International cooperation on transboundary aquifers in South America and the Guarani Aquifer case

Villar, Pilar Carolina

doi:10.1590/0034-7329201600107

Acessibilidade / Reportar erro

Brasil

Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional

Español English

Brasil

Español English

sumário « anterior atual seguinte »

Sumário

Articles • Rev. bras. polít. int. 59 (01) • 2016 • https://doi.org/10.1590/0034-7329201600107 copy

International cooperation on transboundary aquifers in South America and the Guarani Aquifer case

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

International cooperation on groundwater takes many forms. The mobilization of different actors helps to promote cooperation initiatives in South America, where the most well known case is the Guarani Aquifer System (GAS). This article intends to analyze how international actors have motivated cooperation on transboundary aquifers and its repercussions in South America, especially in the case of the GAS.

Keywords:
transboundary aquifers; international cooperation; Guarani aquifer; South America; water governance

INITIATIVE	INTERNATIONAL ACTORS	OBJECTIVES
Commission for the Geological Map of the World - CGMW (1878)	International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS); International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG); and UNESCO	To design, promote, coordinate, prepare and publish small-scale thematic Earth Science maps.
AQUASTAT (1992)	FAO	To collect, analyze and disseminate information on water resources, uses and management.
World-wide Hydrogeological Mapping and Assessment Programme - WHYMAP (1999)	International Hydrological Programme (IHP); International Geoscience Programme (IGCP); International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH); CGMW; International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR).	To systematize groundwater data and provide map information to stimulate discussion on water.
Internationally Shared Aquifer Resources Management - ISARM (2000)	International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH); UN Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO); UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE); Organization of American States (OAS); International Network of Water-Environment Cesnter for the Balkans (INWEB); The Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS); UN Economic & Social Commission for West Asia (UNESCWA), University of Dundee; Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)	To promote global cooperation by establishing a network of experts; generating scientific, legal, socio-economic, institutional and environmental information about aquifers; and identifying potential case studies.
Groundwater Management Advisory Team - GW-MATE (2000)	World Bank and Global Water Partnership (GWP).	To disseminate knowledge and make recommendations for improving groundwater management, institutional capacities and policies.
Joint International Isotopes in Hydrology Programme (2002)	IHP/UNESCO and IAEA.	To develop isotope techniques, promote a better understanding of hydrological processes and improve groundwater assessment, development and management.
ICQHS stands for International Centre on Qanats and Historic Hydraulic Structures (2003)	UNESCO and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran.	To gather and transfers knowledge and experiences regarding all aspects of Qanat technology and other historical hydraulic structures
Groundwater Resources Assessment under the Pressures of Humanity and Climate Change - GRAPHIC (2004)	UNESCO - IHP.	It improves knowledge about how groundwater interacts within the global water cycle, ecosystems, human activity and climate change.
International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre - IGRAC (2007).	UNESCO, World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Netherlands Institute of Applied Geosciences and the Government of the Netherlands.	It stimulates knowledge about groundwater by developing a Groundwater Global Information System and establishing groundwater orientations or protocols.
Regional Centre for Shared Aquifer Resouces Management (RCSARM) (2008)	UNESCO and the Great Socialist Popular Lybian Arab Jamahiriya.	It promotes cooperation on research and compilation of case studies on shared groundwater management in Africa and Arab States.

Projects for Aquifers in South America	Partners	Main Goal
Project for the Implementation of Integrated River Basin Management Practices for the Pantanal and Upper Paraguay River Basin (1999 -2004)	Brazil, National Water Agency (ANA), Global Environmental Facility (GEF); United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Organization of American States (OAS).	To promote the sustainable development of the Pantanal region as a way to support the priorities identified in the Upper Paraguay Basin Conservation Plan and according to the Strategic Action Programme (UNEP and GEF 2005).
Project for the Characterization of the Zarumilla aquifer and monitoring of water quality carried out with coordination by the Puyango Tumbes Binational Project (2001).	IAEA, Peru and Ecuador	To produce knowledge on the aquifer which included the preparation of a geological and hydrogeological map, as well elaborating a hydrological model for the Zarumilla aquifer (AIEA 2009).
Project for the Integrated Transboundary Water Resources Management in Puyango-Tumbes, Catamayo- Chira and Zarumilla River Basins and Aquifers integrating climate variability concerns (2013)	Ecuador, The National Water Secretariat of Ecuador (SENAGUA) National; Peru; Water Authority of Peru (ANA); United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), GEF, FAO e IUCN	"Strengthening institutional, policy, legal and scientific-technical capacities to implement Integrated Transboundary Water Resources Management in Puyango-Tumbes, Catamayo- Chira and Zarumilla River Basins and Aquifers, integrating climate variability concerns" (GEF 2013, p. 1).
Project for Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development of the Guaraní Aquifer System, also known as Guarani Aquifer System Project (GASP). (2003).	Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, GEF; IAEA; Germany's Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR); OAS, World Bank, Bank Netherlands Water Partnership Program.	To support countries in the elaboration and implementation of a common institutional, legal, and technical framework for the management of the GAS (OAS 2009).
The Framework Program for the Sustainable Management of La Plata Basin's Water Resources with Respect to the Effects of Climate Variability and Change. Component Integrated Management of Groundwater: Sustainable Management of the Yrenda-Toba-Tarijeño Aquifer System (SAYTT)	Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, GEF, FONPLATA, CIC, OAS, UNEP and ISARM Americas	To guarantee a sustainable management of the water resources of the SAYTT, assuring the continuity of its replenishment and the maintenance of its water quality, and managing the risks to the aquifer associated with global climate change (CIC 2011).

Key elements	Agreement on the Guarani Aquifer	Aditional Information
Scope	Preamble Art. 1º - SAG "is a transboundary water resource that integrates the sovereign territories of the Republic of Argentina, the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Republic of Paraguay and the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, which are the sole owners of this resource" (art. 1).	States strongly emphasized their sovereign rights over SAG (articles 1º, 2º e 3º). States considered only the waters to be a transboundary resource, not the geological formation.
Substantive rules	Sovereign territorial control over their respective portions of the SAG (art. 2º). Sovereign right to promote the management, monitoring, and sustainable utilization of the SAG water resources (art. 3º). Equitable and reasonable utilization principle (art. 3º and 4º). Obligation of not causing significant harm to the other Parties or the environment (art. 3º, 6º and 7º). States shall act in agreement with the principles and norms of applicable international law (art. 5º). Cooperation to identify critical areas (art. 14).	The principle of sovereignty was limited by mentioning the principle of equitable and reasonable use and the obligation not to cause harm, as well as by principles and norms of international law.
Procedural rules	Exchange technical information about studies, activities and works (art. 8º). Obligation to inform and exchange data on planned measures that may have transboundary effects on the GAS, including results from an evaluation of environmental effects (art. 5º, 8º and 9º). Duty to provide the appropriate data and information required by other Party, or Parties in the case of planned measures (art. 10). Cooperation programs to extend scientific and technical knowledge over the GAS (art. 12) Identification of critical areas, especially boundary areas (art. 14).	The agreement did not express the obligations of notification and consultation, however those duties are implied in the idea set out in articles 9 and 10.
Institutional mechanisms	Provisions to the GAS Commission (art. 15).
Dispute settlement	Direct negotiations (art. 16, 17 and 18). Arbitration procedure (art. 19).	The arbitration procedure will be defined in an Additional Protocol (art. 19).

Centro de Estudos Globais da Universidade de Brasília Centro de Estudos Globais, Instituto de Relações Internacionais, Universidade de Brasília, Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro, Brasília - DF - 70910-900 - Brazil, Tel.: + 55 61 31073651 - Brasília - DF - Brazil
E-mail: rbpi@unb.br

Acompanhe os números deste periódico no seu leitor de RSS

[TFN1] Elaborated by the author.