Around the world, residents of many large cities are facing warnings of "day-zero" conditions for their water supply. These warnings often come with water restrictions, cut-offs, and concerns about water quality.
While climate change and historic droughts are frequently cited as causes, mismanagement and lack of preparedness are also significant factors, though these are less commonly discussed. Even less attention is given to issues of integrity and corruption, yet these lie at the heart of the water scarcity crisis in cities.
With accountability in mind, key questions arise: How are resources and funds managed to prevent or address water shortages? Who bears the brunt of the impacts? Who controls the data that guides decisions? Are resources allocated fairly, and how are priorities set? Who makes these decisions, and by what process?
At Integrity Talk 11, we explored these questions and the intersection of accountability and urban water scarcity, focusing on Latin America.
Featured speakers:
Emilie Dupuits (Universidad San Francisco de Quito)
Fermín Reygadas Robles Gil (Cántaro Azul)
Cody Copeland (Environmental Journalist, Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
Gonzalo Meschengieser (Cámara Argentina del Agua)
Tamara Luengo (Aqueducto)
Moderator: Jorge Alberto Arriaga Medina, Executive Coordinator, CERSHI
This summary highlights key points from Integrity Talk 11, organised by the Water Integrity Network (WIN) and UNESCO's Regional Water Security Center (CERSHI), held online on June 26, 2024. Video to follow!
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Takeaways
Collaborative efforts are essential: Addressing urban water scarcity demands collaboration between governments, academic institutions, and civil society organisations. Clear policies and funding are vital to support these efforts.
Transparency and accountability build trust: Transparent water management practices (which make monitoring possible) and strong accountability mechanisms (to ensure responsibilities are clear and acted on) are critical for building public trust and ensuring resources are used efficiently.
Technology and innovation drive progress: Advancements in technology, such as sophisticated monitoring systems and data analytics, offer significant opportunities to improve water management. Investment in research and development should be a priority.
Community engagement ensures effectiveness: Involving local and indigenous communities in water management ensures that initiatives meet real needs and foster a sense of ownership and responsibility.
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Addressing Water Scarcity through Collaboration
Jorge Arriaga: Collaboration is key to tackling water scarcity in cities, requiring active participation from governments, academia, and civil society. Governments must create frameworks that encourage collaboration to assess and manage water scarcity with clear policies and funding for joint projects. Academic institutions can provide research and innovative solutions, while civil society organisations play a critical role in advocating for sustainable practices, highlighting areas of need, and holding authorities accountable.
Emilie Dupuits: Collaboration not only fosters innovation but also allows for the sharing of best practices, which is crucial for addressing complex water issues. Community-based solutions must be addressed as well as nature-based solutions, especially in regions like Ecuador, where local and indigenous communities play a crucial role in water management. These communities manage water according to principles of reciprocity, territoriality, and culture, often voluntarily. For example, they have taken on the task of conserving water sources in the “páramos” because this leads to greater water availability for productive activities and for drinking water.
Tamara Luengo: In Mexico City, water scarcity is more a result of poor management than resource availability. Improved management practices could significantly alleviate the city's water crisis.
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The Role of Transparency and Accountability
Fermín Reygadas: Transparency in water management is essential for building public trust and ensuring efficient resource use. Accountability mechanisms are necessary to help in monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of policies and actions, leading to continuous improvement.
In Mexico, despite good national water laws, enforcement is weak. For example, very little investment is made in inspecting, sanctioning, and monitoring water quality, which leads to overexploitation and contamination of water resources. Water is increasingly being extracted from deeper sources where there is more arsenic. This has severe health repercussions. Also, there is a focus on rapid investments like constructing large dams instead of addressing root causes such as over-extraction and pollution.
“Without transparency and accountability for addressing water management, the cycle of ineffective practices will continue.”
- Fermín Reygadas
Cody Copeland: Without transparency and accountability, it is challenging to gain public support and ensure that water management practices are fair and just. These principles are fundamental to good governance and sustainable water management.
In Mexico, political polarisation weakens efforts to hold authorities accountable. There is a false perception of hope when polarisation deflects criticism from those in power, weakening efforts to hold them accountable.
For example, there is a new environmental regulation in Mexico City (Batres Law), which ostensibly aims to protect environmental areas but includes clauses that allow for land-use changes in conservation zones. In this sense, journalists are essential in bringing data to the public, enabling citizens to hold government officials accountable for their actions. In a polarised political climate, the role of the independent media becomes even more critical as it can cut through the rhetoric and provide factual information to the public.
"It's not just about having laws and regulations in place; it's about ensuring these laws are transparent and that there are clear accountability mechanisms to enforce them. When citizens can see and understand how decisions are made and have the power to hold officials accountable, it leads to better governance and more sustainable water management practices."
- Cody Copeland
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Leveraging Technology and Innovation
Tamara Luengo: Technology offers numerous opportunities to improve water management, from advanced monitoring systems to data analytics that help us to understand usage patterns, detect leaks, and optimise resource allocation.
Gonzalo Meschengieser: Latin America faces significant inequality and urbanisation challenges, including the provision of water to large numbers of people in informal settlements. Water scarcity is more often a crisis of management rather than the actual availability of water. Investing in research and developing new technologies is essential for creating efficient and sustainable water management systems. Innovation drives progress and can significantly reduce the impacts of water scarcity.
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The Importance of Community Engagement
Emilie Dupuits: Community engagement ensures that water management initiatives address the genuine needs of the people. The active participation from communities in decision-making processes fosters a sense of ownership and responsibility, leading to more successful and sustainable outcomes.
Here’s an example illustrating the complexity of dynamics at play. There is a significant challenge in providing water security to urban areas to the detriment of rural communities and often compromising the water security of rural and indigenous communities, who themselves have historically protected the vital ecosystems in catchment areas.
“There is a need for justice in water security and the importance of recognising and valuing the conservation efforts of rural and indigenous communities to maintain a balanced and equitable approach.”
- Emilie Dupuits
Fermín Reygadas: Community engagement helps to raise awareness about water issues and encourages responsible water usage. When people understand the challenges and are involved in water management, they are more likely to support and contribute to solutions.
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Integrating Water Management with Urban Planning
Jorge Arriaga: Integrating water management policies with broader urban planning and development strategies ensures that water considerations are included in all aspects of city growth. This holistic approach is necessary for creating resilient and sustainable urban environments.
Tamara Luengo: Policymakers need to coordinate water resources planning with urban planning to avoid conflicts and ensure sustainable water use. Coordinated efforts between different sectors and departments are crucial to create cohesive strategies that address both water management and urban development needs. Without such integration, water policies may fail to support broader city planning objectives, leading to inefficiencies and missed opportunities for sustainable growth.
Photo: Pexels - Luis Quintero https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-gray-faucet-2339722/
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