Integrated river basin management in the Magdalena region
Problems
The Río Frío and Río Sevilla basins in the Magdalena region of Colombia increasingly face challenges between different water users in terms of both water quantity and quality. The two rivers also provide fresh water for the livelihood of approximately 185,000 inhabitants in surrounding municipalities. The middle and lower sections of the river basins support the production of commercial crops such as bananas, oil palm and coffee. The sustainability of these production systems is threatened by water shortages and inefficient irrigation practices, alternating availability of water (shortage during dry seasons vs frequent flooding in wet seasons) due to climate change, and other environmental problems such as salt intrusion and soil erosion.
Solutions
Building on previous RVO-funded activities that aimed to improve water efficiency in the banana and oil palm sectors in the Magdalena region, this project aimed to improve water allocation among all users by adjusting governance practices and developing a Decision Support System (DSS) in collaboration with key stakeholders from both the management and the users’ side. The project was carried out in a consortium with Acacia Water and the Dutch Water Authorities.
To support the development of the DSS, Resilience conducted a stakeholder assessment of the Río Frío and Río Sevilla basins, combined with a baseline assessment based on a literature review and data collection to assess the status of identified water sources, water availability, water demand and water quality.
Impact
The DSS tool allows information on water demand and water availability in the two river basins to be to collected, analysed and streamlined, making it easier to kickstart target interventions and monitor their effects, with the ultimate goal of managing water resources in the region for the wellbeing of all: people, agriculture producers and ecosystems. The DSS was delivered to the Water Stewardship Platform, a local platform that reunites private, public, academic and civil sector in the region, to be diffused amongst users and used for decision making process of several actors.
Santa Marta, Magdalena, Colombia
Team members
Timeframe
2021-2023
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