With this is important step, the National Water Authority has made an initial approach towards the private sector with a view to achieving a corporate strategy for water management

On 24 September, Peru’s National Water Authority (ANA) issued a Board Resolution to “promote the analysis of the water footprint as a management instrument for identifying direct and indirect water consumption in the production of goods and services, in order to secure efficient water use and implement shared responsibility mechanisms for river basins that provide water”.

Through the SuizAgua Andina project, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) provided support for the ANA in developing the standard, placing at its disposal both concepts and recommendations based on the progress and development achieved through the project. The standard determines that a “Blue Certificate” may be temporarily granted to companies (users) which report the analysis of their water footprint in line with ISO 14046 methodology, develop a plan for reducing their water footprint for a period of not less than one year, both in their direct and indirect water use, and implement “shared value” water activities, in river basins in their area of influence, for a period of no less than one year, to the benefit of local communities.

The standard establishes that the companies (users) that choose to apply for the Blue Certificate will first have to comply with all current legal requisites for water management (including environmental certification, water use licence, authorization for discharging or reusing treated wastewater and the payment of financial compensation for use or discharge). With regard to Water Funds, the ANA will propose guidelines for transfers between companies (users) to private individuals or corporate bodies that carry out activities for the conservation and recovery of natural water sources in the terms of the Ecosystem Service Compensation Mechanisms Act.

With this important step, the National Water Authority has made an initial approach to the private sector with a view to achieving a corporate strategy for water management which will involve more than the companies complying with good internal management, by addressing the issue as resource management, looking at the “life cycle” of its products and/or services, and giving them an active role in river basin management, to deal with the various needs for water and sanitation.