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

issues and not in
others. The construction
of regulatory
works has been one
of its most (successful)
achievements in that
ALT is better capable
of dealing with extreme
weather events.
In 2001, a set of
regulatory “doors”
was created to control
the flow of the lake’s
only outflow, the
Desaguardero River.
The goal of the Master
Plan is to keep the
level of Lake Titicaca
between 3,808 and
3811 m above sea
level. After the construction
of the doors,
the level has been
maintained, even after
higher than average
precipitation in 2001
(Ronteltap et al. 2004).
The people who live
around the lake still
talk about the floods
and droughts of the
1980s, but if these
regulatory works prove
to function, then a
huge stress on the
basin has been
relieved.
What ALT has not
been so successful at
is the human development
aspect of the
region. This comes in
two forms. As discussed
above, the first is the
large lack of public/
community participation
in the decisionmaking
processes of
the institution. There
have been various
Figure 3.3. Lake Titicaca Basin.
TABLE 3.4 LAKE TITICACA BASIN INFORMATION.
AREA OF BASIN IN COUNTRY
COUNTRIES KM 2 % POPULATION
Bolivia 61,700 53 1,200,000
Perú 53,600 46 912,000
Chile 1,200 1 4,980
Total 116,500
Annual discharge: 34 km 3
Climate: Polar (53%), Dry (34%), Temperate (7%)
Management Institution: Binational Autonomous Authority of
Lake Titicaca (ALT)
Chapter 3. Hydropolitical Vulnerability, South America — 71