ROSA: International Mechanisms around Water Resources and their Impact on Water Management in the Dominican Republic (Session 2)

In the first part of the training, Natalia Sarmanto, ECLAC Water Resources Expert, contextualized the evolution of international water mechanisms from 1977 to 2009. Featured events included the 1977 Water Conference, the International Water Decade Drinking and Environmental Sanitation (1981-1990), and the Earth Summit of 1992. Likewise, the Millennium Development Goals (2000) and the International Decade for Action “Water for Life” (2005- 2015), emphasizing its fundamental role in the construction of policies and objectives around access to drinking water and sanitation.

Subsequently, Lisbeth Naranjo, ECLAC Water Resources Expert, detailed the recent international processes that have given continuity to these efforts, among them the recognition of the Human Right to Water and Sanitation in 2010, the 2030 Agenda with SDG 6, and the Decade International for Action “Water for Sustainable Development” (2018-2028). Participants also discussed the 2023 Water Action Agenda and new planned events, such as the World Social Summit 2025 and the United Nations Water Conference 2026, along with recurring events such as World Water Day.

The interactive activity during the training allowed participants to choose the mechanisms they consider most effective in the context of the Dominican Republic, and ranked the SDG 6 accelerators based on their relevance to the country. This provided an overview of local priorities and approaches needed to accelerate access to safe water and sanitation.

At the regional level, Alba Llavona, ECLAC Water Resources Expert, presented cooperation mechanisms in Latin America and the Caribbean, including the ECLAC Regional Water Dialogues, the IDB/ECLAC Regional Process of the Americas, and the Conference of Directorates and Ibero-American Water Authorities (CODIA). Also discussed were the activities of the Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA) and the Andean Environmental Charter, which offer a collaborative platform to address common challenges in the region.

The session concluded with a co-creation workshop, where participants shared experiences about the participation of the Dominican Republic in these mechanisms and the impact of said interventions. The receptivity and commitment of the attendees was notable, generating an enriching discussion that reaffirmed the importance of these collaborative spaces for the construction of sustainable strategies in water management.