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FINANCING COOPERATIONBoliviaDespite the great efforts made in recent years,Bolivia still has one of the lowest water andsanitation coverage levels in the continent. Inorder to address this, in 2008 the Governmentdeveloped the National Plan for BasicSanitation, which recognizes access to waterservices as a universal right. The plan:• holds the state responsible for theprovision of services• provides that services will respond touniversality, accountability, accessibility,continuity, quality and efficiency criteria aswell as to equitable and necessary tariffswith social participation and control• recognizes cultural and ancestral uses• demands that the state and populationconserve and protect water resourcesand use them in a sustainable way.Both of the Fund’s operations in Bolivia areconducted in this context.InterventionsTwo operations aim to provide drinkingwater and sanitation services:• Periurban Program 1• a rural programme in small localities.These are executed by the Ministry ofthe Environment and Water, the NationalProductivity and Social InvestmentFund, and the National Service for theSustainability of Basic Sanitation Services.MilestonesSuccess in the scope, execution andstrategy followed in Periurban Program 1has motivated IDB to finish preparing thesecond stage with the aim of increasing thescope of the interventions under the samescheme of work. In addition to the Fund’speriurban interventions, work is beingdone with rural communities with less than2,000 inhabitants and small localitieswith a population of 2,000-10,000people. These two operations enable theinterventions to focus on segments of thepopulation with lower levels of access.Finally, a large investment in institutionalstrengthening is being made with theaim of providing support to the country’sinstitutional framework in order to reinforcethe interventions of the national policy.Interventions in Bolivia focus on segments of the populationwith lower levels of access to water and sanitation servicesFunding (total US$140 m) US$ (millions) Per cent of totalFund donation 100 71IDB donation 40 29Image: IDBalmost five years ago and during this time a model of work andshared effort has been built which has borne fruit throughout theregion.From the start, the goal of the initiative’s leaders was to create aninstrument that was more than just a transfer of funds. On one hand,work has been done with the Fund recipient countries to identifyactions that guarantee a greater incidence in rural and periurbanareas, both of which are defined by the Fund as priority areas ofintervention. On the other hand, mechanisms have been developedto put into practice the cooperation of both institutions.More specifically, Fund investments are integrated into a largerdynamic which aims to have an impact at the sectoral level, focusingboth on policy and execution. The main target of these investmentsis vulnerable populations in recipient countries, focusing on servicequality and sustainability. In addition, by leveraging resources andcoordinating with other funds, this initiative promotes comprehensiveprogrammes to boost sanitation and human rights.At the beginning of 2010, the implementation of eight operations, alongwith the preparation of 13 others funded by FECASALC and managedby IDB, began. Coordination instruments were designed between thedifferent parties 7 in order to guarantee sustainable implementation ofthe operations as well as harmonization in the intervention strategies.Additionally, at the beginning of 2011, FECASALC started tolaunch knowledge management products to complement the operationswith innovative initiatives that promoted sustainable water andsanitation systems in the region. Studies have been carried out tomeasure the impact of actions on the beneficiary populations’ health;the use of technology for a better knowledge of the rural systems statehas been promoted; methodologies have been defined to incorporategender perspective in the programmes in a more effective way; anda strategy has been launched for the promotion of unconventionalsanitation models with the purpose of promoting sustainabilityat a lower cost and, therefore, to a higher numberof beneficiaries.By means of this model of cooperation between institutionswhich unites objectives, efforts, resources andcommitments, we have made it to 2013. Nowadays,FECASALC has 20 operations running and one in preparation.The portfolio managed by the bank is worthmore than US$1.112 million. 8 FECASALC is active in12 countries in the region, and six studies have beenlaunched to promote knowledge management.The challenges that we face are great and the effort madesince the Fund’s formation must be continued over thecoming years in order to finish the task jointly taken onby IDB and AECID. However, this model of cooperationbetween the bank and the Spanish Government can beconsidered as a milestone for both institutions. The Fundhas placed the rural area back at the centre of policies in theregion, and this has required a mutual learning betweenAECID and IDB as well as the countries involved, in orderto be able to approach those actions in a sustainable way.It is worth mentioning that the existence of the Fundhas had an impact on the sector in the region and mayserve as a reference when looking for synergies betweendevelopment institutions that allow an increase inimpact, efficiency and sustainability of actions. Only byuniting efforts between parties, sharing instruments andmethodologies, defining a joint dialogue with beneficiarycountries and integrating the communities in theprocesses, can we expect actions that guarantee thereduction of poverty in our region.[ 158 ]