ONLINE EVENT | 10th Water Dialogues Spain - LAC
CAF - development bank of Latin America and the Caribbean - invites you to participate in the tenth edition of the Water Dialogues, a space designed to discuss the challenges of water resilience in the urban systems of our region. This event will focus on three key themes: circular economy for sustainable cities, Nature-Based Solutions for greener cities, and automation and innovation in water and sanitation services. Through these topics, we aim to promote effective actions that contribute to water resilience in Latin America and the Caribbean, in synergy with Spain. Additionally, this edition will commemorate and strengthen the ties between CAF and Ibero-America, highlighting the cooperation achieved through the Ibero-American Water Directors and Authorities Conference (CODIA).
The climate crisis is a water crisis, and in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), water-related disasters have doubled since the 1980s. This clearly demonstrates the need to properly value and invest in water management, especially in urban environments where climate change exacerbates issues like droughts and floods, impacting society, the economy, and the environment. The 10th Water Dialogues are a vital platform to address these challenges, promoting solutions that ensure water resilience and sustainable access to water and sanitation in the region’s cities.
Water resilience not only means preparing cities to face water-related crises but also integrating them into a basin-wide approach that considers the relationship between water and other urban systems. In this context, green infrastructure and Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) are crucial as they offer sustainable, multifunctional responses, improving urban livability by lowering temperatures, filtering water, and purifying the air. These solutions effectively address water stresses, contribute to sustainable urban development, and strengthen recovery capacity in the face of disasters.
The Water Dialogues highlight the importance of modernizing water management through the sensing and automation of the integral water cycle. This involves a cultural shift toward the democratization of information, allowing technical, commercial, and administrative areas to work in synergy. By prioritizing data-driven actions, resources are optimized, and better decision-making is ensured to meet climate challenges and improve the quality of life in LAC cities.
Date: October 17, 2024
Time: 10:00 a.m. (Spain time)
*The event will be streamed on this microsite.
Agenda
10:00 - 10:05 | Welcome Remarks
- León de la Torre Krais, Director General of Casa de América
10:05 - 10:45 | Inauguration
- Sergio Díaz-Granados, Executive President of CAF - development bank of Latin America and the Caribbean
- Hugo Morán, Secretary of State for the Environment of Spain
- Inés Carpio, Director General of International Finance of the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise
- Loic Fauchon, President of the World Water Council
Block 1: High-Level Panel – 10th Anniversary Commemoration: Integrated Urban Water Management
10:45 - 11:00 | Water Security around Latin American and Caribbean Cities
- Keynote Speaker: Ángel Cárdenas, Manager of Urban Development, Water, and Creative Economies at CAF
11:00 - 12:00 | High-Level Panel 1 – 10th Anniversary Commemoration of the Water Dialogues: Water Security and SDG 6
- Jessica López, Minister of Public Works of Chile
- Fernando López L, Minister of Natural Resources of El Salvador
- Rolando Figueroa, Governor of Neuquén, Argentina
- Moderator: Ángel Cárdenas, Manager of Urban Development, Water, and Creative Economies at CAF
Block 2: High-Level Panel – 'Water and Sustainable Cities: Promoting the Circular Economy'
12:00 - 13:00 | High-Level Panel 2: Promoting Sustainable Sanitation Systems and the Circular Economy for Water Security
- José Luis Inglese, President of the Inter-American Association of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering - AIDIS
- Manuel Romero, CEO of Empresa de Abastecimiento y Saneamiento de Aguas de Sevilla S.A. - EMASESA, Spain
- Franz Rojas, Director of Water and Sanitation Analysis at CAF
- Silvia Saravia, Water Resources Leader at ECLAC
- Moderator: Concepción Marcuello, Coordinator of International Water Affairs at the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge of Spain - MITECO
Best Water Security Projects Contest: Winner Announcement and Award Ceremony
13:00 - 13:05 | Introduction Remarks. Contest Evaluation and Objectives
- Carlota Real, CAF - development bank of Latin America and the Caribbean
13:05 - 13:20 | Award Ceremony
- 1st Prize, presented by: Sergio Diaz-Granados, Executive President of CAF
- 2nd Prize, presented by: Christian Asinelli, Corporate Vice President of Strategic Programming at CAF
- 3rd Prize, presented by: Hugo Morán, Secretary of State for the Environment - MITECO, Spain
13:20 - 15:00 | Break - Lunch
Block 3: Financing for Local Governments
15:00 - 16:00 | Panel 3. Financing for Local Governments: Progress and Prospects
- Camila Rodríguez, Regional Manager of Pre-investment, Infrastructure, and Energy for Latin America and Europe, World Bank Group
- Hervé Dubreuil, Deputy Director of Urban Planning and Housing, French Development Agency
- Carlos Puentes, Director of Water, Energy, and Environment at BANOBRAS
- Moderator: Nicolás Mendioroz, CAF - development bank of Latin America and the Caribbean
Block 4: High-Level Panel ‘Water and Greener Cities: Nature-Based Solutions’
16:00 - 16:50 | Panel 4. Water Security and Sustainable Nature-Based Solutions
- Dolores Pascual, Director General of Water, MITECO
- Verónica Sánchez da Cruz, President, National Water and Sanitation Agency of Brazil (ANA)
- Leonardo Boto, Mayor of Luján, Argentina
- Moderator: Antonio Morales, CAF - development bank of Latin America and the Caribbean
16:50 - 16:55 | Launch of the 4th Edition of the MOOC on Dams and Reservoirs
16:55 - 17:10 | Break - Coffee
Block 5: High-Level Panel: Automation and Innovation for Water Efficiency
17:10 - 18:00 | Panel 5. Data Management and Technological Innovation for Decision-Making
- Patricia Hernández, General Manager, Mexican Water Companies Association
- Vicente Fajardo, CEO, Global Omnium, Aguas de Valencia
- Víctor Arroyo, Director for Spain, Portugal, and Latin America, Isle Utilities
- Moderator: José María Blasco, Director of Infrastructure, Health, and ICT, ICEX
18:00 - 18:15 | Closing Remarks
- Christian Asinelli, Corporate Vice President of Strategic Programming at CAF
- Alicia Varela, Director General for International Trade and Investment, Spain