ECLAC participates in the IV Workshop on Transboundary Water Management "Tools and processes to accelerate the progress of Cooperation in Transboundary Water Management"

For the fourth consecutive year, between May 31 and June 1, 2022, the Transboundary Water Management Workshop organized by CCAD with the support of GWP Central America was held in order to present tools for the acceleration of the progress of the Cooperation in the Management of Transboundary Waters.

This event, in which representatives of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) also participated, was attended by the Natural Resources Division of ECLAC through the intervention of Dr Silvia Saravia Matus, economic affairs officer of the Water and Energy Unit.

The Doctor presented the coordination mechanisms that ECLAC is carrying out in the context of the United Nations Water Conference 2023. The activities promoted by the Water and Energy Unit to identify the main courses of action to accelerate the implementation of SDG 6: the regional group of experts on water resources in LAC, the holding of the second edition of the regional event " Water Dialogues 2022" and the public consultation for the establishment of regional priorities in water resources.

Regarding the consolidation of the Regional Group of Experts on Water Resources in LAC, its composition and main lines of action were detailed. Concerning the "Water Dialogues 2022" event, the key messages of the Central American countries that had participated in the Dialogue were presented: the Dominican Republic, highlighting the creation of a Water Cabinet; Costa Rica and its social rate policy and; Panama, with its programs of environmental incentives and promotion of green technology.

In addition to this, the results of the Public Consultation on priorities in Water Resources in the region were shown, carried out between April and June 2022, in which almost 2,000 people from the region participated and from which it can be extracted that the issues prioritized both in Central America and throughout the region are access to drinking water and sanitation and governance and institutional framework for Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).

It was also highlighted that the following products are derived from these three initiatives: the world report to be presented at the 2023 Water Conference, the report for the Secretary-General for the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly and the inputs for the parallel event in the context of the 2023 Water Conference, where the countries of the region will have the opportunity to show their progress in terms of water resources.

In addition, Silvia Saravia presented the ECLAC proposal for a sustainable and inclusive water transition in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the opportunities for the acceleration of SDG 6 in the region.