World Bank2014-04-162014-04-162014https://hdl.handle.net/10986/17827Cartagena, the historic city where the '1983 Cartagena convention for the Protection of the Caribbean' was signed, is meeting its responsibilities to protect the public health of its citizens as well as the costal marine environment through improved wastewater management. Cartagena's experience can serve as an inspiration to the wider Caribbean region and provide a model for other developing coastal cities. Water pollution control is a key issue for the world's coastal cities. Pollution emanating from domestic and industrial wastewater can not only contaminate the ocean environment but also damage highly productive estuaries and bays that provide a critical ecological connection to the marine environment. Inadequate wastewater management can also pollute urban beaches, potentially threatening public health and undermining tourism. This technical note summarizes Cartagena's experience in wastewater management for international dissemination and was jointly prepared by the World Bank, the Colombian Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, the Cartagena water utility (ACUACAR), and the Global Partnership for the Oceans (GPO).El control de la contaminación del agua es clave para las ciudades costeras en todo el mundo. Los contaminantes que provienen de las aguas residuales domésticas e industriales pueden contaminar no solo el medio ambiente del océano sino también dañar estuarios y bahías sumamente productivos que proporcionan una conexión ecológica fundamental al medio ambiente marino. El manejo deficiente de las aguas residuales también puede afectar a las playas urbanas, amenazando la salud pública y perjudicando el turismo. Con la gestión mejorada de sus aguas residuales, la ciudad histórica de Cartagena está asumiendo su responsabilidad de proteger la salud de sus ciudadanos y el medio ambiente marino. La presente nota técnica que resume la experiencia de Cartagena en el manejo de aguas residuales puede servir de inspiración para la región del Caribe en su conjunto, y de modelo para otras ciudades costeras de países en vías de desarrollo.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOAIR QUALITYASSIMILATIVE CAPACITYBAY WATER QUALITYBIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMANDBODCARBONCIVIL SOCIETYCLIMATE CHANGECOASTAL AREASCOASTAL BEACHESCOASTAL RESOURCESCOASTAL WATERSCOLIFORM BACTERIACOLLECTION SYSTEMCONSERVATIONCONSTRUCTIONCONTINUOUS MONITORINGCORAL REEFSCOST RECOVERYDECISION MAKERSDISCHARGEDISPOSAL SYSTEMDISSOLVED OXYGENDISTRIBUTION SYSTEMECONOMIC PROBLEMSECOSYSTEMEFFLUENTEMISSION REDUCTIONENVIRONMENTALENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATIONENVIRONMENTAL HEALTHENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESENVIRONMENTAL LAWENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENTENVIRONMENTAL OBJECTIVESENVIRONMENTAL POLICIESENVIRONMENTAL POLICYENVIRONMENTSESTUARIESEXPLOITATIONFISHERIESFISHINGHEAVY METALSHIGH LEVELSHOUSEHOLDSINDIGENOUS PEOPLESINDUSTRIAL SECTORINDUSTRIAL WASTEWATERIRRIGATION MANAGEMENTLAGOONSLARGE CITIESLOCAL STAKEHOLDERSLOWER INCOMESMAINTENANCE COSTSMANGROVEMARINE ENVIRONMENTMONITORING PROGRAMMUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTMUNICIPAL UTILITYMUNICIPAL WASTEWATERMUNICIPALITIESNATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENTNATURAL RESOURCESNITROGENNUTRIENTSOILOIL SPILLSPESTICIDESPIPELINEPOLLUTIONPOLLUTION CONTROLPOLLUTION LEVELSPOPULATION GROWTHPOTABLE WATERPRIVATE PARTICIPATIONPROGRAMSPROTECTED AREASPUBLIC HEALTHPUMP STATIONQUALITY OF SERVICEQUALITY STANDARDSREGULATORY AGENCIESREGULATORY REQUIREMENTSREGULATORY SUPERVISIONRESOURCE MANAGEMENTRIPARIANRIPARIAN AREASRIVERSRURAL WATERRURAL WATER SUPPLYSANDSANITATION SECTORSANITATION SERVICESANITATION SERVICESSEASEAWATERSEWERAGE SYSTEMSMALL MUNICIPALITIESSTORMWATERSUSPENDED SOLIDSSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTSUSTAINABLE USESUSTAINABLE WATERURBAN WATERURBAN WATER MANAGEMENTUTILITY MANAGEMENTUTILITY SERVICESWASTEWATERWASTEWATER COLLECTIONWASTEWATER DISPOSALWASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTUREWASTEWATER MANAGEMENTWASTEWATER SYSTEMWASTEWATER TREATMENTWASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTWASTEWATER TREATMENT SYSTEMWATER ASSOCIATIONWATER BODYWATER COMPANYWATER POLLUTIONWATER POLLUTION CONTROLWATER PRESSUREWATER QUALITYWATER QUALITY DATAWATER QUALITY MONITORINGWATER QUALITY MONITORING PROGRAMWATER RESOURCEWATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENTWATER RESOURCESWATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENTWATER SECTORWATER SERVICEWATER SERVICESWATER SUPPLYWATER SUPPLY SERVICEWATER SUPPLY SYSTEMWATER SYSTEMWATER UTILITIESWATER UTILITYWATERS10.1596/17827