Lessons learned from The Guarani Aquifer System Project Adopted In The La Plata Basin Framework Program

highlights
• Management actions must be prioritized in areas located near country boundaries.
• Water availability is a strategic issue for national interests.
• Difficulties to attaining a rapid consensus are related to lack of data and information.
• Primarily those related to national sovereignty, should be undertaken very carefully.
• No country alone can address all of these issues and concerns.

La Plata Basin (LPB) is situated in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, is one of the largest catchment in South America, extending over 3.1 million km2, has enormous economic and social importance for the region. The Guarani Aquifer System (GAS) is located in the eastern and midsouthern South America and underlies in some areas of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, with an estimated total surface about 1,090,000 km2. Most of the GAS area is located in the LPB. The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has supported several programs in the LPB region. Among them, the Framework Program for the Sustainable Management of the Water Resources of the La Plata Basin with respect to the Effects of Climate Variability and Change (LPB Project) and the Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development of the Guarani Aquifer System Project (GAP). Experiences gained during the development of the GAP have provided learning opportunities that could be useful in the implementation of new GEF projects, particularly the LPB Project. This paper draws primarily upon lessons learned from the GAP that are currently being considered in the LPB Project.