Dr. Noyola (seated third from left) at the opening of the XXXI Congreso Interamericano de AIDIS in Santiago, Chile, on Oct. 12, 2008.
Click here to enlarge imageWWi:Now, the idea for the WOPs began in a 2005 initiative as part of the 4th World Water Forum in Mexico City that became known as the Hashimoto Action Plan, correct?
Noyola: Yes, AIDIS helped to launch this in the region since last year when we started to work with the United Nations and UN Habitat as the owner of the program globally. In our region, the Inter-American Development Bank was very much interested. They loan to water utilities and so they are very much interested in this cooperation.
WWi: There was a big funding commitment to that as well. What was that?
Noyola: I don’t have the figure but, yes, it’s a new way to collaborate. It’s a partnering or mentorship program between large and small water and wastewater system operators from different regions, but without… how you say finas de lucra — not-for-profit — at least on the first part of the cooperation.
WWi: It’s not for commercial gain but as a cooperative exchange where each partner teaches something to the other.
Noyola: That’s it — just paying the expenses of traveling, but not earning money for that. That eventually could come in the second part of the cooperation. This could be a very effective way of improving water utilities in many parts of the region. We have very strong water utilities.
WWi: Some are also very big, such as SABESP, one of the largest in this hemisphere.
Noyola: Yes, we also have COPASA. And we have Aguas Andinas, which is private. In some countries you can find water utilities with a lot of experience that are efficient and effective. They can help other smaller utilities quickly improve their services. And this is supported by the Inter-American Development Bank, UN Habitat and the IWA, which is also participating because it pioneered the WOPs program in East Asia and Africa. But the partnerships are advancing much more rapidly here, even though we just started. You listen to Corinne Cathala, the IDB representative, and they have already five or six partnerships going. And the guy from COPASA mentioned others even with countries outside the region — in Africa with Angola and Mozambique. The opportunities are enormous. And AIDIS also, by providing linkages and the space for the proper approach, will take the lead with signing statements. We think these two initiatives — the Water Security Plans and Water Operator Partnerships — will help make it happen. With these two also, the water utilities may have a methodology or some means to improve their services without necessarily investing a lot of money.
Click here to read "An Interview with Dr. Adalberto Noyola on Latin America's Water Industry" in full in Q&A format.