Precedents and possibilities for improved social participation in Guarani aquifer management policy

Abstract

The Guarani Aquifer System Project, funded by the World Bank/GEF, acknowledged the importance of public participation in aquifer management through educational materials, workshops and other projects to disseminate information. At the conclusion of the project in 2009 public awareness initiatives trailed off due to lack of funding and the weakening of cross-sectorial organization. The Uruguayan public’s awareness of the Guarani Aquifer System and its symbolic and strategic importance has grown over the last decade but this awareness is largely articulated through broad catchphrases. The next step toward active public participation in aquifer management policy is the creation of mechanisms firstly, for diffusing ever-evolving scientific and technical knowledge, secondly, encouraging behaviour and policy changes based on that knowledge and lastly, achieving a dialogue between local and international agendas focused on the Guarani Aquifer System.

During 2011 the organizers of the “Lo Esencial es Invisible a los Ojos” project, sponsored by Uruguay’s Casa Bertolt Brecht and Italy’s Associazione Filo Rosso, collaborated with teachers, scientists, and other members of society in the former Guaraní Aquifer System Project pilot sites of Rivera and Salto. The project will facilitate dialogue among local stakeholders to promote area-specific best practices and assist local actors to create multimedia products to both document this dialogue and communicate its outcomes.

This conference presentation will outline ongoing aquifer management activities in the former Uruguayan pilot sites, emphasize divergent or concurrent priorities between the local and regional levels and suggest what catalysts may be necessary in other regions to harmonize regional co-operation and local action.