Dear colleagues,
The Natural Resources and Infrastructure
Division is organizing the Regional Conference "Building Commitment,
Efficiency and Equity for Water Supply and Sanitation Services in Latin
America and the Caribbean" which will be held at ECLAC headquarters
in Santiago, Chile, 15-16 March 2011. Working language will be Spanish
(no simultaneous translation will be available).
Conference web page (in Spanish):
http://www.eclac.cl/drni/
(Conferencia "Construyendo Compromiso, Eficiencia y Equidad para Servicios
Sustentables de Agua Potable y Saneamiento en América Latina y el Caribe")
Conference programme (in Spanish):
http://www.eclac.cl/drni/noticias/noticias/7/42407/programa.pdf
This conference is organized
within the framework of the "Building Commitment, Efficiency and Equity
for Sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation in Latin America and the Caribbean"
project which is being implemented jointly by ECLAC and the Deutsche Gesellschaft
für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and financed by the German Federal
Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The event is also
being kindly supported by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The main objectives of the conference
are: i) to discuss and analyze the results of the research and technical
assistance activities undertaken under the project; ii) to discuss and
improve draft "Public policy guidelines for efficient, equitable and
sustainable water supply and sanitation services" which summaries
the lessons learned from project activities; and iii) to analyze the current
situation of service provision in the region with a view to define priorities
for future activities.
The conference will be organized
in the following sessions: i) lessons learned from the research undertaken
under the project (industrial structure for efficient service provision,
challenges for efficiency under the public model of service provision,
investment treaties and the human right to water, economic regulation and
contracts, efficiency and its measurement, public policies for rural population,
and control of transfer prices) ii) experiences of the countries with which
we have cooperated within the framework of the project (Chile, Colombia,
Guatemala and Peru); iii) other relevant national experiences (Argentina,
Bolivia, Brazil, France, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Uruguay) and
vision of the private sector; iv) presentation of the draft public policy
guidelines; and v) analysis and discussion of this draft in eight working
groups (efficiency and the public model of service provision, exogenous
factors and macroeconomic policies, industrial structure, institutional
structure, economic regulation and contracts,tariffs and subsidies, public
policies for rural communities, and implications of globalization).
The event will be attended by
water supply and sanitation governmental authorities (regulatory agencies,
ministries, etc.) of the countries of the region, water utilities, international
and regional organizations, bilateral cooperation, civil society, non governmental
organizations, universities, and national, regional and international experts.
To participate in the conference,
it is essential to register (your complete name, name of your institution,
position, passport or identification number, and your preferred choice
of the working groups) via e-mail to Valerie Cunliffe, [log in to unmask],
and Caridad Canales, [log in to unmask]
Unfortunately, NO funds are
available to provide financial support to participants.
Yours sincerely,
Andrei S. Jouravlev
Economic Affairs Officer
Natural Resources and Infrastructure
Division
Economic Commission for Latin
America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
