Since 2020, drought has severely impacted the municipality of San José de Chiquitos, Bolivia, forcing the local community to seek solutions to guarantee the water supply necessary for life. This shared concern led to the formation of a "Water Management Committee," generating a process of analysis, debate, and management focused on water governance and security for the municipality.
The initiative is being led by the COMAYO RL Cooperative, the Autonomous Municipal Government of San José de Chiquitos, the Sub-Governor's Office of Chiquitos, and other representative institutions in San José with relevant expertise. Savia is involved in the technical coordination process, within the framework of the GLA (Green Livelihoods Alliance) Program, which is implemented with the support of IUCN-NL.
In numerous coordination and management meetings, significant economic resources were secured, allocated from the budget of the Autonomous Departmental Government of Santa Cruz, amounting to Bs. 700,000, for the execution of studies and the development of a project for the care and use of water resources in San José.
With the purpose of planning and optimizing resources, at the invitation of the Sub-Governor's Office of Chiquitos, the following was developed 1st Workshop of Water Technical Tables, At the end of April, at the facilities of the Pedro Rivero Municipal Library in San José, the occasion allowed for raising the need to identify a viable solution, directing the planning in a participatory, technical, environmental and legal context; supported with pre-existing information and criteria.
The presence of public and private institutions was highlighted in this 1st Technical Tables Workshop which was developed dynamically with Members of the Water Promotion Committee, Autonomous Municipal Government of San José, Government of Santa Cruz, the COMAYO RL Cooperative, Social Control, Community of Quimóme, Military School of Engineering-EMI, Directorate of the Santa Cruz la Vieja Historical National Park, Cooperating NGOs and press media.
During the event, experts from these agencies, along with the Santa Cruz Governorate, took an in-depth look from various angles at the situation of water availability and its relationship with the health of the forests and population growth in the municipality of San José, and then the attendees reached a consensus among themselves on conclusions aimed at technical and legal solutions, in order to guarantee the execution of the financial resources for the intended purpose.
Furthermore, a second Water Technical Working Group Workshop was proposed, where progress would be presented and the roadmap for the future would be outlined, solidifying strategic alliances and coordinating joint actions to consolidate the common goal of guaranteeing the long-term water supply for this part of the Chiquitano region. Currently, the process is ongoing, with the expectation that the actions undertaken will be consolidated by 2023.
Source: Savia Association and Water Promotion Committee