PAHO, together with AIDIS, is organizing a virtual seminar as part of the Inter-American Water Day, which will be celebrated on October 7th under the theme Water, Human Rights and Governance: Elements of Social Concertation.
Washington, DC, October 6, 2023 – Integrated and participatory water resources management and conflict prevention are key factors in ensuring the human right to water and sanitation and creating equitable societies. This was one of the conclusions of the seminar organized by PAHO together with the Inter-American Association of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering (AIDIS) on the occasion of the Inter-American Water Day, which will be celebrated under this motto on October 7th this year Water, human rights and governability: elements of social consultation.
The virtual seminar covered topics such as the most common causes of water conflicts in the Americas region, an analysis of the tools that can help shorten the resolution times of these social conflicts, and raising awareness of the importance of water as an essential aspect of improving conservation , conservation and protection of water resources and drinking water supplies as well as a series of recommendations for countries.
“The central theme is that the right to water is a fundamental human right. It is necessary to analyze the key elements to avoid conflicts over water and understand their causes, as such conflicts will become increasingly common in Latin America,” explained Daniel Buss, Head of the PAHO Department of Climate Change and Environmental Determinants of Health.
“In the Americas, 7.6 million people defecate outdoors, 430 million lack access to safely managed sanitation, another 160 million lack safe access to water, and in 2022, more than 250,000 people were displaced in the region due to the disaster economic impacts created or amplified by environmental factors such as crop losses due to drought,” he warned.
“Reality has shown us that the intensive use of water by some actors, climate variability and pollution can affect the living conditions of the population and the environment, with significant consequences for people’s health and well-being,” he added.
“PAHO works with countries to strengthen capacity at all levels, helps develop water and sanitation security plans for more than 71 million people in the Americas, promotes monitoring of pathogens in wastewater, and strengthens 139 environmental laboratories,” he added .
The President of AIDIS, José Luis Inglese, who spoke at the opening of the event, considered “work between institutions” to be fundamental in terms of water management and the approach and prevention of conflicts, recalling that “the human right to water.” is a right and as such it must be satisfied and not debated.”
Silvia Saravia, Head of the Economic Division of the Water and Energy Division of the ECLAC Natural Resources Department, also attended the opening round and regretted that “part of the water infrastructure is quite abandoned, both in terms of reservoirs and wastewater disposal.” and focused on water conflicts in transboundary areas. “71% of the water in Latin America and the Caribbean is in areas shared by two or more countries,” he said.
A human right since 2010
Analyzing water as a human right, PAHO Regional Human Rights Adviser Olger González pointed out in relation to the conflict over water that “the first obligation of the state is to prevent human rights violations, to know their causes and to deal with them “social and environmental determinants of the conflict.”
González recalled that water and sanitation have been a human right since the 2010 UN Assembly resolution, but added that “other human rights often also serve as a guarantee of the human right to water and sanitation, such as the right to housing.” the right to access information or the right to health.”
“Legalization is not the solution,” said González, “effective control and monitoring mechanisms as well as mechanisms for social participation must be promoted.” The right to water has to do with people’s health, “and a society that is not healthy is unlikely to be a robust democracy, so investing in public health is one way to strengthen democracy,” added the PAHO human rights advisor.
Regarding conflicts over water, the virtual seminar focused on the cases of Honduras and Chile, presented respectively by AIDIS Presidency Adviser Mirna Arguetta and the person in charge of water affairs in the municipality. Chilean Petrorca, Vladimir Vicencio Riveros.
The event was also attended by former United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights to water and sanitation, Leo Heller; the President of the National Water Institute (INA) of Argentina, Juan Carlos Bertoni; AIDIS Water Division Director Patricia Caso; PAHO Regional Environmental Health Advisor Luis Francisco Sánchez; and PAHO’s regional environmental health advisor, Hildegardi Venero.
Inter-American Water Day (DIAA) has been celebrated annually since 1993 and is organized by PAHO and AIDIS. This year’s edition has the motto “Water, human rights and governability: elements of social consultation”.