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

Rio Lempa. Photo credit: Katherine Hayden.
Salvadorian cities, including the capital city, are
located in the basin (Hernández and Rodríguez
2002). There are four hydroelectric plants on the
Lempa and two water treatment plants that supply
San Salvador with potable water.
Because of El Salvador’s location in the
lower river basin, it suffers from the environmental
mismanagement taking place upstream in the
Honduran and Guatemalan catchment areas.
The potential for conflict is attenuated, however,
by the fact that El Salvador also is a significant
contributor to the environmental degradation of
the basin and therefore cannot protest against
the contributions of its neighbors.
The circumstances in the Lempa River
basin—with high levels of change in terms of
environmental degradation and dam building—
might be expected to yield a high potential for
transboundary environmental conflict. Yet despite
the potential, such conflict has not occurred.
Significantly, the Lempa River basin is also the
only international river basin in Central America
in which a transboundary process of governance
is taking place. The primary institutional framework
for the Lempa River basin is called the “Trifinio
Plan.” Although the focus of this institutional
framework extends beyond the Lempa Basin, it
is fair to say that its current dynamic is determined
to a large extent by concerns over the management
of the Lempa River basin. Institutions are not
stand-alone arrangements, however; they operate
within economic, political, and social boundaries
that often affect the outcome of an institution
(IHDP 1999). Therefore, it is important to understand
the context in which the Trifinio Plan is
embedded. Furthermore, in order to examine the
Trifinio Plan as an institution responsible for
averting or avoiding conflict in the Lempa basin,
its effectiveness must be evaluated against the
likely outcomes that might have occurred in the
absence of this institution.
2.7.2 The Trifinio Plan as an
Institutional Framework
The Trifinio Plan was formulated to provide
development in an ecologically diverse region
that is critical to maintaining the health of the
Lempa River watershed. The initiative required
the participation of high-level authorities in each
of the three countries before being ratified by the
three legislative assemblies and signed by the
heads of State. The Plan is administered by a
Trinational Commission which was established
by the three vice-presidents in 1997.
The significance of the Trifinio Plan in
promoting peace and preventing conflict must be
evaluated in the historical context in which it was
conceived. The Trifinio Plan played a major role
40 — Hydropolitical Vulnerability and Resilience along International Waters: Latin America and the Caribbean