Ecobreves – BOLIVIA: Cochabamba Water Project Recognized

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

COCHABAMBA, May 2 2005 (IPS) - The project Water for All, being developed in the outskirts of the central Bolivian city of Cochabamba to provide potable water to the poorest population, could soon receive fresh financing after winning the SEED award on Apr. 22. ''Thanks to the award we have made contact with institutions in the global arena with great potential for consolidating sources of financing and assistance,'' project director Gustavo Heredia told Tierramérica.

The SEED (Supporting Entrepreneurs in Environment and Development) prize entails promotion of the winning projects amongst cooperation agencies, NGOs and governments to seek additional funding. It is sponsored by the United Nations Environment Program and the United Nations Development Program.

Water for All, launched this year and with a mandate through 2009, is headed by the private company Programa Agua Tuya (Your Water Program), in alliance with the Cochabamba municipal agency SEMAPA and the Bolivian Pro Habitat Foundation.

The project ensures that water service rates remain affordable by building secondary networks and household connections linked to the main network run by SEMAPA.

The residents benefiting from the project so far number 3,000, and pay 30 cents on the dollar per cubic meter of water, instead of the 2.5 dollars per cubic meter they had to pay for water delivered by tanker trucks.