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FINANCING COOPERATIONMonterrey, Nuevo León, MexicoMonterrey, capital city of Nuevo León, Mexico, has experienced numerous casesof flooding and drought throughout its historyThe Latin American Water Funds Partnership has already begundeveloping a governance structure to promote regional cooperationand align efforts and resources for the effective, large-scale andefficient conservation of watershed in the region. Although someWater Funds and related initiatives are already up and running, thepartnership expects this governance structure to further improveexisting activities and strengthen the impact of new Water Fundsin the future.The partnership recognises that, as with any initiative whereseveral stakeholders are involved to achieve a common goal, it isvery important to determine the Water Fund’s structure, definethe responsibilities of each stakeholder and manage individualexpectations. Ensuring everybody is involved in decision-makingis key – whether they are providing seed capital or other assets/resources to the Fund. Including public authorities is very important,as watershed is a public resource – but this can be complex,especially when they are subject to political influences and electoralcycles, which can jeopardise long-term efforts. Given the numberof parties that can be involved, as well as their different motives forcontributing to a local Water Fund, it’s important that participationincentives are also governed. Ultimately, the structure, or institutionalarrangement, of a Water Fund should be tailored accordingto local requirements.Metropolitan Water Fund of MonterreyLocated in northeast México, Monterrey is an industrial city characterizedby a thriving private sector, involved public authorities andsocial organizations that are passionate about natural conservation.The Metropolitan Water Fund (FAMM using its Spanish acronym) has19 stakeholders, representing private companies, public institutions,non-profit organizations and academia. All of them have interests inand influence on the local San Juan watershed, which provides 80 percent of all water required by the city. They participatein either a promoting or technical group, based on theirexpertise, interests and contribution to the Water Fund.The promoting group works closely with all the partiesinvolved in the watershed, including public and privatestakeholders, to provide expertise, knowledge andresources to the Water Fund. The technical group aretasked with creating sound action plans for conservationpurposes, ensuring that investment decisions align withthe conservation and management plans, programmesand conservation projects in the watershed.Taking into account all the different interests andopinions of the involved parties can be a challenge,especially when it comes to defining common goals.Scientific factors can be useful in this respect, as theydefine the most important needs of the watershed andhighlight key environmental issues – such as watersupply and the impact of natural disasters. With this inmind, FAMM’s stakeholders have agreed on the followingenvironmental-related goals:• Flood control: the target is to lower peak flowin the upper watershed by as much as 750 cubicmetres per second during extreme events. This willprevent natural disasters in the city basin, whichhave increased in Monterrey in recent years as aresult of climate change• Water infiltration: the target is to increase the wateravailable for infiltration by reducing surface run-offby at least 20 per cent.Other goals to restore and conserve the watershed are set bythe stakeholder group, based on their expert assessments.Promoting social awareness is also a key objectivefor FAMM. Making citizens more aware of their impacton the watershed can help to encourage responsiblebehaviour and drive further sustainability initiativesled by local communities. In addition, FAMM is keento highlight that parties that get involved with localrestoration and preservation field projects can receivefinancial support from public authorities.Science determines more than the strategic direction ofFAMM’s resources and efforts; it directly influences theintervention plan of the Water Fund. Critical areas thatrequire intervention are identified and prioritized based onscientific models to ensure the greatest returns on investmentin terms of the environmental services provided.Field actions are also defined based on these strategies.In addition, science factors provide a compellingargument for the execution of public resources inaccordance with FAMM’s strategic plan, as they dictatewhat conservation efforts will be most effective. Ingeneral, demand for resources far exceeds what’s actuallyavailable. Usually, FAMM can only offer aroundten per cent of the required resource per year to workwith, meaning that all activities and initiatives needto be carefully prioritised. It’s worth noting that theWater Fund itself should also be looking to gain additionalresources from other parties, such as governmentbodies and other local stakeholders.[ 168 ]