers suggest the need for governance at the local level, but research supporting its development is still scarce. Treating a case of alluvial aquifers exploited by smallholder farmers located in the Brazilian semi-arid region as a common pool resource (CPR), this paper analyses the governance of a social-ecological system (SES) for which an alluvial aquifer is an essential source of water. The paper applies the SES Framework to analyse the SES in light of Ostrom’s principles for sustainable CPR management to answer the questions: (1) can the governance arrangements support sustainable common pool resource management of the alluvial aquifers? (2) what opportunities are there to make the management of the aquifer more sustainable through community-based governance? (3) can Ostrom’s design principles lead the transition to more sustainable governance of alluvial aquifers? Despite a water policy aiming for decentralisation and participatory governance, gaps in the implementation of these policies are identified. Taking into account the challenges imposed by the aquifer characteristics to impact efficient groundwater exploitation, equity in water distribution and conservation of the CPR, the analysis reveals opportunities to improve CPR management by supporting the community to increase participation in the governance of the aquifer in coordination with existing policies. This work concludes with suggestions that could empower community progress towards more sustainable governance of the aquifer.

干旱和半干旱地区的浅层和浅层冲积含水层构成了重要的水系统，小农户依靠该系统灌溉和饲养牲畜。地质环境和这些含水层的小规模表明有必要在地方一级进行治理，但仍缺乏支持其发展的研究。将位于巴西半干旱地区的小农户利用冲积含水层作为一个公共资源池（CPR），本文分析了以冲积含水层为主要来源的社会生态系统（SES）的治理水。本文运用SES框架，根据Ostrom的可持续CPR管理原则来分析SES，以回答以下问题：（1）治理安排是否可以支持冲积含水层的可持续公共池资源管理？（2）有哪些机会通过基于社区的治理使含水层的管理更加可持续？（3）奥斯特罗姆（Ostrom）的设计原则能否引领向冲积含水层更可持续治理的过渡？尽管制定了旨在下放权力和参与式治理的水政策，但在执行这些政策方面仍存在差距。考虑到含水层特性对有效地下水开采，水分配公平和CPR养护造成的挑战，该分析显示了通过支持社区增加社区对含水层治理的参与来改善CPR管理的机会。现有政策。