Balancing water and land management in Latin America
Climate change is projected to redistribute water supplies throughout the globe by significantly modifying rainfall patterns. Meeting the challenge of maintaining a sustainable supply of water will be critical, especially in urban areas. The INCO 2 Programme brought together experts from France, the United Kingdom, Brazil and Bolivia to examine the situation in Latin America. The NEGOWAT participants employed an integrated approach, examining all upstream and downstream stakeholders in the specific catchments areas studied in Sao Paolo. Further to extensive background research, a general framework was developed that takes into account various mechanisms for policy formulation and enforcement, environmental quality, economics and other social constraints. Special attention was paid to the interaction between land and water management. The goal of NEGOWAT was to funnel the accumulated knowledge and insight back into the local community. They accomplished this task by organising workshops, by participating in catchment committees and, by establishing links with the stakeholders. Important advances were also made at the level of individual NEGOWAT partners. These include the creation of new institutions addressing water rights as well as new research projects dedicated to water usage in urban agriculture. Additional progress was achieved by putting measures in place to improve environmental protection and to streamline property management within catchment areas.
