This text deals with the environmental public policies in the rural space directed to the conservation of the water resources. The main objective of the article is to highlight the projects aimed at the recovery of degraded areas in Rio de Janeiro River Basins, specifically in the Hydrographic Regions I, II and III, which serve the supply of approximately 12 million people living in the Metropolitan Region. At the level of analysis was based on the Program Producer of Water and Forests - PAF, developed by the National Water Agency - ANA, to identify potentialities and limitations, as well as propose the incorporation of new properties to the program in the rural area of Rio de Janeiro. In this sense, the research realized a continuous logic of investigation, whose data will be obtained in cabinet work, was carried out a broad literature and field review, to conduct interviews with the actors involved in the process. The initial results showed that public policies aimed at conservation and maintenance of water stocks are deficient. Partly due to the bureaucratic and legal framework in the municipal instances and partly due to the lack of consolidated state policies aimed at conserving water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]