Changing this reality is possible, and very successful cases are showing it, but it requires will and grassroots participatory processes, paving the way for real governance, with a holistic approach. Participatory water management is the engine to stimulate the implementation of national policies on the environment, adaptation to climate change and water resources in Colombia, as in many Latin American countries. The participatory management of water resources and its planning can have wonderful effects on the management of the territory and even on the resolution of conflicts at decision levels that go beyond the environmental sphere and transcend social and political dimensions. There is a need to transfer knowledge, technologies and capacities to those who manage water in rural areas and achieve to navigate the legal, fiscal, commercial, sanitary and environmental framework of water supply. Likewise, the global trend in addressing water management is evident: to invest in effective social participation mechanisms that translate into governance efforts and that help drive processes towards more equitable, efficient and simple water management. It is necessary to strengthen grassroots organizations, enabling them to access public resources and providing them with appropriate and sustainable technological solutions (simple, cost-efficient, based on nature and compatible with alternative energies) to guarantee a supply of drinking water in optimal quantity and quality. The world has planetary (the Sustainable Development Goals), regional (Water Framework Directive - Europe), and national (PNGIRH - Colombia) policies, which are based on similar conceptual bases regarding water as a resource, a right, and a subject of participatory management and governance. Latin America will have to unite, adjust and give real applicability to its national policies for a fair and transparent management of water resources.
At Fundación Humedales, we deeply believe in this approach and we are aware that “water is fuelling of our future”. That is why, together with communities, we support Participatory Water Resource Management projects, through the implementation of Nature-based Solutions (NbS), the alternatives for a sustainable future. An example is the Agua Segura project in Colombia, which consisted in the organizational strengthening of the communities of Bocas del Carare and Isla Renacer, in order to formalize their Associations of Users/Subscribers of Aqueduct and Sewerage. In addition, a renewal and expansion of the drinking water supply infrastructure was carried out, reaching 100% coverage, subsidies were provided to enable a correct operation of the infrastructure in the long term, and associations were formally established as service providers to the Water Regulation Commission and the Superintendence of Public Services. All this with the support of the German Federal Ministry for Development Cooperation, the Wilo Foundation, the Global Nature Fund, Fundación Humedales, FEDARBOY and the municipality of Puerto Parra. Today, ASUAISRE (Association of Aqueduct Users of Renacer Island) and ASÄBCARARE (Association of Aqueduct and Sewerage Subscribers of Bocas del Carare) offer 100 litres of drinking water per day per person and domestic wastewater treatment to more than 700 neighbours as a result of a participatory exercise, humanized and closely connected with community and environmental realities.
About the author
Julia Pérez Sillero is an conservationist, a specialist in International Development Cooperation, management and participatory management of water resources and a consultant for NGOs. She is the coordinator of the international cooperation unit at Fundación Humedales in Colombia, and is fully convinced of the power of the changes generated when working hand in hand with communities.
Fundación Humedales is a Colombian NGO founded in 2000 in Bogotá, with the objective of contributing to the conservation and management of aquatic ecosystems, based on a comprehensive human and environmental approach. In compliance with this purpose, we develop projects for the conservation, management and participatory management of natural resources, environmental education programs, improvement of productive practices and strengthening of community associations, by developing strategies for the inclusion of gender and minority groups in scientific research.
