Urbanized regions demand more quality basic services

Montevideo, November 14, 2013. Representatives from regulatory entities for potable water and sanitation services in the Americas gathered for three days in Montevideo to exchange experiences and reflect on the scope of the actions that are being developed. The VI Ibero-American Summit on Regulation, organized by the Regulatory Unit for Water and Energy Services (URSEA, for its acronym in Spanish) in Uruguay, included the participation of the sector's political authorities, distinguished technicians, and academics. The meeting took place in the framework of the XIII Annual Assembly of the Association of Regulatory Entities for Potable Water and Sanitation of the Americas (ADERASA, for its acronym in Spanish).

After the initial presentation by Catarina de Albuquerque, the United Nations Speaker regarding Access to Water and Sanitation, who presented a video summarizing the continental standing, a working table was organized to discuss "Financing for Services Infrastructure", which included CAF's Representative in Uruguay, Gladis Genua, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Representative in Uruguay, Juan José Taccone, and the World Bank Representative in Uruguay, Ruxandra Burdescu.

As a Development Bank of Latin America, CAF presented the aspects that are part of the Institution's agenda in supporting projects to develop and improve the coverage of water and sanitation services in the countries of the region.

Genua noted that "more than 40 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean have overcome poverty in past years; however, although poverty has been reduced, we are still the most unequal region in the world, while at the same time we are one of the most urbanized regions, which determines a greater demand for quality basic services".

"Currently, 25% of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean still lacks potable water and sanitation services. If we want to achieve universal coverage for these services, 0.3% of GDP should be invested per year, which would imply USD 12.5 billion per year" explained Genua, highlighting that "access to water should be visualized as a fundamental Human Right when defining policies".

Genua finished by explaining that CAF may support the improvement of services through financing, technical assistance, and knowledge management. Regarding the latter aspect, she mentioned two publications by CAF that point in that direction: Agua Potable y Saneamiento en América Latina y el Caribe: metas realista y soluciones sostenibles(Potable Water and Sanitation, in Latin America and the Caribbean: Realistic Goals  and Sustainable Solutions) and Equidad e inclusión social en América Latina: acceso universal al agua y el saneamiento (Equity and Social Inclusion in Latin America; Universal Access to Water and Sanitation), and highlighted that during the 2007-2013 period, CAF contributed USD 4 billion to finance water and sanitation works, benefitting more than 36 million inhabitants.

Taccone stated that water is a fundamental human right, so that the subject and the need to coordinate the different actors that participate not only in the water sector but also in the definition of public health, urbanism, and social development policies, should be a priority.

At the same time, Burdescu pointed to the social profitability generated by sanitation as a result of the repercussions on tourism, the value of land, the quality of water, security, and a greater dignity for people.

The conference enabled the analysis of normative, tariff, and infrastructure aspects with respect to potable water and sanitation. In this regard, authorities and civil servants from several countries had the opportunity to state their concerns and the difficulties faced when trying to deliver the services.

Mario Bergara, President of the Central Bank of Uruguay (BCU for its acronym in Spanish), addressed the subject of regulation tied in with the financial system, while Daniel Greif, President of the Regulatory Unit for Energy and Water Services (URSEA)  talked about control of the potable water quality in Uruguay.

There were also presentations from representatives of the Universidad de la Republica (UDELAR) in Uruguay, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Universities of Barcelona (Spain), and Florida (USA), and from delegates of the governments of Peru, Bolivia, Portugal, Brazil, Costa Rica, Argentina, Paraguay, Panama, and Ecuador.