On May 7, 2021, Swiss Cooperation (SDC) organized the presentation of three studies conducted in Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Chile, as part of the Water Unites Us initiative.
Martin Jaggi, head of SDC in the Andean region, opened the session and said that the presentation of these three studies marked an important milestone in the work carried out since the SuizAgua project began in 2010, and aimed to identify opportunities and gaps and strengthen public policies for corporate water management.
The project had aimed to find «a group of experts to collect data, hold interviews and identify the state of the art in each of the countries identified (four Pacific Alliance countries), and to use this information to find potential lines of action to further strengthen public policies and highlight the work of the private sector committed to the future,» he said.
«This presentation of the studies’ findings to the CEAP offers useful inputs for the water group they lead, and SDC expects to continue supporting the reflections and potential areas of joint action,» he concluded.
In turn, Paola Buendía, executive deputy-chair of the National Association of Colombian Businessmen (ANDI), said that «ANDI has been very committed to this work, to this cooperation with Switzerland (…) all issues related to sustainability, the environment and green growth are also crucial today in all the economic recovery issues that we have outlined».
Mexico
Jesús Torres from ONCE Business Consultants and Juan Pablo Chargoy from CADIS presented the study ‘Analysis of public policies and market mechanisms that affect corporate water management’, conducted in Mexico, which consisted of two fundamental aspects:
1. An analysis of public policies and economic, regulatory and voluntary instruments that impact corporate water management. The study formulated a matrix with all the instruments identified in Mexico’s current legislation, classified them and the impact they have on the market, and identified the lessons learned from them for each instrument. The study conducted an analysis of water management stakeholders in Mexico to determine the level of influence and interest of different social groups. Finally, the working document incorporated the information gathered during the study.
The study formulated a comparative matrix of the principles, requirements and guidelines of the Mexican Draft Standard PROY-NMX-AA-184-SCFI-2019 and NMX-SAA-14046-IMNC-2017 at the request of the National Water Commission (CONAGUA), which played an active part in the analysis. It is important to note that Mexico has various economic instruments, regulation and voluntary schemes to influence corporate water management, the vast majority promoted and managed by the federal government through CONAGUA.
Colombia
Mónica Parra, who has a master’s degree in economics, was responsible for conducting and presenting the study carried out in Colombia. She mentioned that in addition to conducting an analysis of public policies and market mechanisms that affect corporate water management in Colombia, she also identified, analysed and highlighted the appropriate policy instruments to stimulate the sustainable use of water resources, stressing market instruments focused on the Pacific Alliance countries.
Peru and Chile
Elsa Galarza and José Luis Ruiz presented the study, in which they analysed the voluntary schemes that promote corporate water management within the framework of the Pacific Alliance, with emphasis on Peru and Chile. They also systematized voluntary experiences, identified the elements that could help scale them up and drafted a reflection on how public policies could promote voluntary schemes.
Documents to consult:
PDF COLOMBIA Presentation Analysis Policies and Instruments Water (spanish)
PDF PERU-CHILE- Presentation Corporate Water Management (spanish)
PDF MEXICO- Presentation Policies Water Standards (spanish)
Reports to consult:
PDF COLOMBIA Water Policies and Instruments Analysis Report (spanish)
PDF PERU-CHILE- Corporate Water Management Report (spanish)
PDF MEXICO- Water Policy and Standards Report (spanish)
Water Unites Us – SuizAgua
The «Water Unites Us» project seeks to improve knowledge of the impacts of the production of goods and services on water. It promotes public-private links for the integrated management of water resources, through the Blue Certificate and the water footprint.
Swiss Government cooperation’s Global Water Initiatives Programme has led the project, and has worked with the private sector, public institutions and think tanks since 2010 to promote responsible and committed water management in Colombia, Chile, Peru, Mexico and Brazil.
Useful links
SuizAgua Project, project factsheet, Swiss Embassy, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
The Water Unites Us website
