Water for people.pdf - WHO Thailand Digital Repository

4 7 6 / P I L O T C A S E S T U D I E S : A F O C U S O N R E A L - W O R L D E X A M P L E SLake Titicaca Basin, Bolivia and PeruLegislationCurrent legislation is incomplete and outdated, both in Bolivia and inPeru. The main legal bodies are:■ 1906 Water Law (Bolivia);■ Bolivian Civil Code;■ Decree No. 03464 on Land Reform and the 1953 Water Regime(Bolivia);■ 1969 General Water Law (Peru);■ 1990 Sanitation Code (Peru);■ 1990 Environment and Natural Resources Code (Peru);■ 1992 Environment Law (Bolivia);■ 1999 Basic Sanitation and Drinking Water Law (Bolivia).FinancesInvestment in the TDPS system comes from the Bolivian andPeruvian governments, international agencies and non-governmentalorganizations (NGOs). ALT is an autonomous organization with anannual budget of US$250,000 based on equal contributions by theBolivian and Peruvian governments. In addition, ALT acts to facilitateexternal donations. In this framework the ALT has developed and iscarrying out a number of projects, notably the regulatory works ofLake Titicaca (US$7,000,000), the dredging of the DesaguaderoRiver bed (US$800,000) with ten-year projections (US$25,000,000),a biodiversity conservation project (US$920,000) and other projectsoriented to research and validation of Inca and pre-Inca agriculturaltechnologies.Management approachesSharing the resourceThe two main uses of water in the system, human consumption andirrigation, are not in conflict at the present time. There is, however,a potential conflict between upstream and downstream users,notably with respect to water for irrigation. The model provided bycustomary use and the way in which communities have traditionallyrelated to each other play an important role in determiningdistribution patterns and claims. Upstream communities considerthat they have priority over downstream communities through acomplex system of retributions and favours.Governing water wiselyWater management between Bolivia and Peru has been establishedin terms of the joint ownership of the Lake Titicaca and the entirecatchment area. In this way, the ALT has become the properadministrative entity for resolving any such conflicts that may arise.ALT administration is based on Integrated Water ResourcesManagement (IWRM). The general model promotes coordinatedmanagement and development of water, land and related resources,although certain border conditions do not yet permit a completeimplementation of the model. Nevertheless, two aspects are comingalong slowly: valuing water as an economic good and an improvedlevel of community participation in water management issues.The Master Plan, developed with the cooperation of the EuropeanCommunity, was drawn up between 1991 and 1993 under the titleMaster Plan for Flood Prevention and the Usage of Water Resources ofthe TDPS System. This plan constitutes the basic reference and twentyyearframework for the future development of the system. To date, thegeneral scheme proposed by the Master Plan has been implemented.Risk managementTDPS system regulation works allow, under normal hydrologicalconditions, the maintenance of Lake Titicaca’s waters within anaverage level of 3,809.5 m.a.s.l. with a variation of 1.5 metres. Thisregulation scheme, based on technical and statistical data, hasdiminished the flood risk.Ensuring the knowledge baseImplementation of the Master Plan implies the development of abroad knowledge base. In addition to the hydrological knowledgeneeded for management of the resource, projects for restorationand rescue of ancestral agricultural techniques have been carriedout and show a high degree of productivity.Valuing waterThe value assigned to water varies according to the rural or urbannature of the water supply systems and the number of servedinhabitants. Tariffs for the most populated cities fluctuate betweenUS$0.135/m 3 (Puno and Juliaca) in Peru and US$0.22/m 3 (El Alto andOruro) in Bolivia. Single tariffs and the concept of non-quantifiedwater are applied in water supply systems for small towns.The economic value of water is not fully recognized, particularlyin rural areas. There is no water use rate and use of water forirrigation is defined by customary practice.Policy implementationThe following elements are identified as implicit in the Master Plan:■ focusing actions in a framework of sustainable use of naturalresources, with these resources as the central element;■ recovering the system’s ecological integrity in terms of protectingendangered species, replenishing fish populations and mitigatinghuman impact on the system; and■ promoting human development within the basins.