The Natural Resources Division of ECLAC held the fifth online training session for members of government institutions in the Dominican Republic, as part of the ROSA Project (Network and Observatory for Water Sustainability). This session focused on the economic valuation of water as a key mechanism for achieving efficient and sustainable water management.

The Natural Resources Division of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean held the fifth online training session for the Dominican Republic, under the framework of the ROSA Project (Network and Observatory for Water Sustainability). The session focused on a topic selected by the country: the economic valuation of water.

During the session, Silvia Saravia Matus, Economic Affairs Officer at ECLAC’s Natural Resources Division, emphasized the critical importance of this topic in the context of a growing water crisis that especially affects Latin American and Caribbean countries. She highlighted how economic valuation can play a fundamental role in shaping water management strategies, which must be tailored to both local and global challenges to ensure medium- and long-term sustainability.

Following that, Lisbeth Naranjo, a consultant for the division, presented a comparative analysis of economic schools of thought as they relate to water management. She explored how the neoclassical, institutional, and ecological approaches offer diverse perspectives on the use and allocation of water resources, stressing the need to integrate multiple approaches to achieve more effective and sustainable outcomes.

Next, Elizabeth Coble, an official from the division, gave a detailed explanation of key concepts such as valuation, pricing, and costs of water. She outlined the United Nations’ principles on water valuation and noted the challenges of pricing water—a public good and recognized human right. She concluded by stressing the costs of inaction, including the economic losses that can result from failing to invest in resilient water infrastructure capable of mitigating droughts, floods, and water pollution.

In the final segment, Silvia Saravia returned to discuss pricing mechanisms used across the region, using Chile, Costa Rica, Jamaica, and Mexico as case studies. She highlighted how water tariffs can impact both equity in access and efficient use. One of the session’s central themes was the link between governance and water valuation, with an emphasis on identifying appropriate economic instruments, encouraging citizen participation in decision-making, and strengthening coordination between public and private actors to ensure integrated and sustainable water management.

The session concluded with a roundtable moderated by consultant Alba Llavona, who presented the case of the Dominican Republic. She highlighted the country’s systems and tools for setting potable water tariffs as a model of best practices in water resource management. This case underscored the importance of effective public policy to ensure equitable and sustainable access to water, promoting a more comprehensive and responsible approach to managing this vital resource.