After the water wars: The search for common ground

After 32 failed attempts to reach consensus on water legislation and a deadly social conflict over water rights, IDRC-supported researchers in Bolivia have helped their country develop a water law that everyone could agree on. Water has always been a controversial issue in Bolivia. Water is a scarce commodity in much of the Andean country – and in other regions where there is ample rainfall, access to water is hotly contested. It has been extremely difficult to find agreement on how the resource should be regulated and who should have legal rights to it. The Government of Bolivia has made 32 attempts to achieve consensus on a comprehensive new water law — one that would update a law with colonial roots that has been on the books since 1906. were accepted. In 1998, the issue of water rights came to a boiling point when the Bolivian government proposed legislation that allowed for the privatization of water and provided a private, foreign-owned company, Aguas del Tunari, with a concession to sell water in Cochabamba. The company paid nothing for the water concession, which was given without regard to the customary users of the water. For the first time in recent Bolivian history, social groups mobilized in protest. By 2000, the country was paralyzed by blockades; lives were lost in riots; the government was destabilized and facing political crisis. Bolivia's "Water War" hit the front pages of newspapers worldwide. The government was forced to break the contract with Aguas del Tunari and to promise more open debate on the issues. An official special council, the Consejo Interinstitucional del Agua (CONIAG), was created at the suggestion of civil society and social organizations, and was charged with drafting a water management law based on public consultation. This was an unusual gesture: Bolivia had rarely sought public input into policy-making. International Development Research Centre (IRDC) www.idrc.ca