Water Resources Support from the Inter-American Development Bank Group 1990 - 2005
By Luis García, Silvia Ortiz (12/06, En) See also Environment and Natural Resources
Although most of Earth's surface is covered by water, approximately one billion people worldwide and 100 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean lack access to it. Even accounting for the fact that usable freshwater is only a small fraction of the total volume of this resource, there should be enough water for everyone to use if its distribution in time and space were homogeneous; if population concentrations coincided with the areas of high water yield; if its quality were not degraded by constant use; if aquifers were not overexploited; if administrative and political boundaries coincided with the natural boundaries of watersheds; if strategic national needs were reconciled with the needs of the local population; if everybody could participate in the decision-making process about how water should be used; if its economic value were reconciled with the human right of access to safe drinking water; if the ecosystems that protect and regulate the hydrological regime were included in the equation; if financial resources were sufficient and used efficiently; and if capacity were built into the institutional frameworks that manage water.
Clearly some of these imbalances cannot be corrected, but others can. Since its creation in 1961, the Inter-American Development Bank Group has been helping the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean to use the region's water resources in a more efficient manner. Indeed, the first project that the Bank financed in 1961 dealt with water supply. In the years since, the Bank and the region have evolved, and the Bank has adjusted paradigms in its approach to water financing. Since 1990, the Bank has moved from project-by-project investments in infrastructure to a more integrated and participative approach that facilitates the inclusion of social and environmental issues as well as technical and economic considerations into its water-related operations.
In responding to the challenges of the Millennium Development Goals, plans are underway to strengthen the role of the IDB in this sector. During the Fourth World Water Forum in Mexico, 2006, the President of the Bank set forth a series of guidelines in the context of an integrated water resources management approach that will help make this possible.
This account of the Bank's activities between 1990 and 2005 illustrates the contribution of the IDB Group to the efficient use of water resources in the region. This is the first report of this nature and, consequently, we expect to enhance the reliability of the data, particularly as data collection efforts improve, and to expand the level of analysis in future issues. To this end, we welcome comments and suggestions on how to make this a better contribution to knowledge in this area.
Last updated: 05/08/07
