space
About UNEP
space
space
United Nations Environment Programme
Division of Technology, Industry and Economics
top image
space
space space space
space
space

Newsletter and Technical Publications

<Sourcebook of Alternative Technologies for Freshwater Augumentation
in Latin America and The Caribbean>

PART A. INTRODUCTION

7. RECOMMENDATIONS

The participants of the Workshops on Alternative Technologies for Freshwater Augmentation in Latin America (Lima, 19-22 September 1995) and the Caribbean (Barbados, 24-27 October 1995), considering that:

  • Several of the alternative technologies presented in the meetings have proved to be successful in different countries and could be widely shared through national, regional, and international technical programs and projects.
  • The greatest problems facing countries wishing to implement alternative technologies to augment freshwater resources in Latin American and the Caribbean include:
    • the difficulty of sharing information about successful technologies;
    • - the lack of awareness about the existence and importance of these technologies at several decision-making and public participation levels;
    • - existing economic limitations; - the lack of inter institutional, multi-disciplinary, and inter sectoral coordination;
    • - the absence of adequate legislation; and
    • - the failure to properly assess the impact of introduced alternative technologies on existing situations,

Subscribed to the following recommendations:

  • To establish national, regional, and international programs for the diffusion of alternative technologies. The "Source Book of Alternative Technologies for Freshwater Augmentation in Latin America and the Caribbean" proposed by UNEP through the International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC) and the Integrated Water Program, and coordinated by the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (GS/OAS), can be the first step in disseminating such information. The Inter-American Water Resources Network (IWRN), whose Technical Secretariat is housed in the Unit of Sustainable Development and Environment (USDE) of the GS/OAS, will be an important means of information dissemination.
  • To promote the participation of the affected communities involved in the process of planning, designing, implementing and maintaining alternative technologies to augment water resources.
  • To establish mechanisms which will allow governmental, non governmental, and academic organizations, research groups, regional and international organizations, industries and private enterprises to coordinate efforts geared toward implementation of successful alternative technologies within each country.
  • To use programs of international cooperation, such as the Program of Horizontal Cooperation of the GS/OAS, to promote the exchange of specialists and technicians among the different countries, and to share, identify, or transfer the most successful technologies for freshwater augmentation.

Table 1:
Summary of Alternative Technologies
for Freshwater Augmentation
in Latin America and the Caribbean


Back

Table of ContentsTable of Contents Next

  • Major Projects
  • DEBRI Project
  • DEBRI Project
  • Iraqi Marshlands Project
  • Iraqi Marshlands Project
  • IETC's Tools
  • Environmentally Sound Technology Information System
  • ESTIS facilitates creation and management of websites on the Internet, sharing and searching of information across multiple ESTIS websites, publishing of information by non-web designers and decentralized management of content.
  • WiseWater
  • WiseWater is a spreadsheet application for projecting reductions in Water Consumption Patterns after application of Environmentally Sound Technologies. It is included as part of the publication "Every Drop Counts: Environmentally Sound Technologies for Urban and Domestic Water Use Efficiency".
  • Pamolare
  • PAMOLARE is an environmental modelling tool to forecast the changes in water quality leading to the eutrophication of Lakes and Reservoirs.
    The versatility of PAMOLARE allows for its use in decision making process as well as for training purposes.