This online World Water Week session will present an overview of Bolivia WATCH, a program that aims to improve water management in Bolivia by linking watershed governance and sanitation and working with local actors to generate integrated plans that seek to maximize benefit to all water users. This event is open to all World Water Week registrants.
World Water Week is presented by Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI).
WATCH — WASH Thinking Connected to Hydrology — is an innovative program linking watershed management to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) to reduce poverty and enhance livelihoods. It combines scientific methods with local knowledge to create an inclusive strategy that ensures equitable access to clean water and sanitation.
In this session, SEI researchers will present how this approach is being used in Bolivia and why it is essential as the country’s economy and water demand grow. The event will detail a multi-scale, multi-objective process, using tools that were co-designed with communities and government institutions. The process helped formulate plans for three watersheds that included not only water availability for productive uses, but also equitable access to safe drinking water and sanitation. This highlighted the value of water in contributing to poverty reduction and a more sustainable, equitable, and climate-resilient future.
Presenters will highlight the resulting plans that integrate watershed dynamics and WASH actions leading to actions that improve water security and that have financial viability through short and long-term investments. They will demonstrate how integrative approaches can tackle water management challenges beyond WASH and watershed to include issues environmental flows and public health.
SEI brief / Urban and agricultural growth in Bolivian dry forests are putting pressure on groundwater and surface water supply. SEI research seeks to quantify the problem.
SEI brief / This fact sheet explores the research aimed at preserving the ecosystems of high-elevation wetlands in Bolivia amid the effects of climate change.
Perspective / SEI researchers Felipe Benavides and Jeanne Fernandez reflect on a recent tour of Bolivia's Tupiza watershed, where residents have "lost everything."
Feature / SEI experts explain how a new project will help Bolivia connect sanitation with watershed management.
Feature / Farmers in Bolivia are struggling as their water supply becomes increasingly unreliable. Could better models lead to policies that help the most vulnerable?
SEI working paper / This paper describes the development of poverty-related indicators in SEI's Water Evaluation And Planning (WEAP) tool.
Feature / Bolivia faces a deepening water crisis. SEI helped plan for the future by creating the first-ever comprehensive model of Bolivia’s rivers, lakes and streams.
Project / Bolivia WATCH works to arm the country's institutions with the information and capacity to connect two spheres: safe sanitation and watershed management.
Past event / SEI Senior Scientist Laura Forni presents a short lecture on how conserving páramo land in Ecuador preserves water supply for a rapidly urbanizing country.
Perspective / This World Water Day, six researchers share insights on the value of water and lessons learned on how to equitably manage and protect this valuable resource.
SEI brief / Learn about the Empowerment in WASH Index (EWI), a new tool for measuring empowerment in the water, sanitation and health sector.
