Dialogue on Water and Climate

Coping with Climate Variability in a Transboundary Basin

in Central America

The San Juan River Basin
(Costa Rica and Nicaragua)

Report of the Bi-National Workshop
(3-4 September 2002)

Introduction

During the second half of 2002, the Ministries of Environment of the governments of Costa Rica and Nicaragua initiated activities in the San Juan River Basin to identify and describe the coping strategies used by the populations of this area when confronted with the negative aspects of climate variability. The work was undertaken with the technical assistance of the OAS’ Unit of Sustainable Development and Environment and the financial support of the Government of the Netherlands through the International Secretariat of the Dialogue on Water and Climate (IS/DWC). It is one of eighteen global DWC projects underway at the basin, national and regional levels; the SJRB was chosen as a river basin case study because of the experience of PROCUENCA-SAN JUAN in this transboundary region—particularly its experience in the use of dialogues (Map 1).

The workshop is the third of three events under the project; the first two being a characterization of the basin in terms of its climate, climate variability and socio-economic status, and a field investigation to locate and define coping mechanisms of the populations and institutions of the basin. The nearly seventy participants in the workshop included representatives from municipalities, official institutions and NGOs responsible for, and working in, the supply, storage, distribution and use of water; health, disaster relief and preparedness, and civil defense; agriculture and livestock production, research, and development; and producer associations (Appendix 1).