The Americas’ road to 10th World Water Forum with OLAS Data

Spanish version available here

The Regional Process of the Americas has come to an end. This process - coordinated by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in collaboration with governmental actors and various organizations in the region - aims to produce the regional report on the status of water in Latin America and the Caribbean, which will be presented at the 10^th World Water Forum (WWF) next month in Bali.

Collaboration, the key to the Americas' regional process

The Regional Process of the Americas is a collaborative and participatory process that identifies challenges faced by the water sector in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) , encouraging their analysis through various sociodemographic and economic lenses to develop regional and local strategies to approach them.

Historically, however, data availability has been a challenge. Large data gaps in the subregions with respect to water resources are often highlighted as obstacles in and of themselves, even with respect to basic metrics such as total available water resources and wastewater treatment rates. More complex information necessary for developing effective policies in the sector, such as data disaggregated by gender, migratory status, or socioeconomic factors present a particular challenge.

This year, however, the process benefited from the participation of the Water and Sanitation Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean (OLAS), which provided tools, data workshops, and guidance on data sources necessary for generating the report.

The process consisted of workshops (6 sessions), with government focal points and other relevant sector stakeholders participating. These workshops defined the regional reports' primary areas of focus and facilitated discussion and synthesis of subregional trends in the sector. Findings from the workshops were then used to generate subregional reports which, at the end of the process, provided the basis for the regional report, which describes the state of the water sector and challenges faced throughout the region as well as recommendations.

In addition to discussing the 6 main themes proposed by the World Water Council:

• Water Security and Prosperity
• Water for Humans and Nature,
• Water Financing,
• Disaster Risk Reduction and Management,
• Cooperation and Hydro-Diplomacy, and
• Knowledge and Innovation,

These workshops also identified important emerging topics in the sector, such as:

• Cross-border Cooperation
• Capacity Building
• Youth
• Vulnerable Populations (Migrants)
• Gender
• Circular Economy
• Innovative Financing
• Resilience and Water Security

OLAS, a key actor in the process

The OLAS supported this process, which began in June of 2023, in several ways. Principally, the OLAS' specialists indexed reliable data sources to be used for each major topic and participated in one of the regional workshops to identify national, subregional and regional sources of information, which were then made accessible as a toolkit on the platform.

Within the subregions, the OLAS held additional work sessions about technical capacity throughout the region and generated short presentations summarizing trends in the available data, as well as major data gaps for water and sanitation issues through the lenses of gender, migration, and water stress. Finally, the OLAS reviewed the subregional reports, providing feedback on the data sources used to ensure consistency across the region.

Data availability still poses a significant challenge in the region, including with respect to the generation of high-level regional reports in LAC. However, the implementation of a regional process wherein contributors are aligned with respect to the universe of available data and reliability of that data not only facilitates the creation of a more cohesive, consistent, and reliable final report but also generates a shared understanding of the challenges and opportunities in the sector. The existence of a centralized observatory for information, datasets and reports on water and sanitation in LAC allows contributors to access the necessary data easily and quickly and provides a means for increased cohesion in data use and messaging throughout the region.

"The OLAS has emerged as a cornerstone of regional progress and dialogue on water issues. Through data collection, analysis and dissemination efforts, the OLAS has provided invaluable insights, facilitated informed decision-making at the national and regional level and has recently served as a relevant input for the forthcoming regional report. By promoting collaboration and knowledge-sharing on data, the OLAS intends to continue shaping the water and sanitation agenda and fostering that the sector is included in the regional development efforts". - Maria Eugenia de la Peña, Coordinator of the OLAS initiative at the IDB.

About OLAS

The Water and Sanitation Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean (OLAS) is a digital platform that collects and makes relevant information from the water and sanitation sector in the region available to the public. By doing this, OLAS contributes to understanding the sector's situation and monitoring it within the framework of the related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The OLAS platform 2.0 launched in March 2024 and is available for you to explore. Visit at www.olasdata.org to discover useful tools and sectoral information, analyze data, and find out about upcoming events and opportunities in the water and sanitation sector.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.