Representatives from governments, regional, and international organizations met this week at the Regional Workshop for the Exchange of Experiences and Lessons Learned from the project “Strengthening Strategic Capacities for Water Security in Priority Watersheds of the SICA Region”, held in San José, Costa Rica.

Organized by the Executive Secretariat of the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD), under the Pro Tempore Presidency of Costa Rica, and with the support of the ARAUCLIMA Program of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the workshop aimed to promote regional learning and technical exchange to advance sustainable water management across the eight countries of the SICA region.

During the opening session, Ms. Silvia Saravia Matus, Economic Affairs Officer at the Natural Resources Division of ECLAC, presented a regional perspective on the water challenges facing Latin America and the Caribbean. In her address, she emphasized that water insecurity is not merely a result of natural scarcity, but rather the outcome of inadequate resource management. She highlighted the need to strengthen governance, increase investment, and close the gap between planning and implementation.

Saravia Matus urged progress toward a water transition centered on strong governance, the strategic use of economic instruments, and greater intersectoral planning. She also stressed the strategic importance of strengthening technical, operational, political, and foresight capacities—known as TOPP capacities—within the institutions responsible for water management in the region.

In her remarks, she also highlighted specific mechanisms such as water funds, payments for ecosystem services, and debt-for-nature swaps as examples of innovative solutions to finance water sustainability with a social and environmental focus. She concluded by inviting participants to join the 2025 Regional Water Week, which will take place from October 6–10 in Santiago, Chile, and will include the fifth edition of the Regional Water Dialogues, a platform for exchanging policies, experiences, and solutions at the regional level.

The workshop also featured presentations by other key institutions. Fabiola Tábora, Regional Coordinator of GWP Central America (Global Water Partnership), presented a report on regional progress toward achieving SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation); and Max Campos, Executive Secretary of the Regional Committee on Water Resources, shared projections on climate scenarios in the region and their implications for water-related risks.

Throughout the sessions, technical representatives from Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, El Salvador, Panama, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and Costa Rica shared the results of studies conducted in prioritized watersheds in their respective countries. These presentations included socio-environmental assessments, cost of inaction analyses (BACI), and strategic water investment plans. The workshop concluded with a regional reflection session focused on identifying opportunities for cooperation, common challenges, and next steps to advance the water security agenda of SICA countries.