The Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development of the Guarani Aquifer System Project Luiz Amore Second Biennial GEF International Waters Conference September 25-29, 2002 Dalian,China GEF/World Bank/OAS Argentina BrazilParaguayUruguay USDE

 Inhabitants in the GAS Region: 15 million  Estimated freshwater reserves and annual recharge: 40,000 km 3 / 166 km 3  Depth of aquifer: surface m  Estimated mean thickness: 250 m  Max. tube well capacity: l/h Temperatures: 33  C - 85  C Area: 1.2 million km 2 maybe the largest freshwater reserve in the world ! Guarani Aquifer System: Location and Characteristics

The Guarani Aquifer System: Transboundary Distribution Issue / CountriesArgentinaBrazilParaguayUruguay SAG (km 2 )225,500839,80071,70045,000

Aquifer Uses: Available Information – to be evaluated

Why the need for a Transboundary Project? Natural subsurface paths of groundwater flow intersect international boundaries (recharge in one country and discharge/wells in another) Lack of legal/institutional framework for transboundary aquifer management

Why Innovative ? First GEF Project on Transboundary Groundwaters Aquifer resources perspective (e.g. Energy) Preventive project for a strategic resource

Status of the aquifer  Abundance of water in general  Growing uses  Scarcity in transboundary and national Hot Spots  Pollution in transboundary and national Hot Spots  Pollution in recharge areas – extent to be investigated Where to Go ? Managing People (Water and Land Uses) Managing Water / Aquifer Resources

 Argentina  Decision making authority over water lies with the provinces  Lack of national water resources law  Limited information available: 9 deep wells, undefined GAS western border  Brazil  Decision making authority over groundwater lies with the states  Mineral, thermal and bottled water under fed. concession regime  Existence of federal and state laws on water resources  Considerable info available but dispersed: 500 cities partially or entirely supplied by the GAS  Paraguay  Unitary country  Lack of water resources law  Limited information available: 200 wells mainly for domestic water supply  Uruguay  Unitary country  Existence of water law and decrees related to the GAS  Considerable info available: 135 wells for public water supply, irrigation and thermal tourism Guarani Aquifer System Region: Institutional Background

All Countries  Transboundary issues under responsibility of National Gov.  Plata Basin Agreement since the 1960ies  MERCOSUR (South American Common Market) support Challenges  Challenge: what kind of treaty in the future? Should there be a treaty at all, given that management is so decentralized?  Allocation rules to be developed in Hot Spots?  Demand management ?

Special characteristics of Guarani Aquifer System management Several countries Decentralized actors in a large area who use the aquifer and/or pollute its water High costs of monitoring, enforcement and sanctions Chance to develop a permit system for future wells and monitoring of use Need risk assessment (vulnerability/pollution) to determine management priorities Need support from states/provinces and municipalities in management implementation – big challenge

Objective: Support Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay to jointly elaborate and implement a coordinated institutional framework for managing and preserving the transboundary Guarani Aquifer System for current and future generations. The Guarani Aquifer System Project

4-year implementation phase Components: I.Expansion and consolidation of the current knowledge base of the GAS II.Joint development and implementation of the Guarani management framework III.Public participation, education and communication IV.Project monitoring and dissemination of results V.Implementation of pilot projects in identified Hot Spots VI.Assessment of geothermal energy, and VII.Project coordination. Strategic Action Program Strategic Action Program Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis Multi-country agreement on the institutional and technical framework Multi-country agreement on the institutional and technical framework Functioning monitoring network Functioning monitoring network Proposal for joint legal framework Proposal for joint legal framework

Special features of project design: Combine diagnostic and assessment with action by using a two-track approach: –assess the overall resource –design and implement local pilot management projects in “Hot Spots” Decentralized GIS through webbased interface, using focal institutions in each country Additional university fund for GAS research and training The Guarani Aquifer System Project

Project budget: $26.7 million GEF $13.4 million Country governments: $12.1 million (IAEA, OAS, German and Dutch Gov., communities): $1.2 million The Guarani Aquifer System Project

Execution Donors SC GEF/WB Coordination Group GS/OAS NPEU Argentina Direction Operation NPEU Brazil NPEU Paraguay NPEU Uruguay SPEU GO SPEU MG SPEU MS SPEU MT SPEU PR SPEU RS SPEU SC SPEU SP Federal Organisms Institutional set-up for implementation

Project Preparation Accomplishments: a platform for action  Cooperation between all four Guarani Aquifer countries enhancing steps to regional integration: Preliminary Aquifer Assessment;  Cooperation between institutions within countries, including line ministries, foreign affairs ministries, federal/national and state/provincial institutions with sustained involvement;  Developing basin agreements in Argentina, launching of the Brazilian Program on Groundwater and implementation of GW acts at national/subnational levels in Brazil (3 states and 2 national), mobilization towards national water resources law in Paraguay, and creation of a Thermal Advisory Committee in Uruguay;  Involvement of universities, NGOs, indigenous peoples and private sector on information dissemination, generating significant awareness in society;  Approval of the schematic map of the GAS by the SC;  International awareness and support from international agencies and donors.

The institutional arrangements for project preparation have proven adequate for stakeholder integration in the policy formulation, but expectation is still growing The nature of the groundwater resource, diplomatic complexity, legal weaknesses, institutional dispersion and the need for systematic technical knowledge turn the Project very complex The participation process needs transparency, adequate financial resources and timing Project success depends on the successful interaction of different aspects (institutional, political, cultural and technical) Importance of groundwater resources Lessons Learned

Main Challenges and Opportunities Management at the local level, specially due to the decentralized nature of the groundwater resource and the large area to be covered Keeping political and societal momentum going – although the Guarani Aquifer System is “invisible” and there is no crisis Development of an adequate transboundary management scheme, with low transaction costs Implementing country-oriented GW management tools, including financing mechanisms for sustainability of investments Linkage to MERCOSUR for continuity?

Main Project Staff Organization of American States-General Secretariat (International Executing Agency): Jorge Rucks Roberto Kirchheim General Secretary of the project: Luiz Amore World Bank Task Manager: Karin Kemper Argentina - Ministerio de Infraestructura y Vivienda, Subsecretaría de Recursos Hídricos (Water Resouces Subsecretariat): Mr. Víctor Pochat Brazil - Agência Nacional de Águas (National Water Agency): Mr. Jerson Kelman and Paraguay - Dirección General de Protección y Conservación de Recursos Hídricos, Secretaria del Ambiente (Environment Secretariat): Mr. Celso Velázquez Uruguay - Ministério de Transportes y Obras Públicas, Dirección Nacional de Hidrografia (National Hydrografy Directory): Mr. Luis Enrique Loureiro Responsible National Agencies

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