Workshop: Strategies to Develop Water Resources in Arid Zones in Latin America and the Caribbean (La Serena - Chile, January 15, 16 & 17, 2003).
The workshop “Strategies to Develop Water Resources in Arid Zones of Latin America and the Caribbean” was carried out in La Serena, Chile on January 15 – 17, 2003. CAZALAC was in charge of organizing this event, where the Science Committee of CONAPHI-Chile and UNESCO also participated. Financing was obtained from the General Water Directorate, which allocated funds to install the Center and from the UNESCO-Flanders fund, the Operation Plan of which had included this activity in the relevant Operation Plan. Attendance: A total of 56 delegates attended the workshop (this figure was increased to 77 participants with the attendance of eventual participants from several local institutions), from 20 countries of Latin America, North America, Europe, Africa and the Near East.
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Program
The program considered the participation of renown scientist at an international level, who presented significant issues related to water resources in arid zones. After, work groups were organized, who developed and discussed different programmatic lines and proposed tasks to be developed by the Center in the future.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Center Programmatic Lines. It was proposed that the thematic lines developed in the workshop should be included as the Center’s programmatic lines at the level of arid and semi-arid zones in LAC, considering research, training and development of water resources. These guidelines are:
- Evaluation of water resources
- Efficient use of water
- Water management models
- Environmental aspects
- Economic and social aspects.
Database regional center. In order to join efforts in research and development on arid zones of the region, the need was identified that CAZALAC creates and coordinates a wide regional database (hydrological data, processes, researchers, etc.) including institutions, researchers, projects and studies, the topic of which is focused on the above identified lines. In addition, it is important that, as the database is implemented, the Center must promote the formation of water specialized teams, regarding those issues defined as top priority.
International programs collaborator and catalyzer. Efforts shall be made so that CAZALAC acts as a collaborator / catalyzer of international programs (HELP, Millennium Assessment, FRIENDS, WWAP, etc.), supporting and closely collaborating with the focal points in Latin America of these programs.
Specialized dissemination Center. It is recommended to position CAZALAC as a specialized dissemination pole regarding information exchange and progresses made in research and development of technologies and methodologies tending to improve water management effectiveness and efficiency in arid and semi-arid zones in LAC. This positioning should be achieved by organizing seminars, newsletters and regular dissemination documents on the indicated issues, in addition to developing and implementing CAZALAC’s Website, that will operate as an electronic information showcase and act as a link and contact point among the different researchers, institutions and organizations in the Region.
Node with Specialized Centers and Conventions. It is proposed that CAZALAC acts, on the one hand, at an international level, as one of the specialized center nodes regarding research and development in arid zones, developing and promoting experience exchange with other centers such as the Egypt Center, specialized institutions of Israel, the United Kingdom, Germany, etc. And, on the other, to establish links that make it possible to develop synergies with the UN Conventions on the environment: Biodiversity, Desertification, Climate Change, Wetlands (Ramsar).
Reinforcement and synergies between CAZALAC and the CONAPHIs in ALC. It is proposed that the Center’s scope should be extended in the region through a focal point network, the nodes of which are represented by leading institutions and researchers in several research and development areas on water management in arid zones in each country. Therefore, CAZALAC will encourage synergy inside the national PHIs, providing benefits both to the Center itself and to the national CONAPHIs.
Financing. In addition, an initial fund must be obtained to ensure the Center’s stability and its start-up and future actions.
CAZALAC’s Action Plan and Development Policies. For a good Center operation, establishing a policy and a medium and long term strategic plan was considered of extreme importance, in function of the results of this workshop, allocating priority to those aspects and needs that involve the sub-regions level and the region of LAC as a whole. Also, in the short term, it is suggested that concrete outputs should be delivered, such as the map of arid zones in LAC, the water balance by country and other urgent issues at a regional level. In first instance, several contacts have been established to begin developing the actions proposed in the workshop. Thus, a science exchange collaboration covenant was subscribed with the UFZ of the University of Leipzig, Germany, which includes post-grade scholarships, post-grade courses, summer schools, scientific meetings, among others. Also, conversations are in progress to formulate and develop joint cooperation projects for training and teaching several topics relating to arid zones, between the Water Center and the University of Ghent, Belgium; the IWST Institute, University of Ben-Gurion, Israel; the University of Waterloo, Canada; FAO-FODEPAL and the UN convention to Combat Desertification and Drought (UNCCD).
Final report
The complete report on this workshop can be requested from the following e-mail address cazalac@cazalac.org
