Press release 210-16 Mexico City, 30 March 2016 Mexico, Bolivia and Germany announce the results of their triangular cooperation on wastewater treatment and reuse AMEXCID representative and the Director of GIZ Regional Fund for the Promotion of triangular cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean, concurred the triangular cooperation between Mexico, Germany and Bolivia on wastewater reuse has been successful. The Deputy Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of Bolivia stressed the programme is one of the most successful and a flagship initiative for his country. Salomon Abedrop, Deputy Director for Planning, National Water Commission (Conagua) reported that the rehabilitation and construction of wastewater treatment plants, organising training courses and workshops, and implementing water quality monitoring are the results from the Germany-Bolivia-Mexico triangular cooperation project to promote the reuse of recycled wastewater for agricultural irrigation in Bolivia, which initiated in 2012. During the closing event, headed by the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID) and the Regional Fund for the Promotion of triangular cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean of GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internartionale Zusammenarbeit), Mr Abedrop stressed that one of the objectives of Conagua’s National Water Plan is to strengthen Mexico's international participation on water, thus this type of cooperation is essential. Conagua sent a technical committee to Bolivia in 2014 to start up WWTP pilot projects. The Patacamaya WWTP in the rural municipality of Bolivian High Plateau was rehabilitated, and the Pucara-Esmeralda WWTP was built in Sacaba, Cochabamba, he said. Furthermore, wastewater standards and regulations were developed for WWTP projects aimed at agricultural reuse in Bolivia. In addition, Conagua organised and implemented a workshop-course on water quality monitoring and measuring; a workshop on the implementation of the national water quality monitoring network; and an international course on natural treatment systems for wastewater and sludge and their reuse, jointly organised with the Mexican Institute of Water Technology (IMTA), the International Agency of Japan and the German Cooperation. 17 Bolivian technicians took part in these training courses. Insurgentes Sur 2416, piso 11, ala poniente, Col. Copilco El Bajo, Del. Coyoacán, México DF, 04340 Página 1 de 2 Tel. +52 (55) 5174 4062, fax +52 (55) 5174 4061, [email protected], www.conagua.gob.mx Enrique Mejía Maravilla, Water Quality Manager of Conagua, reported that Mexico works jointly with Germany and Bolivia on a number of wastewater treatment projects, to increase its agricultural and industrial reuse. He also stressed this triangular project is one of Conagua’s contributions on technical cooperation in the field of water quality, where Mexico is a benchmark in the Latin American region. AMEXCID and GIZ stated that the triangular cooperation on wastewater reuse has been strategic and successful, as it has derived social well-being projects, so there are still several actions under development and a close collaboration with institutions of these countries is ongoing. Carlos Ortuño Yanez, Vice Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation from the Ministry of Environment and Water of Bolivia, stressed that this cooperative programme has been one of the most successful in his country and is a flagship initiative for the Government, since the shared regional experience and knowledge have strengthened national tools to face the great water challenges posed by climate change. Felipe Arreguin Cortes, Director General of IMTA, noted that Mexico shares its broad experience in wastewater treatment to strengthen capacities, such as IMTA training module (Diplomado): "Wastewater treatment for agricultural reuse", which was one of the project deliverables. ooOoo Insurgentes Sur 2416, piso 11, ala poniente, Col. Copilco El Bajo, Del. Coyoacán, México DF, 04340 Página 2 de 2 Tel. +52 (55) 5174 4062, fax +52 (55) 5174 4061, [email protected], www.conagua.gob.mx .