Text 2 D. Experiencees in water management in Latin America
I. Read text 2D and give short answers to the questions before each paragraph
Why do you think water management is important for Latin America?
Latin America, the focus of this programme, is a geographical region where the challenges faced by the countries to ensure efficient water management are many and complex. The population of the Latin American and the Caribbean region has been increased from 435 million in 1990, to 585 million by 2010, and is estimated to increase to 715 million in 2030. This increase of 64 percent in only forty years will occur within an overall framework of changes characterized by urbanization, ruralisation, globalisation, information and communication revolution and technological developments. Next twenty years will probably witness more changes in water management compared to what has occurred over the past 2000 years. In this rapidly changing milieu, an important challenge for the region is how best to provide adequate quantity and quality of water in an efficient manner to meet the domestic, agricultural, industrial and energy requirements of an expanding population, and concurrently satisfy the ecosystems needs of the region.
Why are innovative approaches and solutions for water management coming from developing countries, including the Latin American region?
During the past 20 years, an important factor has been that water is increasingly becoming a critical resource for the social and economic development of developing countries, but water's importance on the economically developed of countries are gradually declining. Not surprisingly, many of the new and innovative approaches and solutions for water management are now coming from developing countries, including the Latin American region.
What is the paradox in the state of modern water sector in Latin America?
In spite of this progress, however, these innovative approaches and solutions are mostly unknown not only outside the region but also often within the country themselves. It is a curious irony that water professionals in Mexico often may have more knowledge of the latest developments in the water sector in the United States or France, compared to what is happening in Argentina, Brazil, Chile or Colombia and vice versa. If fact, often times water professionals in a Latin American country has more knowledge of developments in the West, compared to another part of their own country.