Follow-up meeting with CONAGUA Mexico within the framework of the project "Drinking Water, Sanitation and Renewable Energy to improve the health conditions of the population"

The follow-up meeting, sponsored by the UNPDF and German Cooperation projects, took place on April 24, 2024. This session marked the next step in the collaboration between the two organizations, seeking to continue the in-depth work already implemented in the country. Various options for next steps were explored during the meeting, including the consideration of national plans for the transformation of the wastewater sector towards a circular approach, as well as the review of several pilot projects.

The session began with welcome words from Silvia Chávez, Manager of International Cooperation at CONAGUA, and Silvia Saravia Matus, Economic Affairs Officer at ECLAC. ECLAC experts then recapped the project, including calculations for selected WWTPs in Mexico and the opportunities these calculations have revealed. Subsequently, the experiences of the project in El Salvador were presented, highlighting its commitment to explore financing opportunities for the transformation of the Metapán WWTP into a circular system, as well as the underlying financial opportunities. Different financing methodologies for national methane reduction programs were also presented.

To conclude, it was agreed to expand the scope of the study to other WWTPs located in different states of the country, as well as to explore the feasibility in more detail in one of the selected WWTPs. In addition, the possibility of developing a comprehensive national financing program for circular economy projects in wastewater treatment was discussed.