Rivers could transform transportation and communications in South America

The rivers of South America could become authentic transportation routes for goods and services, and integrate with highways and railroads, while at the same time promoting economic development and regional integration, according to the document Hidrovías para el desarrollo y la integración suramericana (Waterways for South American development and integration), produced by CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, which is a starting point for the launching of the Program for the Development of South American Waterways. 

The main objectives of the program are to improve ports, infrastructure, and connectivity, identification of comprehensive investment projects, and strengthening of production and intra and extra regional trade. Studies point out that almost 70 percent of the South American continent is made up of hydrographic basins with naturally navigable rivers, which provide real opportunities to become a strategic factor that favors the transportation of merchandise, economic revitalization, and in general, a comprehensive development in its areas of influence.  

Taking into consideration that 75 percent of the superficial water resources correspond to basins that are shared between two or more countries, the program intends to develop the incipient South American river navigation system, whose axis is the interconnection of the rivers of the Orinoco, Amazon, del Plata Basins, which together with their tributaries constitute more than 100,000 Km. which are suitable for river transportation. 

Enrique Garcia, Executive President of CAF, explained, "The development of waterways in the South American continent constitutes a permanent and historically claimed need. A greater use of the rivers would contribute to energize regional economies while at the same time, advance toward Latin American integration which would allow us to be more competitive at a global scale". 

The document states that the most relevant basins in South America are those of the Amazon river, Orinoco river, the Paraguay/Parana rivers, and the Tocantins river, while the most notable hydrographic regions are Lake Titicaca, the block of the Magdalena/Andino, and Caribe rivers, lakes Merín/Patos, the Northeast Atlantic, and the Southern Cone of the continent. 

From rivers to waterways 

With the Program for the Development of South American Waterways, CAF intends to promote waterways under the principles of integration, cooperation, complementarity, and care for the environment, while at the same time analyze, promote, create, and disseminate programs regarding their development.  

In the first stage, the program's activities will focus on the Waterway of the Magdalena River, the Paraguay-Parana Waterway, the Uruguay River Waterway, and the Uruguay/Brazil Waterway. During the second stage, the program will expand to the Amazon Waterway, the Meta/Orinoco Waterway, the Napo Waterway (Manta/Manaos), and others that are prioritized by competent authorities.  

It is expected that the program will achieve the following objectives, among others: 

• Promote the adoption of the necessary actions so that the waterways operate year round, 24 hours a day, with a guaranteed minimum depth. 
• Promote the design, adoption, and consolidation of its own model for water transportation under a multimodal approach which is part of a logistic system 
• Support the adoption of measures and/or agreements to facilitate navigation, traffic, and transfers, framed within the concept of facilitating the movement of people, foreign trade, and its logistic 

In addition, at a social level, the program's objective is to generate new sources of income and employment, increase GDP and its social impact, improve educational and health development, improve the quality of life of those who live close to the rivers, and strengthen trans-frontier integration. At an economic level, it is aimed at improving competitiveness, generating economies of scale, reducing logistic and transportation costs, improving international insertion, and generating new development poles. With respect to the environment, the goals are the following: reduce contamination, safer transportation, lower accident rates, low energy and fuel consumption, lower pollution and noise levels, and reduction in transportation congestion.  

Economic and social advantages  

The Program for the Development of South American Waterways highlights that the efficient use of the rivers would imply the following advantages:  

• As a means of transportation: In South America there is enough of its own cargo in addition to the one coming from other markets to transport grains, minerals, agro-industrial products, and other cargo. Waterways are a good option to reduce logistic costs associated to transportation. In any case, river transportation does not discard the use of different means of transportation.  
• As a factor for economic and social development: Greater connectivity between the populations located in the areas of influence of the waterways allows for the execution of education, health, or technology projects. At the same time, the development of river transportation would contribute to develop the productive skills of the local population and improve the competitiveness of the agricultural, agro-industrial, and mining sectors, among others. 
• As a promoter of regional integration: The development of waterways will accelerate and deepen the integration processes of the countries involved, which is a prior step to the construction of a multimodal connectivity at a South American level, where river transportation will play an essential role. It is important to observe rivers and waterways in a comprehensive manner, taking into account production, transportation, marketing, environment, culture, and citizenry.