GSI was present in Stockholm this year, sharing learnings with the Water Footprint Network on our ENA project: the incorporation of the water footprint assessment to the 316 watersheds in Colombia. The main outcome of this project refers to the use of the water footprint knowledge by the Colombian national environmental and climate agency IDEAM for water accounting and water policy.

We shared the factors of success that led to water footprint knowledge appropriation by IDEAM. By providing these factors we set the ground for future reproductions of this process in other countries.

Here they are:

(1) Explore how the water footprint can help solving the gaps in the national water accounting system: Bridging the water footprint theory with IDEAM’s needs. Sit with them and listen how they would like to improve water accounting. Revise if and how the water footprint can support those improvements.

(2) Work with partners: GSI and CTA provided technical advisory and SDC the visionary support to improve ENA data for better informing the National Development Plan and water decisions in Colombia lexapro .

(3) Let space and time for IDEAM to experiment with the water footprint: provide IDEAM with a safe space to use the water footprint based on their water accounting framework.

Omar Vargas, the director of ENA at IDEAM, explains clearly the added value of the water footprint for informing the water situation at the river basin level in Colombia. Check out the interview to Omar made by us.

Link: https://youtu.be/9IJCNLw7ClM 

More on ENA and the incorporation of the Water Footprint Assessment in the 316 river basins in Colombia in http://www.goodstuffinternational.com/54-news/137-colombia-the-first-country-to-publish-the-water-footprints-of-all-its-316-watersheds

 Erika Zarate presenting at the SWWW 2015