Water Resources and Coastal Areas
Inland, coastal and marine water resources and
their management will be a decisive factor in the economic future of
our hemisphere. The economic, social and environmental concerns and
prospects surrounding water resource management offer the countries
of the Americas a rare opportunity for constructive collaboration
between insular and coastal States. Taking this into account, and
recognizing mandates that resulted
from the Summit in Santa Cruz, the region has been successful in
implementing various programs and projects that address issues
pertaining to potable water, integrated water resources management
and coastal and marine resources.
Potable Water
Regarding the issue of potable water, the most
notable change since the Santa Cruz Summit has been that trends in
water treatment have shifted. Traditional forms of water treatment
and management have been replaced with integrated,
multi-institutional environmental protection efforts. Some examples
of this are the following:
- Mexico's Clean Water Program and Brazil's Safe Water Project
were implemented to improve the quality of their drinking water
while working to protect water resources and enhance
installation and rehabilitation techniques;
- In the Caribbean, Barbados, Belize, Jamaica and Trinidad and
Tobago have notably improved efforts in pollution control and
coastal area practices;
- Colombia is creating a Clean Water Information System, which
will serve as a planning mechanism to help prioritize
investments and facilitate coordination among the entities
responsible for water basin conservation; and
- Several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have
established and or strengthened their water laws to incorporate
concepts of environmental conservation.
Integrated Water Resources Management
Since the Santa Cruz Summit, a new approach to
water management has been undertaken which supports management
decentralization, an increase in public participation, and the view
that water is an economic asset for sustainable growth. Two
countries have made marked efforts to implement this new managerial
approach:
- Jamaica, 1 January 1997: established a permit and licensing
system that minimizes development-induced environmental damage
by using environmental auditing and impact assessment.
- Peru: adopted new water legislation that encourages the
decentralization and privatization of water management.
Public participation, access, and education have
improved in several countries:
- Brazil: created the Citizens for Water Movement to foster
community involvement in water resources development;
- Argentina: initiated school and community educational
activities to raise awareness; and
- Peru: developed training programs for water users and created
a series of workshops, entitled "Environment: Institutional
Participation and Citizenship."
Transboundary water issues have led to the
creation of several projects which establish bilateral agreements
between the following countries:
- Canada and the United States, October, 1997: the Great Lakes
Information Network conference offers information about the
protection of their lakes;
- Brazil and Uruguay: integrated the management of the Cuareím
River Basin;
- The Caribbean Project for Planning for Adaptation to Climate
Change assists eleven Caribbean countries with adaptation to
global climate change; and
- Countries, including Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, have
adopted a "user/polluter pays" initiative to improve
water allocation and pollution control.
Coastal and Marine Resources
In an attempt to combat pollution and degradation
that has been caused by oil activities and the disposal of urban
wastewater and industrial waste in the coastal areas, the following
have been established or carried out:
- Seminar on Integrated Water Resources Management:
Institutional and Policy Reform - Port of Spain, Trinidad, 24-27
June 1997: addressed the need to manage water resources in an
integrated manner;
- Jamaica helped negotiate the Protocol on Land-Based Sources
and Activities that Pollute the Marine Environment; and
- Regarding the Caribbean, support has been garnered from the
GEF, the IDB, the Caribbean Development Bank, FAO, CIDA, and the
governments of France, the Republic of China, Japan and the
United States to place emphasis on coastal-zone management.
Obstacles
- Chronic problems pertaining to water pollution, degradation and
human health will persist unless water-resources management
becomes more integrated.
- The implementation and continued maintenance of an integrated
water management system is extremely costly.
- There is a general lack of information concerning transboundary
water resources issues.
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