Governance and Institutional Strengthening

1.- Promoting Governance

Actions to accompany partner countries
The Fund’s programmes always have a key component of institutional strengthening, governance and institutional accompaniment. Especially in recent years, programmes have been shifting from more focused interventions on access to water and sanitation services to broader ones focusing on governance. Good examples of this are some of the latest programmes approved, such as the new initiative in Guatemala for the «Consolidation of the Governance and Sustainability Model for water and sanitation services with an integrated and territorial management approach in the Lake Atitlán Basin», or the last two interventions in El Salvador, for the «Development of a public policy to ensure the sustainability of the drinking water and sanitation sub-sector in rural areas, phases I and II».
Participation in the Conference of Ibero-American Water Directorates and Authorities (CODIA)
For two decades, CODIA has brought together those responsible for water and sanitation management in the Ibero-American region and has become one of the most important forums for promoting good governance in the sector and integrated water resource management.

In 2024, the Cooperation Fund for Water and Sanitation has continued to collaborate with the CODIA in the development of the IWRM line and its sanitation and treatment roadmap.

CODIA members work throughout the year and meet twice: most recently, once remotely and once face to face. In 2024, the face-to-face meeting took place in Costa Rica, from 6 to 8 November, and the FCAS presented the Guidelines for Integrated Water Resources Management of the Hydrological Planning Guide

2.- Support for the development of the sanitation and wastewater treatment sector

The existence of an adequate regulatory framework and sectoral planning is fundamental in the sanitation sector and must include essential aspects that go beyond infrastructure, including elements such as the organisation of the service, the development of the regulatory framework, training and public awareness. Being aware of these needs, the Water Fund has worked specifically on various aspects to promote sanitation and wastewater treatment in the region.

Sectoral regulation debate platform
Throughout the year 2024, work has continued with the support of CEDEX, as technical assistance to the FCAS, in the framework of the regional strategy on discharge regulations, which includes both technical cooperation activities and direct support to countries in the revision of their sectoral regulations, so that both the laws and the technologies used are adapted to their needs.

Active collaboration has been carried out for the consolidation of the first two groups, the Technical Criteria for Discharge Limitations and for the Reuse of Treated Water. Support has also been given to the launch of the new group on Liquid Discharge Fees, which was presented at a webinar organised by CODIA on 18 April 2024 with the support of the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), which took over the coordination of the group for the first few months.

As other noteworthy activities during this period, the Reuse Group has developed a document on the aspects to be regulated in relation to reuse, and has organised a Virtual Workshop on the Safe Management of Wastewater Reuse. This workshop was held on 3, 4 and 5 June 2024, with a further closing session on 17 June. It was included in the CODIA training programme and its objectives focused on highlighting the elements to be included in a wastewater reuse standard, the basic concepts of risk management associated with reuse and the tools to make it effective.

Regulatory activities in the region are complemented by direct collaboration with some countries, such as Cuba, where CEDEX has worked on the revision of a proposed reuse standard.
Sectoral planning for sanitation
For some years now, the FCAS has been working, in collaboration with CODIA, on the drafting of recommendations for sectoral planning of sanitation at regional level, which will include a series of methodological guides for carrying out basic studies, work led by the Centre for Public Works Studies and Experimentation (CEDEX), and which has continued during this period.
Supporting guidelines and recommendations for the implementation of sanitation and wastewater treatment projects
Also in collaboration with CEDEX, work is underway to develop a series of knowledge products to support the implementation of sanitation and wastewater treatment projects.

The Guide for the selection of land for treatment plants was completed and published on the FCAS website in May, which is complementary to the guide for the selection of wastewater treatment alternatives, published the previous year.

Download the guide here (spanish)

Finally, work has continued on the development of tools for the design of different treatment technologies and for cost estimation, which are being uploaded to the AECID website.
Wastewater Treatment Plant Registration and Sanitation System
During 2024, work has continued with the Wastewater Treatment Plant Registration and Monitoring tool. In particular, progress has been made regarding the monitoring software application, implementing improvements and the possibility of sharing the tool with other entities, such as service providers, organisations or ministries that wish to implement it.

In summary, this application, developed with the support of the public company Tragsatec, consists of a standardisation of the work to be carried out for the adequate monitoring of wastewater treatment plants with two levels of scope: inspection of the installations and their diagnosis.

The Tool consists of 4 modules:
- A first general data module for recordingthe main characteristics and design parameters, providing a clear overview of each installation.
- A second module aimed at plant inspection, consisting of a checklist to be used as a guide during the visual inspection of the WWTP and a compilation of analytical and flow rate records, aimed at ascertaining the general condition, degree of operation and performance of the provider.
- A third diagnosticmodule in which, based on previous inspections and through longer visits and the participation of an expert in the field, the weaknesses and needs of the plant can be determined, reaching the level of an Improvement Plan that each installation may require.
- Finally, it contains a section on investment costs,which seeks to draw conclusions on the cost of construction of the different technologies in each region.
During the year 2024, a first inspection campaign of the WWTPs built in Bolivia within the framework of the FCAS has been carried out, in which the state of the WWTPs and the main operating problems have been identified. The objective is to continue this type of monitoring work in other countries to follow up on the status and operability of the facilities developed within the FCAS environment and to ensure the sustainability of the WWTPs in the future.

3.- Operator strengthening

In addition to adequate infrastructure, the key to water, sanitation and treatment services is to be able to manage them safely and efficiently, with a focus on improving operational efficiency and sustainability of services. In order to boost sustainability, it is essential to work together with service operators. In this regard, a number of activities have been carried out throughout 2024, including the following:

Launching of technical assistance and twinning arrangements
One of the ways in which the Water Fund supports capacity development in partner countries is through Water Operator Partnerships (WOPS). To this end, the agreement between AECID and EMASESA (Empresa Metropolitana de Abastecimiento y Saneamiento de Aguas de Sevilla) has been extended to work in Bolivia, Honduras, Ecuador and Cuba, which has proven to be a particularly useful tool for promoting exchanges and knowledge.

In the case of Honduras, twinning continued in 2024 between EMASESA and the operator Aguas de la Sierra de Montecillos (ASM) created under a Fund programme in Honduras.

In Bolivia, this year EMASESA visited EMAPAV (Empresa Municipal de Agua Potable y Alcantarillado de Viacha) to launch and commission treatment at the WWTP in Viacha (Bolivia), after completing the respective maintenance of the electromechanical equipment.

Related News:

EMASESA visits the water company of Viacha (Bolivia) and its wastewater treatment plant within the framework of the agreement financed by AECID

From 21 July to 4 August, the EMASESA Water Chair advisor, Fernando Estévez, representing the Seville metropolitan water company, visited the Empresa Municipal de Agua Potable y Alcantarillado de Viacha (EMAPAV) and the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) of this town in the province of La Paz (Bolivia), within the framework of a cooperation agreement signed between EMASESA and EMAPAV.

Read more >>

In Cuba, work has been carried out with the operator Aguas de la Habana to carry out a diagnosis and update the sanitation master plan.

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EMASESA will contribute to improving the sustainability of Havana’s sanitation system through a cooperation project

EMASESA will contribute to improving the sustainability of Havana’s sanitation system thanks to a cooperation project that will enable a diagnosis and update of the sanitation master plan, taking into account not only future investment needs and how to carry them out, but also the sustainability and proper maintenance of the entire system. This collaboration project between EMASESA and the company Aguas de La Habana began at the beginning of November with the visit of EMASESA technicians Darío Mauriño, head of the Cooperation, European Funds and Innovation Department, and Antonio Javier García Heredia, head of the Safety and Services Department.

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In general terms, throughout 2024, work has been carried out in a strategic manner, laying the foundations so that in 2025 the twinning tool (WOP) acquires greater scope and consolidation through the development of methodologies to enhance its impact on the improvement of water and sanitation management.
Development of specific tools for institutional strengthening
Comprehensive Sustainability System SISRI / FISAGUA

This year has seen a rebranding of the tool formerly known as SISRI (Comprehensive Sustainability and Institutional Strengthening System), which has been renamed as FISAGUA: Institutional Strengthening and Sustainability of the Water Cycle. This new interface aims to streamline the tool, while maintaining the initial objective: allowing operators and water boards to know where they stand and what elements they need to focus on to improve the sustainability of the water, sanitation and/or treatment systems they manage.

During the years 2022 and 2024, several field visits have been made to test and implement the Tool in various locations, such as El Salvador and Bolivia. In 2024, work has been done to implement FISAGUA in other territories such as Honduras, and in 2025 it will be implemented in Guatemala.

4.- Capacity building

The Water Fund conceives capacity building comprehensively, as a way of accompanying all actors involved in the sector. It therefore works through multiple processes and tools:

Training activities within the programmes
Most FCAS programmes include training on technical issues (maintenance of water systems, sector regulations, human rights, etc.) at both community and institutional level, and awareness-raising activities on the use of the resource, the importance of hygiene, etc. For example, numerous trainings of this type have been carried out in Honduras, in Portoviejo (Ecuador), or in El Salvador.

See example trainings
Network structure
Training work is carried out at various levels, so that the knowledge acquired permeates all actors, ensuring the sustainability of the programmes:
- At the local level: Through actions aimed at raising public awareness and educating people in the communities. Initiatives and workshops related to plumbing, awareness-raising in the use of the resource and literacy for adult women have been set up.
- At the national level,work is carried out with national ministries and agencies, for example, on updating regulatory standards on water quality, management and handling, as well as in various organisational areas related to water management.
- At the regional level, Spanish Cooperation has the «Plan for the transfer, exchange and management of knowledge for the development of Spanish cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean» (INTERCOONECTA), which has a network of training centres in the different sub-regions and an online platform. Thanks to Intercoonecta, thematic knowledge and training communities are established and developed through different activities: face-to-face and online courses, workshops, knowledge product development, webinars, etc.
Among other activities, the following workshops were held in 2024 in coordination with Intercoonecta and the Ibero-American Training Plan of CODIA:
- Virtual Workshop on Safe Management of Wastewater Reuse, held online from 3 to 17 June 2024. You can see the programme by clicking here
- «Launch of the Liquid Discharge Fees Task Force and progress of other Task Forces in the Ibero-American area», held on Thursday 18 April 2024, in which the payment of liquid discharge fees, the progress of the Task Forces for Discharges and Treated Water Reuse Regulations were discussed and the CODIA agreement on financing mechanisms was presented: See here
In addition, workshops are facilitated and funded to exchange experiences between countries, and common recommendations are developed. The Fund maintains a close relationship with the CODIA and supports the work of regional networks such as the RIOCC (Ibero-American Network of Climate Change Offices) or the CIMHET (Conference of Directors of Ibero-American Meteorological and Hydrological Services).