The legal and regulatory framework of water utilities in Peru provides opportunities for local financing of investments. Despite this, the sector remains heavily dependent on public financing. Action has been taken by the World Bank to initiate a study investigating the barriers to local private funding. This case study illustrates that public loans, private loans and equity investment are appropriate to fund the necessary investment.
In Kyrgyzstan, lack of drinking water and access to sanitation is a pressing problem which reinforces social vulnerability and poverty. Financed by the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank, actions have been taken to improve access to drinking water and sanitation by the Ministry of Health. These projects had a high level of community involvement which increased the sense of ownership.
Water policy goals for a sustainable future will be at the top of the agenda when 1200 participants get together in Hungary for the Budapest Water Summit next week. A delegation from GWP will emphasize the need for a dedicated water goal on the post-2015 agenda.
Half of the land area of Tien Giang Province in Vietnam is exposed to annual floods and the other half to saline intrusion. Action was taken to formulate the National RWSS Strategy and efforts were made to make local communities aware of methods and approaches in harvesting water and well drilling that are cost effective and sustainable in their development. The key lesson is the value of appropriate planning prior to any project.
Despite high water availability in Jamaica, uneven distribution in both time and space creates local scarcity. Hence, it is problematic to distribute water adequately to all sectors, and to develop abstraction points for water treatment. To address the issues, action was taken and a Water Sector Reform was proposed, including a Water Sector Strategy and Action Plan. From this experience, the lesson learned is the importance of coordinating activities and harmonising policies, legislation and institutions.
GWP Hungary organized 6th final of the Danube Box contest on 25 May 2013 at the Hungarian Geological and Geophysical Institute in Budapest.
Decentralised small water retention measures are important sources of water during dry periods in Central and Eastern Europe, according to drought experts who met on 28-29 October in Warsaw, Poland.
The area of Zarati river sub basin belongs to important water recharge zones. There is, however, a need to restore the area, which has been susceptible to degradation. Action has been taken in a bottom-up manner, applying Participatory Rural Assessment. Important lessons can be drawn from this in terms of IWRM, as it sets a clear example of active participation of the communities and the local authorities.
Astien groundwater aquifer has been subjected to over-use due to good water quality and over-extraction. To address this, SMETA, a syndicate of local authorities, was established to organise the management of the aquifer. Key lesson learnt is that an organisation like SMETA can prove to be a successful forum for groundwater protection.