Exchange of experiences: transboundary water resources management
27 May 2024
The Association of European Regions (AEBR) has participated in the Euro-Latin American forum for the exchange of experiences and best practices on transboundary water resources management.
Organised by the Binational Authority of Lake Titicaca (ALT), AEBR’s strategic partner on the Bolivia-Peru border, the forum was chaired by the Peruvian government (represented by Ambassador Franca Deza) and the Bolivian government (with Foreign Minister Maritza Castro).
In the context of global climate change, the ALT is experiencing big challenges with the management of the Titicaca’s transboundary hydric basin. The increasingly scarce water threatens both the water and food security of communities dependent on the lake, and pollution in the rivers nearby further worsens these issues. This scenario is emphasizing the need to address both water availability and quality for Bolivia and Peru through a greater and more effective governance system by the ALT.
During the workshop, esteemed panellists such as Marc Daniel, Executive Director of the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine (ICPR), Dr. Sebastián Amestoy, Secretary of the Uruguay River Administrative Commission (CARU), and José María Cruz, cross-border cooperation expert of AEBR, shared meaningful perspectives and experiences in transboundary hydric resource management. Joining this collaboration for the first time was also Liset Hernández Hernández, Executive Secretary of the Trifinio’s Trinational Plan.
The workshop facilitated an exchange of different international experiences in governance and management practices, highlighting the importance of engaging stakeholders at different levels of political responsibility along with grassroots social actors to build a governance system with greater realism and efficacy. The ALT’s proactive participation and extensive inquiring to the panellists exposed a keen interest in learning from their colleagues’ expertise to update their own approaches.
As discussions unfolded at the end of the workshop, the word ‘trust’ emerged, for it was said mutual collaboration to be crucial. Being able to rely on your partners and fellow practitioners who have undergone similar experiences reaffirmed the notion that learning-sharing is instrumental in addressing complex challenges and developing sustainable solutions.
When the workshop concluded, a significance reflection emerged regarding triangular cooperation, and it is no other than the power of its transformative potential. The synergy created between knowledge providers and recipients throughout Adelante2 has sparked a chain reaction of hydric resources’ governance learning and teaching that will continue to spread. It is through such collaborative efforts that meaningful progress is made, and we, at AEBR, could not be happier about it.
Euro-Latin American forum for the exchange of experiences’s experts
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