The Inter-American Water Resources Network: A Tool for Capacity Building.

While the Latin American and Caribbean Region has an abundance of water resources, the uneven distribution of water and the rapid growth of urban areas have created a set of water management problems which, if left unresolved, are projected to lead to a water crisis of hemispheric proportions during the next century. Shrinking foreign aid and experience gained during the past four decades are changing the traditional mechanisms of technical cooperation between developed and developing nations. Building on the momentum of the Earth Summit (1992), which stressed the need for mechanisms for water resources information exchange, the First Inter-American Dialogue on Water Management (1993) called for the establishment of an Inter-American Water Resources Network (IWRN) to distribute and exchange information on water issues, promote technology transfer, and share water management experiences in the western hemisphere. To date, 22 governments have officially designated water agencies to represent them on the IWRN as country focal points. Current network activities consist of the preparation of directories of water and water-related organizations, educational opportunities and existing networks in the western hemisphere; publication of a newsletter; and operation of an electronic forum and several World Wide Web sites on the Internet. Future activities, defined in part by the Second Inter-AmericanDialogue on Water Management held in Buenos Aires in September 1996, will emphasize the establishment of a regional and sub-regional Internet-based water information network with linkages to the global water resources community, regional dialogues on water management, increased cooperation between all parties in transboundary river basins, and endorsement of a number of recommendations for strengthening integrated water resources management.The Third Inter-American Dialogue on Water Management will be held in Central America in 1999. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]