The administration of water resources in Latin America and the Caribbean

Water management in Latin America and the Caribbean has long been administrated in the light of increasing productivity. Recent changes in the direction of water management activities has been brought about by economic and social crises in the area, as well as by influence of international organizations. Brazil, Chile and Mexico have begun programmes to separate management of water resource protection from the management of water use, with new definitions for responsibility both on governmental and private sector levels, and the decentralization of activities. Privatization and municipalization of water systems are shifting the responsibility away from the central government, thereby creating an increasingly user-based environment. In the second half of the report, each country is discussed separately with respect to the present administrative framework, water uses, water resource management policies and licensing procedures.