CAF approves US$240 million to improve water security in Bolivia

CAF, Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, approved US$240 million in financing for Bolivia to guarantee the availability of water for social development and agricultural production. This loan is expected to increase the area under irrigation by approximately 13,600 hectares, as well as improve productivity and efficient water use, benefiting 15,000 families throughout the country.

This financing, which will be executed by the Ministry of Environment and Water, implementing the Resilient Dams program (Presas Resilientes in spanish), contemplates the construction of dam systems through the corresponding water storage and regulation works.

"This operation aims to take advantage of and better manage the water resource in Bolivia, through strategic storage works that allow regulating the availability of water for irrigation and other productive uses in a sustainable manner. With this, we seek to enhance development and social cohesion in rural areas of the country, favor the productive matrix and food security, and improve the adaptation of communities to climate change," said Sergio Diaz-Granados, CAF's executive president.

Currently, pressing climate-related difficulties are combined with the scarcity of water storage infrastructure that does not allow regulating the availability of water resources throughout the year, which is essential for agricultural and other productive uses. In this context, the Resilient Dams program includes among its components investments in the construction of dams, pre-investments for technical studies, institutional strengthening of operators and entities in charge of system maintenance, and a national monitoring center for dams.