Financing
Water and Sanitation Services
in Latin America and the Caribbean
Inter-American
Development Bank Initiative
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Background The United Nations Millennium Goals (MDGs) propose that by 2015 the number of the world population without adequate water and sanitation services will be cut in half. This is a considerable challenge for Latin America, where, taking into account expected population increase, water services will need to be extended to nearly 120 million persons and sanitation services to nearly 140 million persons. Since its establishment, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has been actively involved in financing water-related projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. In this sector, the Bank has invested approximately US$ 3.8 billion since 1994. The Bank's Integrated Water Resources Management Strategy, approved in 1998, promotes the concepts of private participation, and the promotion of public-private partnerships in the sector. On November 10, 2003 the IDB launched an Initiative on Increasing Financing for Water and Sanitation Services in Latin America. The objective of the IDB's Initiative is to assist and help borrowing member countries in their efforts to increase water and sanitation coverage in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals. The Bank will use all its financial and non-financial instruments to support its members. As part of this initiative a series of regional seminars will be organized by the IDB to provide an adequate framework for discussion with key stakeholders on mechanisms, options and factors that would increase investments and coverage (in accordance with the MDGs) in the water and sanitation sector in Latin America and the Caribbean. Identifying a new Water Agenda, financial instruments, and financially sustainable alternatives will help the countries in the Region to solve the pressing problems in the water and sanitation sector where, in most countries, only a small portion of these needs are presently being satisfied due to lack of financial resources both public as well as private. Specific Objectives The specific objectives are to: (a) raise awareness of central and local government authorities to the substantial investments required to reach the MDGs in water and sanitation; (b) identify the major obstacles that have hindered investments in the sector and that could jeopardize compliance with the MDGs in the upcoming years; and (c) discuss solutions that will enable countries in the region to increase coverage of the services while maintaining adequate fiscal discipline. Initiative Activities Component I: Seminar Series on Financing Water and Sanitation The main objective of this component is to organize four seminars. The first one will be a conference that will take place in Washington, D.C. and the others will be regional seminars in South America, Central America and the Caribbean. These events will gather leading experts from the Region and key stakeholders to discuss: a) rates of investment in the sector and future needs; b) fiscal and budgetary constraints at the local and national levels; c) financial sustainability of water and sanitation systems; d) the reform process, including the legal and regulatory environments; e) incentive structures for private sector participation; and f) access to local capital markets and financing instruments (guarantees, sub sovereign bonds, funds, etc). The seminar series will be targeted to authorities from central and municipal governments, service providers from the public and private sectors, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that supply water and sanitation services to rural communities and peri-urban areas, representatives from the major multinational firms in the sector, and public and private financial institutions. November 11-12, 2003 April 20-22, 2004 April 26, 2004 Component II: Documents and Dissemination A series of background studies will be commissioned in preparation for the seminars series. Click here to access the documents available at this time. The future studies, presentations and documents will be published and upload in this website.
Last update: 05/03/04
Infrastructure
and Financial Markets Division |
