Future of Water in Bolivia

Georgina Catacora and Carla Gomez from Bolivia tackle promoting access to drinking water in a socio-cultural context. They share their experiences in their home towns, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz; both cities which have more than one million inhabitants. In Cochabamba, in the centre of the country where 40% of the population does not have drinking water, Bechtel, a Californian company, obtained a license to supply drinking water for 40 years. Shortly after that, protests broke out and were suppressed, but the project was abandoned. Conclusions: local conditions have to be taken into account, fierce reactions have to be expected, and external solutions cannot be forced upon the people. Solutions need to be locally embedded and implemented.SAGUAPAC in Santa Cruz, however, is a successful project. It is referred to as the largest cooperative worldwide. It was founded in 1979 and supplies drinking water to two thirds of the city day and night and takes care of the waste water of more than 50% of the population. Insufficient financing hinders further expansion. Consumer orientation, democratic participation and continuity of management are success factors. Political interference and bureaucracy are absent. Conclusions: there is no universally valid formula, solutions have to be developed in line with local circumstances, and local solutions have to be found through local thinking. And finally, Bolivia needs legal and political reforms, removal of overlapping administrative powers and inclusion of independent local forces.