Advances in the ROSA Project: Network and Observatory for Water Sustainability - Year 2: April 2024 - January 2025

| Briefing note

Since its inception, the ROSA Project (Regional Network and Observatory for Water Sustainability) has been tasked with addressing the so-called "water and sanitation crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean." One of its main strategies has been to contribute to accelerating the achievement of SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation). However, the region generally lacks reliable statistics and information on water management, governance, and environmental aspects. Additionally, there is fragmentation of existing information across various national institutions, as well as unequal capacities among countries to report on sustainable water resource management indicators. Consequently, the main objective of the ROSA Project has been to strengthen the capacities of countries in the region to generate and use timely, reliable, and standardized information to promote effective policies and instruments for sustainable water management in a changing environment amid the challenges of climate change.

Between April 2024 and January 2025, the ROSA Project has specifically focused on enhancing sustainable water management in Latin America and the Caribbean through various training activities and technical assistance, detailed below.

Technical Assistance and Capacity Building for Project Countries

Plurinational State of Bolivia:

Six virtual training sessions were conducted between February and November 2024 tailored to Bolivia's needs. These sessions addressed governance and water sustainability, international water resource management, circular economy in water and sanitation, the Water-Energy-Food-Environment nexus, hydrological monitoring networks, and the Water Convention.

El Salvador:

Between May and June 2024, the ROSA Project conducted a series of webinars focused on water regulation, aiming to provide tools to improve regulatory and tariff systems in El Salvador, addressing the country’s specific challenges in this area. Over the course of four sessions, both theoretical and practical aspects of water tariff regulation were analyzed, complemented by interactive exercises to deepen participants’ understanding.

Panama:

Between September and October 2024, five virtual training sessions on the “Application of Water Tariffs” were successfully conducted. These sessions provided detailed technical guidance on tariff strategies and energy efficiency for water sustainability in Panama, addressing key aspects of sustainable water management:

Dominican Republic: Three virtual training sessions were conducted for the Dominican Republic in October 2024, focusing on topics requested by the country to address national needs. The sessions covered circular economy in the water and sanitation sector, international mechanisms for water resources, and water governance in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Exchange of Best Practices and Capacity Building through the Regional Network for Water Sustainability:

May 2024: https://www.cepal.org/en/events/nature-based-solutions-increase-water-availability-agriculture-second-seminar-rosa-project The second joint seminar of the ROSA Project, organized by the Regional Water Network, was held in a hybrid format. During the event, participating countries analyzed opportunities to implement Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) aimed at improving water availability in the agricultural sector. Success stories and lessons learned on the use of ecosystem-based approaches to enhance the sustainability of food production, water management, and climate change adaptation were examined. ECLAC sought to foster knowledge exchange and the sharing of best practices among participants from various countries in the region. Additionally, this seminar served to disseminate the ongoing ECLAC study on NbS and to promote the exchange of experiences among the attending countries.

December 2024: https://www.cepal.org/en/notes/fifth-meeting-regional-expert-group-water-resources-latin-america-and-caribbean Fifth Meeting of the Regional Expert Group on Water Resources in Latin America and the Caribbean, meeting focused on collaborative efforts in water resource management. Key topics included preparations for the upcoming 2025 Regional Water Dialogues and advancements within the ROSA Project.

Furthermore, in 2024, various activities were carried out to disseminate the initiatives of the ROSA Project and to strengthen the Regional Network for Water Sustainability within the framework of different events:

In 2025, the ROSA Project will continue to strengthen national technical capacities and promote the exchange of best practices through seminars, training sessions, and the ROSA Observatory, consolidating its impact on water management in the region.

Related Content:

2024-04-03 | Briefing note

Progress of the ROSA Project: Network and Observatory for Water Sustainability - Year 1: February 2023 - March 2024

The water and sanitation crisis requires a holistic, systemic and multilateral response to accelerate the achievement of SDG 6. In the region there is a lack of available data on the governance, management or environmental aspects of water, the data that exists on Drinking water and sanitation are dispersed among national institutions and countries' capacities to report on different sustainable water management indicators. To accelerate compliance with SDG 6, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) countries need to promote policies and incentives based on timely, reliable and standardized information, which requires strengthening their capacities in a changing environment. This is the central objective of the Regional Network and Observatory for Water Sustainability (ROSA) in LAC, which continues to advance with a very successful and enlightening year.

2025-01-06 | Briefing note

Activities of the Members of the Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Expert Group on Water Resources during 2024

Water management is a complex challenge that requires a collaborative approach, as it encompasses multiple dimensions and stakeholders, demanding a strong commitment to foster dialogue and cooperation. In this context, the Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Expert Group on Water Resources (LAC), established in 2022, serves as a platform for the exchange of ideas and innovative solutions that benefit the region. Through this platform, collaboration is encouraged in events, publications, and projects involving various stakeholders related to water issues in the region

Subscription

Get ECLAC updates by email

Subscribe