The Peru journey aims to apply the UN Valuing Water Principles in the context of the Chancay-Lambayeque river basin in the north west of Peru. This journey had been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A trip in May 2022 re-established contact with the National Water Authority (ANA) and the main stakeholders and identified the main challenges at the national and local level. A group also visited the river basin to prepare for the first phase of work.
The first phase of work, the diagnostic phase, will investigate the extent to which the application of the UN Valuing Water Principles can help address issues raised by National Water Authority on the implementation progress of the 2014 Integrated Water Resources Management Plan (IWRM) plan of the Chancay-Lambayeque river basin. It will also contribute to a strategy for systemic change, in which public and private investment decisions internalize the true value of water, as well as water risks and opportunities.
The diagnostic phase will undertake a situation analysis to better understand the dynamics between the water cycle and the wider economy, as well as the mechanisms that drive water security and the overall economic well-being. This includes a baseline analysis of the river basin and an analysis at national level of the governance chain of multiple values of water. The conclusions from both analyses will support the development of recommendations for a contour strategy for systems change. This will form the basis for designing a more valuing water driven basin approach in the Chancay-Lambayeque river basin that can inform the update of the IWRM plan.
The main beneficiaries of this journey are ANA, including the decentralized bodies, and the Water Council of the Chancay-Lambayeque river basin. ANA is attached to the Ministry of Agriculture. Relevant stakeholders at national level include Superintendencia Nacional de Servicios de Saneamiento (SUNASS), Aquafondo, PROGIRH, Ministry of Environment, and the World Bank. A Technical Note for the implementation of diagnostic phase was signed in June 2022 by ANA and the Netherlands Embassy. Consultants to support national and local analysis have been identified.