Publication: Water Matters: Resilient, Inclusive and Green Growth through Water Security in Latin America
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Date
2022
ISSN
Published
2022
Author(s)
World Bank
Abstract
Water security is a matter of
increasing concern across the world and Latin America and
the Caribbean (LAC) is no exception. With rapidly growing
demands for water and increasing variability due to climate
change, ensuring water access to all users and mitigating
water-related risks should be at the center of national and
regional adaptation strategies. With nearly a third of the
world's water resources, the LAC region's
development has been inadvertently driven by water. This
rich water endowment has allowed LAC to position itself as
the world's largest net food-exporting region and
greenest in terms of electricity production through
hydropower. Water has played a fundamental role in reducing
poverty, preserving LAC's natural wealth, and
accelerating economic growth. More importantly, access to
safe drinking water and sanitation services has contributed
to improve the health and living conditions of millions of
people. Despite this progress, there are urgent water sector
challenges that threaten the region's sustainable
development. Access to water and sanitation services is
inequitable, with greater gaps in rural, indigenous, and
peri-urban communities. In addition, water-related extremes
such as floods and droughts are becoming more frequent and
severe, having negative effects in lower-income communities.
These gaps are more likely to be broadened by unsustainable
water management practices, growing demands by competing
water users, increasing pollution, and climate change
impacts. In LAC, inadequate infrastructure results in a lack
of storage and limited investment reduces the capacity of
institutions to achieve integrated water resources
management and improve service provision. The Stockholm
International Water Institute (SIWI) conducts research,
convenes multi stakeholder dialogues, builds institutional
capacity, and provides policy advice to water
decision-makers. Focused on improving water governance, the
authors aim to contribute to more prosperous and inclusive societies.
Citation
“World Bank. 2022. Water Matters: Resilient, Inclusive and Green Growth through Water Security in Latin America. © Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/37214 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”