THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF REGIONALISM AND INTERNATIONAL WATERS - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Washington, DC June , 2013

THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF REGIONALISM AND INTERNATIONAL WATERS

Lessons from the Regionalization of Water Programs in the Americas

Cletus Springer/Maximiliano Campos Department of Sustainable Development (DSD-SEDI) Organization of American States (OAS)

Overview and Context

• The Organization of American States (OAS) is the oldest public

international organization in the world.

• The OAS brings together all 35 independent states of the Americas

and constitutes the main political, juridical, and social governmental forum in the Hemisphere. In addition, it has granted permanent

• bserver status to 67 states, as well as to the European Union (EU).
• Brings together countries of the Western Hemisphere to strengthen

cooperation and advance in common interests.

• The Organization was established in order to achieve among its

member states, as stipulated in Article 1 of its Charter…………..

"an order of peace and justice, to promote their solidarity, to strengthen their collaboration, and to defend their sovereignty, their territorial integrity, and their independence”.....

Basis for Action

• Executive Order No. 96-6 (Creation of DSD)
• Summit of the Americas Process
• General Assembly Resolutions
• CIDI and CIDS Resolutions
• Santa Cruz +10 Declaration
• Inter-American Program on Sustainable Development (PIDS) 2006-

2009 (extended to 2014),

• Declaration of Santo Domingo for the Sustainable Development of

the Americas;

• Strategic Plan for Partnerships for Integral Development
• Declaration on Security in the Americas (October 28, 2003)
• PC Committee on Hemispheric Security
• Joint Consultative Organ (JCO) on Natural Disasters
• National Focal Points (Networks)

Department Sustainable Development

• More than 50 years of experience on Sustainable Development and Environment in the

Americas.

• Principal Technical Arm of GS/OAS, responsible for supporting Political Organs of

OAS and meeting technical-policy needs of Member States on Environment and Sustainable Development.

• Facilitates regional exchange of information and cooperation on Sustainable

Development through project execution, policy recommendations, support to political bodies and Ministerial Processes.

• Vehicle for Public Participation in Sustainable Development and Environmental

Management (Secretariat for ISP and highest percentage of Civil Society relations in the Organization)

• Supports Program of Work of the General Secretary of OAS in addressing Democracy

and Development by fostering cooperation among countries with shared circumstances

• r problems and by strengthening multinational and national cooperation for sustainable

development and environment in its strategic areas.

Strategic Priority Areas

• Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)
• Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Use of Forests

– Sustainable Cities

• Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Mitigation
• Management of Natural Hazards Risk
• Environmental Law, Policy and Good Governance

Common challenges

• Exposure to extreme hydrological events linked to a changing climate;
• Water quality degradation from organic and chemical contaminants linked to

unregulated mining and industrial activities, sewerage discharge and pollution;

• Extensive sedimentation which degrades water quality and which affects navigable

waterways, harbors, dams and reservoirs;

• Biodiversity alteration in particular in fluvial and coastal ecosystems such as

wetlands;

• Unsustainable management of fisheries resources due to overexploitation, or lack
• f capture protection measures for non-target species;
• Unsustainable management of aquifers in critical recharge and discharge zones;
• Conflicts and negative environmental impacts generated by water use for crop

irrigation; and

• A lack of contingency plans for managing water-related disasters.

Common Challenges cont’d….

• a multiplicity of institutions or organizations that are primarily concerned with

water resource management at the national level

• Poor communication and coordination due to technical, political and financial

constraints

• Conflicting mandates, incompatible policies and duplication of effort especially

when dealing with inter-jurisdictional entities at local, sub-regional and national levels

• Weak technical capacity especially for dealing with water resources management

in a transboundary context

• The lack of an integrated water resources management vision
• Inappropriate land and soil use resulting from an expansion of the agricultural

frontier and urban encroachment

• Technological limitations on agricultural production resulting in deforestation
• Uncoordinated models for dam management at the basin level
• Urban development models with low level of resource allocation and marginal

and poor settlements.

• Lack of trust

Project-specific approaches

The approach used in the Americas has typically involved the following four stages:

• strengthening basin-wide cooperation capacity to establish the conditions

for providing participating institutions and governments with the management capacity for formulating SAPs for integrated water resources management and their subsequent implementation;

• harmonizing the institutional and legal frameworks including basin

decision support systems;

• promoting stakeholder participation, communication and education;
• monitoring and evaluating the SAPs including the preparation of

integrated water balances; assessing and monitoring water quality, integrated groundwater management; harmonizing national action plans for sustainable land management; and preparing hydro-climate models and scenarios for climate change adaptation

Developments

• Over the past 2 decades many transboundary

river management organizations established:

– Organization of the Amazon Treaty Cooperation (OTCA), – Intergovernmental Coordinating Committee for the La Plata Basin (CIC) – Binational Commission for the Development of the Upper Bermejo and the Grande de Tarija Rivers basin. – River Basin Committee (Sao Francisco)

Key Lessons

• SAPs developed through broad consultative processes and are grounded

in scientific and technical studies and focus on key issues, are usually capable of coping with changes in government or sudden shifts in political priorities.

• Financial partnerships must be an integral part of any SAP process, to

secure financing for its implementation and provide for continuity of actions

• public engagement processes are not only critical in highlighting

environmental issues but also pressing socio-economic priorities, resulting in SAPs that produce integrated sustainable development solutions that are not limited to solving the root causes of environmental degradation

• public participation in river basin management is more likely to be

effective if gender considerations are taken on board and measures are taken to address gender inequities.

COORDINATE WATER (& OTHER RESOURCES) MANAGEMENT MAXIMIZE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC WELFARE

(NON COMPROMIZING SUSTAINABILITY OF VITAL ECOSYSTEMS)

• Exponential contamination of

water.

• Decrease in financial

investments for maintenance and new hydraulic infrastructure (safe drinking water, sanitation, hydropower, transportation, tourism and recreation).

• Changes in water supply due to

climate variability and change.

• Increase in water demand due

to population growth and water’s associated services GLOBAL TO LOCAL CHALLENGES GENERAL SCENARIO IN THE AMERICAS

• Weak institutions, obsolete or fragmented legislation, limited investments and/or

financial mechanisms, unarticulated participation of civil society, private sector, academia and government, need for transparent management with information access and accountability …………. fragile GOVERNANCE OAS WATER AGENDA: Support Member States in developing plans, policies and

projects to improve management, protection, conservation and sustainable use of water resources in the framework of their efforts to reduce poverty, converting water resources in a factor for understanding, cooperation and integration as well as a mechanism to strength peace, democracy and to promote sustainable development. Good Governance Environment

Parnaíba River Basin - Brazil

Policy Level

Inter American Commission

• n Sust. Dev. (CIDS)

World Water Forum Upper Paraguay River Basin San Juan River Basin Water Resources in Brazil Guarani Aquifer Bermejo River Basin Rio de la Plata Basin IWRM Focal Points

Information Exchange Level

Project Level

OAS General Assembly DeltAmerica Water and Health Summit of the Americas Process Water and Youth Regional Dialogues Amazon Basin Rio Negro Basin San Francisco Artibonito PRODESAM - Brazil Wider Caribbean Water Resources Adaptation to Climate Change Coastal Caribbean Aquifers Esmeralda River Basin CEHICA INTERAGUAS-Brazil Satellite Program for Development Argentina Ministerial Transboundary Aquifers Focal Points ISARM-Americas Program

Deltamerica

ISARM Americas Phases

Phase I Inventory of Transboundary Aquifers of the Americas (2003 - 2006) Information on hydrogeology, present uses

• f aquifers, expected future

demand and scenarios

• 1st

Publicatio n

• Case

Studies

Phase II Institutional and legal issues (2006 - 2007), socio- economic and environmental aspects (2008-2009)

Analysis of institutional and legal frameworks in countries Analysis on socio- economic, environmen tal and climatic aspects

• 2nd

Publicatio n

• 3rd

Publicatio n

• Case

Studies

Extended to 2013

Regional Strategy for the Management of Transboundary Aquifer Systems (TAS) in the Americas

Background:

The Program is directed to promote the knowledge of transboundary groundwater resources and to encourage the collaboration between countries sharing the same resource, to achieve a consensus in the scientific, environmental, institutional, socioeconomic and legal ambience. Regional initiative presented by the IHP/UNESCO and DSD/OAS during the XXXII Congress of the Latin-American Association of Groundwater Hydrology for the Development, and the International Association of Hydrogeology, in Mar del Plata, October 2002.

Coordinated by

Coordination Committee

• UNESCO International Hydrological Programme (IHP)
• Organization of the American States (DSD/OAS) - Department of Sustainable

Development

AND

National Coordinators of the Member States in:

North America: Canada, United States of America, México. Caribbean: Haiti, Dominican Republic. Central America: Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama. South America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia , Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname.

Future Actions – 2013 ……

• Suggested theme for Book V: Guidelines for policy makers - a selection of relevant Case Studies ..…. REGIONS with

emerging issues. (of CONCERN).

• Political process at the OAS for the Americas based on Book IV and the UN Resolution on Transboundary

Aquifers.

Thank you! www.oas.org/dsd CSpringer@oas.org MCampos@oas.org