Latin America; in English (pdf) - Transboundary Freshwater Dispute ...

Dr. Stephen Pao, left, teaches microbiology testing techniques to Zorayda Villalta, a laboratory technician at the Laboratory of Integral Quality in
San Salvador as part of a workshop on microbiological detection and investigation. Photo credit: Winrock International/USAID.
Currently, possible sites for the installation of
dams have been identified in several international
basins in Central America. Five possible locations
for the dams have been identified on the main
stem of the Usumacinta River. These projects may
produce an estimated 2.3 megawatts of electricity
per year (Hamann and Ankersen 1996). The
possible development of these projects has
caused some tension between Mexico and
Guatemala, however, due to the potential impact
of reduced flows, the flooding of archeological
sites, and the ecological effects of their implementation
(Hamann and Ankersen 1996).
In Nicaragua, sites have been identified for
the development of hydroelectric projects in the
Coco River basin. In Panama, the Changuinola
River basin seems to have great potential for
electricity generation, with production estimates
as high as 3600 Gwh considered possible (FAO
2000h). Tensions have not arisen over the
Small dam, Corinto, El Salvador. Photo credit: USAID.
potential Coco and Changuinola projects,
however, because formal interest in building the
hydroelectric plants has not yet materialized.
In the Guatemalan section of the Motagua
River, a dam was built with a production capacity
of 20 megawatts. In 2002 and 2003, pollution in
the river increased considerably due to the flow of
accumulated solids into the Las Vacas hydroelectric
dam. Although several communities feared that
this increased pollution could affect human
health, there were no registered relevant increases
in gastrointestinal illness and skin infections.
These solid flows did markedly affect aquatic life,
however (De León 2003).
In the case of Honduras, there are two
international river basins (Lempa and Motagua)
that have hydroelectric plants, but not located in
the territory of Honduras. Within Honduras, the
expansion of hydroelectric plants is projected for
the Ulúa, Patuca, Sico, Cangrejal, and Nacaome
River basins, but as it was stated there are no
proposed hydropower projects in international
river basins (SERNA 2001).
In El Salvador, as noted above, an important
portion of the country’s energy consumption is
produced by the hydroelectric plants in the
transboundary Lempa River basin. This river
already has four dams, all of them in El Salvador.
In addition, the Hydroelectric Commission of
the Lempa River (CEL, its abbreviation in Spanish)
is planning to build a new dam, known as
“El Cimarron,” to satisfy future energy demands.
30 — Hydropolitical Vulnerability and Resilience along International Waters: Latin America and the Caribbean