The event brought together the representatives of institutions involved in water resources management from eleven countries of Latin America and Europe, who analysed the progress and challenges of building regional water management.

 

In Peru, 70 per cent of the population and 90 per cent of economic production are located on the Pacific coast, where 1.8 per cent of the country’s total available water is found. More than 3 million people do not have water services, to the detriment of their well-being. In the last ten years, the country has taken great strides in strengthening water management and water planning institutions by creating plans, policies, laws and other legal instruments that help to achieve water security. It has also advanced in the response to water crises by formulating incentives and promoting sustainable water use, based on planning, participation and efficiency.

Similarly, in recent decades it has developed and adopted technical methods in the agricultural sector. It has established alliances to open markets to agricultural products, with a focus on sustainability. The Pacific Alliance, created in 2011 and composed of Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Peru, is a forum for liaison that facilitates trade and technical cooperation.

The International Forum «Building Regional Water Management» was a good opportunity to develop this approach among the countries of the region, consolidating the sector’s leadership and cooperation in water resource management.

The forum was organized for the celebrations of the eleven years since the creation of ANA and the ten years since the enactment of Law No. 29338, the Water Resources Act. The event was opened by the Swiss Ambassador to Peru, Markus-Alexander Antonietti, and was attended by officials, diplomats and experts from eleven countries in Latin America and Europe.

Markus-Alexander Antonietti Embajador de Suiza en el Perú Discurso inaugural

The event program had ten sessions, including exhibitions, a high-level panel and two expert forums, with a combination of presentations and dissertations to discuss the progress of IWRM in Peru and the opinions of all the water directors of the region.

The international water management specialists analysed the progress in the law regarding the right to use water, water quality and wastewater, and the criteria and guidelines for preserving and conserving marginal strip in all ravines.

The aim of this international forum was to promote awareness of water use across society, to build a political commitment in order to facilitate the conservation, protection, development, planning, management and efficient use of water on an environmentally sustainable basis for the benefit of the current and future generation.

The topics were linked to the national water resources policy and strategy: water quantity and opportunity management, water quality management, water culture, adaptation to climate change and extreme events, water clusters, resource strategies, water footprint and the Blue Certificate, the role of user organizations and women in water management, design and implementation of the national water resources information system and formulation of proposals to consolidate water management in the region.

The director of Swiss Cooperation (SDC), Martin Jaggi took part in the forum «Towards the Construction of New Paradigms for Water Management» and in the panel «Water Management in Latin America and the Caribbean” on the second day of the event.  Jaggi stated that Switzerland, through the SDC’s Global Water Initiatives Programme, has been promoting projects in the region that address global challenges in water resources management, access to drinking water and the use of water for agriculture, industry and households, such as Water Diplomacy, SuizAgua and the Access to Water and Sanitation in Rural Areas Project.

The event was closed by the Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, Fabiola Muñoz. In her speech, she gave assurances that Peru had made significant progress in the management of water resources and that access to water is an opportunity to develop approaches looking to the future. She also pointed out that liaison between local and regional authorities will allow the community to benefit from adequate and timely access to water.

Muñoz Dodero congratulated the head of the National Water Authority (ANA), Walter Obando, for holding the international forum ‘Building Regional Water Management’, which she described as an opportunity for successful dialogue about regional initiatives for comprehensive water resources management. She also noted that the liaison between authorities will help provide the population with access to water.

The head of the National Water Authority, Walter Obando, emphasized the importance of water culture as a fundamental part of comprehensive water resources management, where experience in dealing with the effects of climate change can be seen.

Obando Licera highlighted the active participation of private companies in the adequate and sustainable use of water resources in innovative initiatives such as the ‘Blue Certificate’, which promotes the reduction of the ‘water footprint’, the total volume of water used to produce goods and services.

The event was an opportunity for representatives of institutions concerned with water resources management from eleven countries of Latin America and Europe to analyse the progress and challenges in building regional water management.

The photo gallery can be seen in the link: enlace.

Source: National Water Authority