59 / 96
59
The Government has also implemented projects for
watershed management in páramos, and created
water reservoirs and rainwater harvesting systems
(Gutierrez and Espinoza, 2010).
Ecuador
manages its water resources through the
OrganicLawofHydricResources,UsesandUtilization
of Water (2014). The document acknowledges the
relevance of páramos as an ecosystem serving to store
water and the dependence of the Andean population
on their services. The importance of this ecosystem
underscores the significance of implementing policies
for its sustainable management and conservation.
31
The Ecuadorian National Climate Change Strategy
(ENCC) addresses adaptation in the water sector
by planning the following activities: development of
the Plan of Water Resources; identification and use
of aquifers to head off potential droughts; capacity-
building onwater scarcity; implementing two projects
for water management; building water reservoirs for
different uses in case of extreme weather events; and
establishing a coordination platform for management
and conservation of water resources.
The national water authority is the Ecuadorian
National Water Secretariat (SENAGUA), which
participates in information exchanges about climate
change with ministries involved in the water sector.
32
It has also been involved in the preparation of the
National Plan for the Integrated and Integral
Management of Water Resources,
33
which will
include climate change adaptation indicators or
measures. This type of involvement by SENAGUA
creates institutional links that may yield robust
management, adaptive responses and, more broadly,
resilient governance of water resources.
Peru
’s policy on water resources in the National
Agreement (Acuerdo Nacional
34
) provides the
framework for water policy instruments.
35
In this
policy, the government commits to stewardship of
water as part of the nation’s heritage, and to access to
potablewater as a human right.The policy emphasizes
the importance of integrated management of water
resources as an approach for sustainable, equitable
and rational water use. This approach considers
basins as the management unit, and climate change
as a perturbation.
The relevant law governing water resources is the
National Policy and Strategy of Hydric Resources.
36
A
strategic component of this policy is Climate change
adaptation and extreme events, which aims to reduce
vulnerability by enforcing integrated management
of water resources. Moreover, this component
combines knowledge generation, policy articulation,
and adaptation measures. It promotes research,
capacity-building, climate change adaptation and
risk management within the water sector.
Adaptation policies should be articulated with other
instruments (e.g. laws, decrees, planning processes)
for risk management in the water sector. In order to
institutionalize this articulation, it has to be included
in the framework formed by the National System
for Environmental Management and the National
System of Risk Management. Adaptation measures
and mechanisms need to address the supply, demand
and use of water resources in a way that considers
both current and future impacts of climate change
and disaster risk management (Ministerio de
Agricultura y Riego, 2015). The National Policy and
Strategy is also in accordance with the Peruvian
National Environmental Policy and the recently
published National Strategy for Climate Change 2015
(Ministerio Del Ambiente, 2015).
Although the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation,
through the National Water Authority, is the main
competent authority for water-related issues, there
are other government bodies that also have authority
over areas that affect water resources. The Ministry
of Environment, water providers and the National
Superintendence of Water and Sanitation Services,
for example, are responsible for protecting water
sources. There are other initiatives, including the
Public Investment Projects, that involve multiple
sectors such as: environment, housing, agriculture,
economy and finance. Due to the different and
partially overlapping objectives and priorities of
these various governmental agencies and authorities
in water-related issues, it is difficult to make concrete
action and to attribute concrete responsibilities.
Colombia
1
1
1
0
0
0
Peru
1
1
1
0
0
1
Ecuador
1
1
1
0
0
1
Bolivia
1
1
1
0
0
0
Water policy matrix
Sector
Adaptation goals
Adaptation targets
Implementation tools
Mountain adaptation
Regional considerations
Adaptation actions
0: Absence; 1: Presence.