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The purpose of this request is to procure financing
for the formulation of a Strategic Action Program for the Integrated
Management of Water Resources and the Sustainable Development of the San
Juan River Basin and its Coastal Zone. The ultimate objective of the SAP
is to ensure the availability of the goods and services provided by water
resources for conserving natural ecosystems and social and economic
development in order to satisfy present and future demands as agreed by
all parties involved. In this way conflicts related to the use of the
goods and services generated by SJRB ecosystems will be minimized through
a coordinated program of action conducted jointly by the two countries.
The major components of the SAP formulation include: i) the strengthening
of a basin-wide information system that provides the mechanisms for
gathering and dissemination of data adequate to the needs of
decision-making for the integrated management of the basin; ii) the
creation of a well-coordinated bilateral planning process for the SJRB;
iii) the implementation of a gender oriented public participation process;
iv) the strengthening of public institutions and private organizations;
and v) the formulation and implementation of environmental education
activities.
Coordination between the two countries is an important
mechanism that can help to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants
and protect the ecosystem. This cooperation will support the coordination
of research and transboundary management. It will permit the interaction
of government institutions and NGOs, strengthening both and making
possible a more integrated – and thus more sustainable – development.
The SAP will create a framework for future action and
a timetable of activities for the protection and use of the numerous goods
and services offered by the water resources and ecosystems of the SJRB. It
will thus promote the sustainable development of the region. The SAP will
lay out a series of measures to reduce and/or eliminate current and
emerging problems affecting the conservation and development of the SJRB.
It will enhance the transboundary and global benefits obtained when
development is both integrated and participatory, and when environmental
education, technology transfer, and institutional strengthening are key
elements of a program.
The SAP will address priority transboundary needs and
focus on long-term solutions to the current and emerging problems facing
the SJRB. Furthermore, it will propose a series of projects based on
experience gathered from demonstrations of new technologies, taking into
account their real costs and the capacity of the institutions and
organizations involved to execute them.
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