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Integrated Water Resources Management in Latin America and the Caribbean

In this chapter, we present an overview of selected Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) schemes, legislation, policies, plans, and governance structures designed and implemented by the countries of the region of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Conceptual reasons required a brief introduction on the inspiring ideas of IWRM, stress having been made on the justification of the concept as reflected in its “integrated” note. Such preamble should enable the reader to assess the orthodoxy of the IWRM schemes predominant in the Region as well as the national enabling instruments, measures, and policies enumerated in the second part of the paper, as compared with the IWRM theoretical tenets. Also mentioned is the coordinating, financial, and advisory role of international organizations in response to the limitations of countries to resolve transboundary water issues and in some cases challenges created in federal states by multiple (national, state/provincial, municipal) jurisdictions. Reference is additionally made to the endemic LAC issue of mismatch between abstract legal instruments and actual implementation, as an additional criterion for the reader to judge the value of the actions pursued in this area by the individual nations. The main part of this chapter includes country-by-country available information on the schemes and instruments in force in the Region. The final section of the chapter concludes with findings and an overall assessment of the Region’s achievements and margins for improvement going forward.

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