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Capacity Building Workshop on Partnerships for Improving the Performance of Water Utilities in the Latin America and Caribbean Region
11 Jun 2007 - 13 Jun 2007
location
Recife, Brazil
Workshop Summary

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Sustainable Development (UN DESA/DSD) in cooperation with the Ministry of Cities of Brazil and COMPESA organized a capacity building workshop for the senior water utility managers of the Latin America and Caribbean Region in Recife, Brazil from 11-13 June 2007.

This workshop is responding to one of the recommendations of the 13th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development which emphasized the need to strengthen the capacities of water utilities to meet the challenges of service expansion and efficient delivery of services. The workshop proceedings will be organized around the following four thematic areas:

i.Managing water and sanitation services in the urban areas;
ii.Strengthening institutional governance and accountability;
iii.Financing water and sanitation services;
iv.Promoting partnerships among water operators.
The Workshop served as a forum for sharing knowledge and experiences gained in improving the governance of public water utilities, especially from the regional perspective. As such, it contributes towards strengthening the technical capacities of water utility managers in developing and implementing institutional and policy reforms that will make these utilities more efficient.

In addition to raising awareness about the challenges and their possible solutions, the Workshop programme was geared towards strengthening south-south cooperation, especially among water operators. The dialogue between water operators and experts focused on sharing lessons learned and good practices, as well as finding solutions that will help these utilities to become more responsive to their clients, commercially astute and financially sustainable. In summary, the Workshop was an important step forward towards accelerating the implementation of global water and sanitation agenda.
Statements & Presentations

Number of statements/presentations: 26

Session 1: Managing Water and Sanitation Services in Urban Areas - Issues and Challenges
Mr. M. Aslam Chaudhry, DSD
Meeting Water and Sanitation Goals in LAC Region: Role of Public Water Utilities
Mr. Patricio Naveas, IADB
Potable Water and Sanitation Initiative of the IADB
Mrs. Cassilda Teixeira, COPASA - Brazil
Mainstreaming Water and Sanitation MDGs into National Development Policies
Ms. Leida Mercado, SURF-LAC
Water Provision and the MDGs: Examples from the LAC Region
Session 2: Strengthening Institutional Governance and Accountability
Mr. Antonio Miranda, Member UNSG Advisory Board on W&S
Institutional Framework for Improving the Performance of Water Operators
Mr. Emilio Lentini, ETOSS, Argentina
Improving Regulatory Instruments and Control: The Experience of Buenos Aires"
Ms. Brita Forssberg, SIWI, Sweden
Managing Internal and External Communications for Improved Governance of Water Utilities
Ms. Cecilia Martinez Leal, Ministry for Social Development
Water and Sanitation from the Social Perspective
Session 3: Financing Water and Sanitation Services
Mr. Daniel Platz, FfD
Meeting the Financing Gap through Domestic Resource Mobilization
Mr. David le Blanc, DSD
Water Tariffs and Subsidies: Impact on Expansion of Water Services and Sustainability of Utilities
Mr. Gerard Payen, Member of the “Gurria Task Force” on Water Financing
Financing Water for All: Enhancing Access to Finance for Local Governments
Ms. Leida Mercado, SURF-LAC
Sustainable Management of Watersheds: The Role of Payments for Ecosystem Services
Session 4: Promoting Partnerships Among Water Operators
Mr. Antonio Miranda, Member UNSG Advisory Board on W&S
Water Operators Partnership (WOP) Framework
Mr. Daniel Adom
Role of WOP in Advancing the Implementation of W&S MDGs
Mr. Keith Robertson, IWA
Role of International Water Association in Supporting WOP
Session 5: Capacity Building Needs of Public Water Utilities in LAC
Mr. Jaime Patricio Salvador, EMAPAR, Ecuador
Capacity Needs of Small and Médium Size Communities
Mr. Jose Fernando Cardenas, ACODAL, Colombia
Developing Markets of SMEs in the Water and Sanitation Sector
Mr. Keith Robertson, IWA
Role of Professional Associations in Supporitng Capacity Building
Round Table 1: Looking Beyond the “Water Utility Box”
Mr. Luis FernandoUlloa Vergara, ANDESCO, Colombia
Enhancing Corporate Social Responsibility of Public Utilities
Mr. Roman Ghio, ADERASA
Benchmarking of Public Utilities
Mr. Tarcisio Alvarez-Rivero, DSD
Expanding the Water Business Cycle
Closing Session
United Nations