CAZALAC - Centro del Agua para Zonas Aridas de ALC

2004 CAZALAC Evaluation and Planning Workshop (La Serena - Chile, January 2004).

The Water Center for Arid and Semi-Arid Zones in Latin America and the Caribbean (CAZALAC) started its activities related to CAZALAC’s Establishment and Start-Up as of 2003, as a result of a covenant between the Government of Chile and UNESCO, with the financial support provided by the Government of Flanders, Belgium.

The first project evaluation meeting was held in La Serena, where CAZALAC is based, on January 22 – 23, 2004. Representatives of UNESCO, the Chilean and Flemish (Belgium) Governments attended this meeting as steering committee.

Objectives

Evaluating and revising the fulfillment of the Center’s goals in the first year of operation and defining the main activities to be developed in the 2004-2005 period were among the principal objectives of this meeting.

Results

The account presented by the Center’s Executive Director was favorably evaluated by the Steering Committee and basically referred to actions aimed at establishing basic administrative, juridical, office and staff infrastructure for this first stage, as well as the dissemination program (Website, newsletters) developed by the Center. The valuable support represented by the fiduciary UNESCO-Flanders fund and the significant technical support of UNESCO-Paris and the Regional Hydrologist of UNESCO-ROSTLAC and the Government of Flanders, and that from experts from several organizations and countries who collaborated in the Center’s activities during 2003 was highlighted.
The workshop on strategies to develop the Center (January 2003) fixing programmatic lines and roles that CAZALAC should fulfill in LAC was also favorably evaluated, as well as the international course on soil hydrology in arid zones, carried out in November 2003, within the scope of ELAFIS. In addition, a detail of activities and results obtained from several international meetings and workshops where the Center participated was presented (Wadi: UNESCO-Paris; Delft: Water Education; La Habana: UNCCD; Montevideo: Isarm).
In addition, the visions regarding the expectations that UNESCO and the Chilean and Flemish government view for CAZALAC were standardized, and how each one will collaborate to continue progressing with this project, since the CAZALAC project is particularly considered as a priority within the scope of the international collaboration program of the Science and Innovation Administration of the Flemish Government.

Participants

UNESCO:

Dr. Alberto Tejada-Guibert, Attached Secretary, International Hydrological Program (PHI), Water Science Division.

Government of Flanders:

Dr. Rudy Herman, Principal Researcher, Technology and Innovation Division, Science and Innovation Administration Ministry of Flanders.
Dr. Donald Gabriels, Soil Depertment, University of Ghent, Flanders.

Government of Chile:

Eng. Carlos Salazar, Head of the Study and Planning Department, General Water Directorate, representing Eng. Humberto Peña, President of CAZALAC’s Board, General Water Director and President of the CONAPHI-Chile.
Eng. Edmundo González, teacher at the University of La Serena, representing the Headmaster of University of La Serena, and a member to CAZALAC’s Board of Directors.
Dr. Roberto Pizarro, teacher of Water Basin Management and Hydrology, School of Forestry Engineering, School of Forestry Sciences, University of Talca.

CAZALAC:

Eng. Guido Soto, the Center’s Executive Director.

Invited Experts:

Dr. Deyanira Lobo, Institute of Edaphology, School of Agriculture, Universidad Central de Venezuela and Coordinator of ELAFIS.
Eng. Arturo Ruiz, Regional Water Director (alternate), of the IV Region of Coquimbo.
Eng. Manuel Soto, CAZALAC.