ECLAC participates in the Water Governance Congress: “Access to water, a human right”

The activity began with the inauguration of Mr. Miguel Tosta Apel, President of the Demarcation Commission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Honduras, which focused on cross-border strategies and efforts, mentioning the importance of hydrodiplomacy in the need for collaboration between countries to efficiently manage shared water resources.

Ms. Fabiola Tábora, Executive Secretary of GWP Central America, followed with a presentation on the progress made in the fulfillment of SDG 6 in Honduras. She stressed the need to improve the coordination of institutions working in water and greater participation of vulnerable groups; this added to the lack of instruments to monitor the quantity and quality of water and the need to increase investment in water infrastructure.

After a round of questions and comments from the audience, Mr. Raúl Artiga of the Executive Secretariat of CCAD opened the block of exchange of experiences by commenting on the progress in the application of economic instruments for water management in Central America, underlining the importance of political will to update mechanisms such as the water fee. In addition, he emphasized the need to mobilize local and national resources, reducing the dependence on international cooperation in water management.

This was followed by a keynote address by Ms. Silvia Saravia Matus, Economic Affairs Officer of ECLAC’s Natural Resources Division, on Economic instruments for water management: progress and challenges in the LAC region. Her presentation began by explaining why addressing the issue of economic valuation of water is necessary in a regional context of scarcity, where the frequency of water-related natural disasters has increased, where gaps in access to safely managed water and sanitation persist, as well as low rates of wastewater treatment and high rates of water loss, as well as large investment needs in the sector. Ms. Saravia Matus elaborated on the predominant schools of economic thought and her vision of water throughout history and in the international sphere, as a preamble to differentiating the key concepts: value, price and cost of water. She exemplified the mechanisms and policies for setting water prices with the cases of Chile, Costa Rica, Jamaica and Mexico; to then show the average regional household expenditure on water and sanitation services, which is 0.94% of total expenditure. Finally, the Economic Affairs Officer gave recommendations for the region within the framework of the Water Transition and delved into the hows with the TOPP Capacities (technical, operational, political and prospective) promoted by the Executive Secretary of the organization, Mr. José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs.

José Miguel Zeledón, Director of the General Directorate of Water of Costa Rica, also emphasized the importance of incorporating economic instruments such as fees for water use and discharge into public policies. He also highlighted the need for transparency and accountability to maintain the trust of users and face future challenges in the implementation and sustainability of these instruments.

The hosts, represented by Vice Minister Jorge Salaverry of SERNA and representatives of CCAD, thanked the speakers for their valuable presentations, highlighting the enriching exchange of experiences in water management in neighboring countries such as Costa Rica. They underlined the importance of applying effective economic instruments to face the economic and social challenges associated with water, highlighting the need to strengthen regional collaboration. They also invited everyone to continue participating actively in future sessions of the congress, with the aim of continuing to learn and share knowledge that contributes to improving water governance in the region. Finally, they expressed their commitment to work together to implement sustainable solutions that guarantee access to water as a fundamental human right.