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Inter-American Water Resources Network The Dialogue Process: A Basis for Wetlands Management Collaboration |
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The Inter-American Dialogue on Water Management (Dialogue) process started by an effort at the water resource professional level in Miami, Florida, October 1993, following up on the need to establish an on-going exchange of information regarding the management of aquatic ecosystems subject to great stressors, such as urban and agricultural development and runoff, hydrological pattern alterations, and public works for flood control and economic development. The SFWMD foresaw the opportunity to optimize the information exchanges developed through informal linkages established until then, for the restoration of the Everglades wetlands, as well as to outreach to other water managers in the hemisphere, which faced tremendous pressure and challenges for providing adequate management of competing uses of the limited water resource.
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In the
aftermath of the Rio Earth Summit of 1992, it was clear that most of
the work to achieve sustainable development would require
participation at the lowest possible level, and that governments and
international institutions will need to work together with
practitioners and the community by facilitating real, open
communication exchange to search for solutions that would give these
ecosystems a chance to survive and react to many years of
anthropogenic intervention. The 1993 Dialogue was the first
meeting in the hemisphere that tackled the issues put forward in
Chapter 18 of Agenda 21, and proposed the creation of the
Inter-American Water Resources Network (IWRN). Til Creel,
Founder of the Dialogue process, and then Executive Director of the
SFWMD, reiterated this precise point during his closing remarks at the
1999 Third Dialogue in Panama. In other words, the IWRN needs to
maintain focus on the promotion of activities at the grass-root level
for it to remain worthwhile.
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Véu de Noiva, MT, Brazil |
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Under such basic
tenets, the Dialogue captivated the attention of international
institutions, most prominently the OAS, World Bank, and many
bilateral financial institutions, which are becoming more
understanding about the value of supporting a grass-root effort, and
reinforce it with its power to convene meetings and official country
representation through the involvement of focal points that would
discuss, in a plain level field, many of the challenges and
opportunities for cooperation and exchange of information for the
improvement of projects at their respective regions. During many meetings of the IWRN Council, there have been several suggestions for proposals to expand and divulgate best management practices, facilitate the information exchange that gave meaning to the overall initiative, and support the concept of ‘sustainable management of water resources throughout the Americas.’ Likewise, there has been great discussion about the role of the IWRN in regard to many other overlapping efforts by other groups and networks. Then, the stakeholders realized that IWRN was fitting an articulating role as ‘network of networks’, notably holding discussions of themes related to water supply and sanitation, sustainable agriculture practices, water policy making, and environmental health. Nevertheless, the overarching concept of integrated, sustainable watershed management has been considered too wide and difficult to support as part of a unique, indivisible group. After many attempts to derive projects for such an overarching agenda, there is a need to articulate concrete, measurable, and practical projects that would serve the constituencies that compose the fiber of the IWRN. In 1993, the First Inter-American Dialogue on Water Management, organized by the Florida Water Management Districts, showcased a Comparative Study of the Everglades and the Pantanal, which marked the first steps towards a formalized exchange of information for the sustainable management of water resources in the Americas. [You can download the report at EPI Systematic Comparison]In 2000, with IWRN
support, EPI was presented in the Second World Water Forum held at
The Hague in 2000, and also held its first annual meeting at the
Fourth Inter-American Dialogue on Water Management, in Foz de Iguazu
in September 2001. Members joined efforts to make all these
activities and participation come true. |
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Updated:
May 31, 2002
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