In December 2020, the Andean Council adopted the Declaration of the Andean Environmental Charter, with the objective, among others, of accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs through concrete actions developed by the committees and working groups of the Andean Community.
The Andean Environmental Charter defines 6 thematic axes: 1) Integrated management of water resources (GIRH), 2) Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, ecosystem services/environmental functions, 3) Prevention and attention to disasters, including the integral management of the fire and forest fires, 4) Fight against illegal mining and its related crimes, 5) Promotion of the circular economy, 6) Strengthening of the environmentally sound management of chemical substances and waste. Part IV, numeral 6 of the Andean Environmental Charter provides that in order to advance in its implementation, forums, meetings, exchanges, interactive dialogues may be held, in coordination with the member countries and the Presidency of the Andean Presidential Council, seeking synergies with actors governmental and non-governmental organizations such as academia, indigenous peoples, local communities, organized civil society, among others.
Within this framework, the 2022 Andean Regional Water Forum was held as a space for exchange on the evolution, current situation, and projections of water management and water resources in CAN member countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador , Peru) and the identification of common elements that allow progress in the generation of a roadmap that promotes cooperation in compliance with Axis No. 1 of the Andean Environmental Charter.
The first day of the Forum began with a welcome from the Secretary General of the CAN, Dr. Jorge Hernando Pedraza, and various personalities representing the CAN countries and the Swiss embassy.
Then came the Magisterial Lectures, the first by Dr. Silvia Saravia Matus, ECLAC economic affairs officer, who presented the “Panorama of water resources in Latin America and the Caribbean, and proposal for a transition sustainable and inclusive water supply”. Dr. Broadly defined the context of water resources in the region, highlighting the gaps for compliance with SDG 6, a consequence not only of the impact of climate change, but also of shortcomings in water infrastructure, efficiency in the use of water and governance challenges, with particular emphasis on integrated water resources management. In addition to this, she highlighted the opportunities that are presented for the acceleration of SDG 6 in terms of financing, registration and standardization of data, capacity development, innovation and governance. She finally presented the inclusive and sustainable water transition proposal promoted by ECLAC for LAC countries and all the activities that the organization has been developing in this regard over the past year. The second intervention was given by Dr. David Purkey, director for Latin America of the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), who presented the “challenges and opportunities for planning in Andean basins from the perspective of experiences in some Andean countries” based largely on in the use of the WEAP hydrological modeling program.
Next, the Government presentations on the integral management of water resources in the CAN countries were developed with the presence of Eduardo Toromayo, Vice Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of the Ministry of Environment and Water of Bolivia; Paula Andrea Villegas González from the Directorate of Integral Management of Water Resources Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development; Oscar Leonardo Rojas Bustamante, Vice Minister of Water of the Ministry of the Environment, Water and Ecological Transition of Ecuador and Juan Carlos Sevilla Gildemeister, General Manager of the National Water Authority, of the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation of Peru. This section was moderated by Dr. Marina Gil Sevilla, an expert in water resources from ECLAC’s Water and Energy Unit. Marina Gil introduced the participants after reflecting on the state of progress of the integrated management of water resources in the region and showing ECLAC’s recommendations based on the organization’s previous studies, as well as the current technical assistance for the diagnosis of IWRM in the CAN countries, among whose activities is this Water Forum. Subsequently, the intervention of independent experts from Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru was carried out.
The conclusions of these interventions pointed first to highlight that, although many LAC Constitutions include the human right to drinking water, IWRM plays a fundamental role as an integral framework to guarantee not only this right, but also the rest of the uses of water. water, including environmental and ecosystemic. On the other hand, some of the gaps mentioned in the interventions were highlighted, such as the need for territorial and multi-stakeholder governance, the need to review and update public water policies, and the need and importance of having spaces for data and information exchange. . To highlight the key and innovative aspects identified to advance IWRM, it was pointed out that climate change scenarios must be integrated into long-term planning, ancestral knowledge and practices must be recovered, as well as nature-based solutions. Finally, it concluded with the message on the challenge of obtaining more stable financing to promote the water transition in the countries of the CAN and the region.
Day one ended with presentations by local actors on territorial experiences in IWRM from the CAN countries, moderated by Jan Hendriks, IWRM advisor for the Andes Resilient to Climate Change Project. Among them, initiatives such as water management in the Andean Region Commonwealth of Cochabamba in Bolivia; the case of the guardians of the Atarto river in Colombia, which is a subject of law; the associative work between community organizations in the canton of Guaranda in Ecuador; and planting and harvesting water in the Quescay lagoon basin as a measure of adaptation to climate change (Peru).
The second day of the Forum was dedicated primarily to dialogue with actors from the academic sector and moderated by the magistrate of the Council of State of the Republic of Colombia, Dr. Oscar Amaya. The main reflections in this panel were that the universities in the CAN countries are working intensely and actively on IWRM issues, but there is still a way to go for better communication with the public sector.
Next, the practical workshop on shared challenges and common priority issues in the CAN countries was held, with the participation of national stakeholders. In this workshop organized by Zorobabel Cancino, senior consultant for planning policies and programs for the public sector and international cooperation, and supported by Alberto Lora from CAN and Lenkiza Angulo from Helvetas, ECLAC played a fundamental role in identifying and reaching consensus on the steps to be taken. follow for the implementation of axis 1 of the Andean Environmental Charter on integrated management of water resources (GIRH).
