The observatory will be a platform with reliable, comparable, timely and consistent data for monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals for water and sanitation in the region.
The Water and Sanitation Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean (OLAS) was launched on 27 July. It was created to be a platform with reliable, comparable, timely and consistent data for monitoring the water and sanitation SDGs in the region.
The decision to launch the Observatory was taken at the Latin American Sanitation Conference (LATINOSAN) held in 2019 in Costa Rica, with the intention of making publicly available, up-to-date and comparable data from each country for monitoring water and sanitation data in the region. The initiative has been driven by Latin American and Caribbean countries with support from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and its strategic partners, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), UNICEF, and the Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) initiative.
The proposal was a response to the challenges identified, including the lack of water and sanitation data, and the need to standardise this data so that it can be compared. The lack of data hampers the process for taking suitable decisions to make progress towards the water and sanitation SDGs.
The presentation ceremony was attended by Sergio Campos, head of the Water and Sanitation Division of the Inter-American Development Bank; Carmelo Valda, Deputy-Minister of Potable Water and Basic Sanitation of Bolivia; Carmen Jover, head of the Water and Sanitation Cooperation Fund (FCAS), Fabiola S. Sosa Rodríguez, head of the Growth and Environment Area of the Economics Department of the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Azcapotzalco, Maria Eugenia de la Peña, Senior Water and Sanitation Specialist at the IDB and Cesarina Quintana from the IDB.
Comparable, verifiable and reliable data
As all the participants pointed out, one of the key tasks for the Observatory is to collect comparable, verifiable and reliable data, so that it can be properly monitored, the right decisions taken and the most appropriate public policies implemented. “Progress on SDG 6 is key to achieving the 2030 Agenda” as Campos explained. He also highlighted some of the aspects that have shaped this observatory: it must be a platform that is universally accessible and transparent; it will focus on data, not opinions; it will serve as a repository of data analysis, reports and documents of public interest; and finally, it will encourage and promote best practices.
Sergio Campos, head of the Water and Sanitation Division at the IDB, gave the welcoming speech. He highlighted the importance for the region of having reliable data, which facilitates accurate investments and informed decisions; and that OLAS is a platform that transmits data, not opinions; it will be a repository of information, which encourages and promotes best practices.
Carmelo Valda, Deputy-Minister of Potable Water and Basic Sanitation of Bolivia, where the next Latinosan meeting will be held (2022), has been one of the foremost promoters of the project. He pointed out the opportunity the platform provides for exchanging information and data, and the need for countries to keep the information that is posts on the platform up to date.
Carmen Jover, head of the Water and Sanitation Cooperation Fund (FCAS), the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) unit for water issues, stressed the importance of “knowing exactly where we are starting from, in order to define the challenges that lie ahead and address the remaining gaps”. This will help countries to take better decisions, plan public policies and coordinate with each other to make effective progress in SDG 6 in the region, and for agencies to offer better and more effective cooperation, she said.
Fabiola S. Sosa Rodríguez, head of the Growth and Environment Area of the Economics Department at the Autonomous Metropolitan University (Azcapotzalco), highlighted what this Observatory means for the academic world in the region, facilitating collaboration with universities and think tanks which can contribute to discussions and joint analysis to study the main problems in depth and offer effective solutions.
Open to the public
Finally, María Eugenia de la Peña explained what this platform consists of and how it works, that it is now available to the general public on the web and has three pillars: data and statistics provided by each country (with comparable indicators and methodologies), a virtual repository of reports, and a think-tank network. As Sergio Campos said, “It is not an easy challenge”, but it is a project that can make a qualitative leap for the analysis of the region’s water sector and public policies.
Governance
OLAS will initially be managed by the IDB, as a Non-Reimbursable Technical Cooperation (TC), and the IDB will be the technical validating entity of the data to be included in the platform in the first phase.
A technical committee will be created composed of other donors and country representatives, which will initially be representatives of the Latinosan working party countries and TC beneficiaries (Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador and Peru), who will take decisions during the OLAS implementation phase.
OLAS is supported by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Regional Office of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Sanitation and Water for All (SWA).
About OLAS
The Water and Sanitation Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean (OLAS) is a digital platform that compiles important information on the region’s water and sanitation sector and contributes to the monitoring of the related SDGs.
Specific objectives of OLAS:
- To have sufficient, consistent and up-to-date data and information to integrate the SDGs in the sector and to determine the real gaps in the water and sanitation sector at national and regional level.
- To standardise the methodology implemented by each country when collecting data and calculating sector indicators.
- To promote links between statistical and information agencies, sectors and national and local government stakeholders, so that the information reflects the countries’ real situation.
- To encourage research in the water and sanitation sector at both national and regional levels through the creation of the OLAS Research and Development Network (RID), so that information is available to the countries, contributing to better public policy.
Visit the OLAS platform
Source: AECID / iagua / LatinWash / AIDB Blog
For further information:
www.olasdata.org
Related links:
OLAS: Latin America and the Caribbean now have a Water and Sanitation Observatory
IDB launches the Water and Sanitation Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean (OLAS)
The Water and Sanitation Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean (OLAS) is now up and running
DAPSAN participates in the launching of the Latin American Water and Sanitation Observatory
