Innovative Solution

water management, network, developing countries, Latin America, water quality, capacity building, governance, IWRM

technical

Capacity building

Integrated Water Resources Management

Policy

Research

In Latin America (LA) there are a number of knowledge institutions with a high level of technical expertise and with a long experience in the water sector. Although cooperation between some LA research institutions and countries exists, this is not usually the case in the whole continent. The EU has acknowledged the significance of assisting Latin American countries in the water sector through partnerships to further strengthen multi-stakeholder policy dialogue and assist in institutional strengthening, in line with its main policy dialogue instrument in the water sector, the EU Water Initiative (EUWI). This project will improve the water management governance beginning on a technical level cooperation in order to assist the decision making processes at political level.

The specific objective of RALCEA is to foster information based policy and to promote south-south cooperation on capacity development in the water sector by supporting the development of a network of knowledge centres. The project duration is 4 years, starting from the second half of 2010.

The expected results of the RALCEA Project are to support the establishment of a network of knowledge centres in the water sector. To this end, a plan of activities to improve coordination of knowledge centres research work and to reinforce such coordination towards the support to the policy decision level will be implemented. Complementarily, a common strategic plan in capacity development will be settled. Emphasis will be put in governance technical training addressed to scientific and technical staff as well as technical training addressed to policy-makers, in order to reinforce mutual understanding. Therefore, the development of capacities in the water sector in Latin America is expected to contribute to a sustainable management of water resources and to obtain information-based policies, in line with the objectives of the EU Water Initiative in the region.

The project will be carried out in Latin America. In this region there is abundance of water resources but their availability varies widely between and inside countries. In parts of the region, the current patterns of water use are unsustainable.

The EU has acknowledged the significance of assisting Latin American countries in the water sector through partnerships to further strengthen multi-stakeholder policy dialogue and assist in institution building also through its main policy dialogue instrument in the water sector, the EU Water Initiative (EUWI).This initiative is the main policy forum in the water sector for EU external aid and seeks to assist partner countries in the development and implementation of water and sanitation policies, strategies and priorities, facilitating donors alignment and support. This project responds to the needs identified on the framework of the EUWI Latin America Working Group. The group is lead by the Spanish government and composed by EU member states and all the Latin American water directorates represented in the Latin American Conference of Water Directors (Conferencia de Directores de Agua, CODIA).

RALCEA project will be implemented in four years . After the initial first year, the RALCEA Knowledge Centres have been selected through a call for collaboration that was disseminated at continental level with an important success: 56 candidates representing 12 LAC countries. As a result 13 Latin American Knowledge Centres were selected representing 26 institutions from 12 different countries. During the next coming years the Knowledge Centres will work on the following  thematic areas: Regional Water Balance, Stakeholder mapping, and Water Quality and Sanitation. The activities to be implemented are now under discussion and will start later on this year.

In Latin America there is a number of knowledge institutions with a high level of technical and scientific expertise and with a long experience in the water sector. However, these institutions have traditionally worked independently disconnected from the policy level. This project will improve the water management governance beginning on a technical level cooperation on the capacity development in order to impact the sector decision making at the political level. The capacity development in the water sector in Latin America will contribute to a sustainable water resources management and to obtain information-based policies, coherently with the objectives of the EU Water Initiative in the region. This project aims to address capacity development and knowledge management in the sector at technical and socio-economic level through south to south cooperation.

RALCEA network is improving the cooperation and communication among key research and higher education institutes. The sustainability of the network will be ensured by the Knowledge Centres together with the support of RALCEA, EUWI and the CODIA.

Other Centres of Excellence project in Africa, funded by the EU, is currently under implementation by the JRC. The project opened the way for the EU to support south to south cooperation in capacity development in the water sector.

Development and aid in the water sector is frequently dependent from Northern countries expertise both in terms of knowledge and human resources (consultancy). The new approach to Technical Cooperation of the EU is meant to address this issue. In Latin America, Knowledge Centres in the water sector already exist, but in many cases they operate as isolated institutions and initiatives.

The Iberoamerican System of Information on Water (SIAGUA) will be complementary to a more sector technological oriented networking information to be developed by this EU project. The CODIA initiative, above mentioned, is currently ongoing, and benefits from a strong political support. The CODIA is also collaborating with the EU Water Initiative and it shares with it some of the general objectives. Spain is the leader of the EUWI Latin America component and hosts the secretariat of the CODIA. CODIA is linked with the SEGIB (The Ibero-American General Secretary), which based in Spain. The SEGIB organises the Ibero-American Annual Summit and similar forums in different sectors. All these initiatives (CODIA, SEGIB, SIAGUA) currently in place have been contacted and their collaboration in the project is guaranteed.

Cesar CARMONA-MORENO, PhD EUROPEAN COMMISSION – JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE Environment and Sustainability Institute – “Water Resources Unit” Tel: +39 0332 78 96 54 Fax: +39 0332 78 90 73 cesar.carmona-moreno@jrc.ec.europa.eu HTTP://ies.jrc.ec.europa.eu