Water for people.pdf - WHO Thailand Digital Repository

L A K E T I T I C A C A B A S I N , B O L I V I A A N D P E R U / 4 6 5The frog does not drink up the pond in which it lives.Inca proverbSITUATED AT AN ALTITUDE OF 3,600 to 4,500 metres in the highestplateaux of the Andes, Lake Titicaca straddles the border ofBolivia and Peru and comprises a basin network of four distinctlakes. The surrounding environment is fragile, subject to flooding and,increasingly, pollution. A unique feature of this pilot case study is thepresence of indigenous, pre-Hispanic peoples who continue to follow theirancient cultural traditions and resist assimilation into Western-stylesocieties. These people are extremely poor, and only about 20 percenthave access to water and sanitation. The major challenges for theBinational Autonomous Authority of Lake Titicaca, therefore, are tofind ways to promote land tenure reform, adopt appropriate farmingand irrigation techniques, and develop legislation that will provide anenabling environment in which culturally sensitive development andresource-sharing may occur.