The Pressing Need for Urban Water Management

Two-thirds of the Central American population lives in urban areas which is why GWP Central America, with the support of CapNet and LAWETNet, organized a regional workshop on Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) at the Pan-American School for Agriculture (Zamorano) in Honduras from 29 October to 1 November 2012. Participants included representatives of the six countries of the region from municipalities of major cities, water and sanitation agencies, and universities.

The workshop included discussions on the various factors affecting IUWM (population growth, climate change, development, land use, etc.), the water cycle in the city, the multiple uses of water, the vulnerability of urban systems, and IUWM finance and planning. Two case studies were presented: the first was a civil society platform for the water issues in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and the second was a research project of the University of Costa Rica on municipal planning in different communities and its relation to IUWM.

The participants worked in small groups to diagnose and strategize for five different cities of the region as a way to implement the concepts they had learned. The group visited one of the three major water reservoirs for Tegucigalpa as well as its water treatment plant and a wastewater treatment plant.

Workshop photos|Tour photos

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