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WATER EDUCATION AND INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTof biodiversity, soil degradation, decreased water rechargeareas, acculturation and intellectual poverty. Several initiativeshave been put in place to address each of these issues and putin place the elements needed to ensure efficient and effectivewater management.Elements of effective water managementAn investigation of the state of water in Guatemala and the Naranjoriver basin in the south-western part of the country was carried out in2004. It detected weaknesses in the public’s acquisition of knowledgeand skills regarding their rights and responsibilities for integratedwater resources management (IWRM) in the Naranjo river basin. 1Support and advice was provided to leaders and citizens toenable self-management and the creation of 10 associations.These associations have since been united to form the AssociatedCommunities for Sustainable Integrated Development of theNaranjo. Officers and employees of the basin’s municipalitieswere also given support and advice on the planning andimplementation of coordinated actions. Today they constitutethe Association of Municipalities of the Naranjo River Basin(MANCUERNA). 2Management models promoted as part of this effort includedrespect for the laws of decentralization, and support for theconstitution and the roles of the departmental, municipal andcommunity development councils (CODEDES,COMUDES and COCODES). Among the COMUDES,support was given for the creation of the MunicipalWater Tables Dialogue. 3 This has promoted theparticipatory formulation of a municipal water policyand of pricing models for services.Management models have also integrated the viewsof at least 14 governmental and non-governmentalentities joined in the Natural Resources Coordinatorof San Marcos, a platform to plan the implementationof specific projects in the department of San Marcos(In the upper Naranjo River Basin). 4 These projectsaim to reduce competition for support, minimize theduplication of functions and ensure the efficient useof government funds and donations from the countriesthat support the development of Guatemala.Framework for IWRMVarious tools have been used to formulate a TerritorialStrategic Planning Commonwealth with an emphasison IWRM. The plan covers a period from 2007 to2020 and, importantly, it includes the participationof authorities and civil society organized throughCOCODES and COMUDES.The project in the Naranjo river watershed faced the principalquestion of how to transfer knowledge and implement IWRMin an area where illiteracy is high and multicultural.Using materials from the UNESCO-IHP Project WET watereducation project, Fundación Solar and the UNESCO Chairin Water Resources produced two educational posters: oneshowing the reality of the Naranjo river watershed withoutIWRM, and the other depicting what will happen when allsectors (environmental, municipal, socioeconomic and soon), work together with IWRM. Along with these, a guide wasdeveloped which used the posters to explain issues such asthe governance, principles and tools of IWRM, gender andmulticulturalism, and management for the sustainability ofwater systems.The educational package was developed with theinvolvement of community leaders and women of theAssociation of Community Partners for Water, Environmentand Infrastructure of the Naranjo River as well as authorities,municipal officials and employees of MANCUERNA.Images: UNESCO-CWR[ 131 ]