Regulatory framework
Universal access to drinking water and sanitation services is recognized in article 20, as well as the function of the State to manage, regulate, protect and plan the appropriate and sustainable use of water resources.
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The purpose of this Law is to establish the rules that regulate the provision and use of Drinking Water and Sanitary Sewage Services and the institutional framework that governs them, the procedure for granting Concessions and Licenses for the provision of services, the rights and obligations of providers and users, the establishment of the principles to set Prices, Rates, Rates and Quotas, as well as the determination of infractions and sanctions.
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This law establishes the powers of the entities in the sector, creates the Superintendency of Basic Sanitation, and outlines the procedure for granting concessions for the provision of services and the rights to set prices, rates, fees and quotas.
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Establish the characteristics and priority actions for the exercise of the Human Right to Water and sanitation in Bolivia, pointing out the actions directed at the different sectoral actors, to generate information processes, coordination, integration of actions and efforts in the provision of water services. and sanitation with a human rights approach for the country's population.
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The application instrument for Community Development and Institutional Strengthening (DESCOM-FI), as part of the Operating Regulations (RO) of the Water Program for Small Communities, incorporates in its content both the guidelines of the social strategy of the drinking water and basic sanitation sector in Bolivia, as well as the National Development Plan of the current Government, to contribute to access to quality and sustainable water and sanitation services so that Bolivians “live well.”
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The purpose of this Law is to establish the vision and foundations of comprehensive development in harmony and balance with Mother Earth to Live Well, guaranteeing the continuity of the regeneration capacity of the components and life systems of Mother Earth, recovering and strengthening local knowledge and ancestral knowledge, within the framework of the complementarity of rights, obligations and duties; as well as the objectives of integral development as a means to achieve Living Well, the bases for planning, public management and investments and the strategic institutional framework for their implementation.
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The purpose of this rule is to establish the organizational structure of the Executive Body of the Plurinational State, as well as the powers of the President, Vice President and Ministers, as well as define the principles and values that must guide the servants. public, in accordance with the provisions of the Political Constitution of the State.
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The law aims to achieve food sovereignty with safety and quality conditions to improve the quality of life of Bolivians. The policies of the Community Agricultural Production Revolution cover various aspects. First, it focuses on strengthening the productive base by promoting local and ancestral practices for integrated soil and water management, soil fertility recovery, and biodiversity conservation. It also provides for the conservation of production areas by regulating land use to protect areas suitable for agricultural production and preventing urban expansion in these productive areas. In addition, it includes the protection of natural genetic resources through the conservation of the country's genetic heritage and control over the introduction of genetically modified seeds. Production is encouraged by improving the yield of traditional, organic, and ecological production, and the industrialization and processing of agricultural products is promoted. Likewise, collection and reserve systems are implemented to guarantee food availability in case of contingencies. The law regulates fair trade and exchange, protecting domestic production and promoting local markets. Domestic consumption is also promoted through nutrition education and the promotion of locally produced and culturally appropriate products. Research, innovation, and ancestral knowledge are encouraged, promoting agricultural innovation and the recovery of ancestral knowledge. Agricultural health and food safety are prioritized through disease prevention and control and quality assurance for agricultural products. Finally, risk management and food emergency response are addressed through monitoring, prevention, and response to emergencies that affect food production. A key policy of the law is the creation of the Universal Agricultural Insurance “Pachamama.” This insurance is intended to protect agricultural production against damage caused by adverse climatic events and natural disasters. Beneficiaries include indigenous, intercultural, and Afro-Bolivian communities and families, as well as other agricultural producers.
The purpose of this Law is to declare the period from 2015 to 2025 the Decade of Irrigation, Towards One Million Hectares. The Law is part of the Bicentennial Patriotic Agenda and aims to promote agricultural production through investments by the central government and autonomous territorial entities, focused on the development of irrigation in the country. The strategic pillars of the Irrigation Decade agenda include: expanding irrigated land; revitalizing irrigation systems; implementing water storage systems with dams; implementing family-based multiple-use and water harvesting systems; reusing wastewater for irrigation; promoting technified irrigation; and sustainably increasing agricultural productivity under irrigation.
Law No. 1433, enacted on June 22, 2022, approves the Loan Agreement for the Program Toward Food Sovereignty with Irrigation Technology. This program, agreed upon between the Plurinational State of Bolivia and the Andean Development Corporation (CAF) on March 28, 2022, is intended to replace imports with financing of up to US$35 million. In addition, the law authorizes the Ministry of Economy and Public Finance, through the General Treasury of the Nation (TGN), to assume the repayment of the obligations incurred in the execution of the aforementioned loan agreement.
Supreme Decree No. 2852 establishes the creation of the National Groundwater Well Drilling Program, Nuestro Pozo, and the Well Implementation Unit (UE-Pozos). This program seeks to guarantee the availability of water for food security in Bolivia. The UE Pozos, under the supervision of the Ministry of Rural Development and Land, will be responsible for administering and executing the program, responding to drought emergencies, and financing well construction and rehabilitation projects. Funding will come from resources allocated by Supreme Decree No. 2855, the General Treasury of the Nation, donations, and loans. The entity will have administrative, financial, legal, and technical independence and will coordinate with autonomous territorial entities for the implementation and maintenance of groundwater collection infrastructure.
Supreme Decree No. 4561 authorizes the transfer of resources to the decentralized public entity UE-Pozos to continue the National Groundwater Well Drilling Program “Nuestro Pozo” (Our Well), which aims to ensure the availability of water for food security. Through direct financing and/or through local counterparts for well construction and rehabilitation projects, supervision, follow-up, monitoring, and necessary logistics from the initial phase to storage for water distribution, as appropriate; in addition to prioritizing municipalities affected by drought for the implementation of well drilling projects.
The Social Entrepreneurship Program (PES) of the Inter-American Development Bank is an initiative that supports community economic and social development projects. The objectives of these initiatives include job training for at-risk youth, drinking water services in rural communities, alternative guarantees for agricultural credit, biofuel production, solar power generation, fostering entrepreneurship among young technicians and professionals, and modernizing small industrial workshops.
The PDES 2021-2025 sets out the sectoral and territorial policies that will enable the national economy to move towards a process of productive diversification and industrialization with import substitution. The PDES, as an instrument that channels the medium-term vision of the General Economic and Social Development Plan (PGDES), reflects the diagnosis and progress made in recent years and future challenges; the political approach to planning for the next five years; the programmatic structure that includes goals, results, and actions; the future macroeconomic scenario; and the multi-year budget linked to the Plan.
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Institutional Framework
It implements public policies, regulations, plans, programs, and projects for the conservation, adaptation, and sustainable use of environmental resources, as well as the development of irrigation and basic sanitation with a comprehensive watershed approach, preserving the environment, which guarantees the priority use of water for life, respecting customs and traditions for Living Well (Supreme Decree 29894). Likewise, conserve, protect, and sustainably use natural resources and biodiversity, as well as maintain the balance of the environment.
Assist in the formulation and implementation of policies, plans and standards for the development, provision and improvement of drinking water and basic sanitation services (sanitary sewage, disposal of excreta, solid waste and storm drainage).
Promote technical standards, regulatory provisions and instructions for the proper use and regulation of drinking water and basic sanitation services.
Promote and execute policies, plans, programs and projects, as well as manage financing for investment aimed at expanding the coverage of basic sanitation services throughout the national territory, particularly in rural areas and in sectors of the urban and peri-urban population of low income, coordinating with the corresponding instances.
Disseminate and monitor the application of policies, plans, projects and technical standards for the establishment and operation of drinking water and basic sanitation services.
Coordinate the supervision and execution of projects and programs related to drinking water and basic sanitation services at the national level.
Coordinate with the different instances of the territorial organization of the State, in the exclusive, shared and concurrent sphere of competence, the development and implementation and supervision of policies, plans, programs and projects related to the basic sanitation sector.
Implement, sustain and strengthen the National Sector Information System.
Assist in the implementation of policies, plans, programs and projects for institutional strengthening and technical assistance to entities providing drinking water and basic sanitation services.
Promote and channel financial cooperation to decentralized and autonomous territorial entities, in order to develop drinking water and basic sanitation policies, plans, programs and projects.
Manage, through the Minister's Office, the financing for the establishment of drinking water and basic sanitation programs and projects.
Contribute to the development and execution of plans, policies and regulations for Comprehensive Watershed and Irrigation Management, and in the design of strategies for the conservation, use and exploitation of water resources in all their states, surface and underground with the different actors involved. in the environmental management of hydrographic basins, respecting uses and customs.
Execute Comprehensive Watershed and Irrigation Management programs and projects.
Promote technical standards, regulatory provisions and instructions for the proper use and regulation of the irrigation sector, comprehensive management of basins, and propose through regular channels draft laws and other provisions for the sector.
Develop and implement policies, plans, programs and projects related to the comprehensive management of watersheds and irrigation, in coordination with the competent entities.
Promote and channel technical and financial cooperation to decentralized and autonomous territorial entities, in order to develop policies, plans, programs and projects for comprehensive watershed and irrigation management.
Manage through the Office of the Minister of Environment and Water financing for the establishment of programs, irrigation projects and conservation and watershed management actions.
Project and strengthen the decentralized and local institutional framework for comprehensive management of basins and water and irrigation resources.
Participate and coordinate within the framework of the Inter-American Committee of the La Plata Basin, with the Binational Commission in the management of the Yrenda-Toba Tarijeño aquifer system, together with Argentina, Paraguay and UVSMA/OAS and ISRAM Américas.
Contribute to the formulation of policies and strategies for the conservation, use and exploitation of water resources with the different actors involved in the environmental management of hydrographic basins, respecting uses and customs. As well as coordinate and assist the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in supervising compliance with agreements signed and decisions adopted that are related to international basins and shared water resources.
Promote a National Sectoral Information System as an instrument for the development of Comprehensive Watershed and Irrigation Management.
Execute, evaluate and ensure the implementation of irrigation policies, plans, programs and projects for the use of water for agricultural purposes in coordination with the National Irrigation Service – SENARI.
The SENASBA has the mission of becoming a capacity development entity for the Entities Providing Drinking Water and Sanitary Sewage Services – EPSA, through technical assistance and institutional strengthening of the sector at the national level.
The AAPS is a technical entity for the regulation and supervision of Drinking Water and Sanitation services, which guarantees and protects the rights of users and service operators, contributing to access to quality, sustainable services and taking care of the conservation of resources. water.
Implement investment programs and projects for development within the framework of the Political Constitution of the State, the National Development Plan, and sectoral, departmental, municipal, or local pillars, in order to contribute to the well-being of the population.
It arose in compliance with Decree No. 28985, through which the government of Bolivia determined the procedures for the transfer of AISA shares in favor of the National Regional Development Fund (FNDR), a procedure that was executed to make the contents of the Framework Termination Agreement viable. of Disputes.
Contribute, under the cooperative philosophy, to improving the quality of life of members and users, providing Drinking Water and Sanitary Sewer Services in our service area. Optimize human, technical, economic and financial resources, efficiently managing partners' contributions. Develop our activities preserving the environment.
SEMAPA is a Decentralized Municipal Company, oriented to satisfy the needs of the drinking water service, collection and treatment of wastewater of the population, within the regulation area of the Cercado province of the department of Cochabamba, contributing through its services to improve their living conditions and preserve the environment, with quality management and community participation.
Entity responsible for implementing investment programs and projects for development under the supervision of the Ministry of Environment and Water (MMAyA).
It is estimated that in Bolivia there are 303,000 million m3/year as internal renewable water resources, however, 40% of the territory goes through dry periods. It is estimated that 1,054 million m3/year of water are used for irrigation, 124 million m3/year for population use and 62 million m3/year for industrial use. In Bolivia, 5 million inhabitants do not have sewage systems, the final disposal of wastewater collected without treatment reaches 70%, contaminating watercourses, soils and aquifers. It is estimated that 572,000 million m3/year flow through the Amazon basin, while 47,474 million m3/year flow through the Rio de La Plata basin and 14,700 million m3/year flow through the Endorreica basin, which adds up to a surface runoff of 634,174 million m3/year, equivalent to 20,000 m3/s (FAO, 2000).
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Of these total renewable water resources, it is estimated that 303,000 million m3/year are internal renewable water resources, equivalent to 9,608 m3/s (Rojas, 2010). With regard to groundwater, there is no inventory of aquifers at the national level, nor storage and recharge volumes at the integrated level; there are prospecting and evaluation studies of specific zones within five hydrogeological units. In Bolivia, the priority areas for irrigation are regions with at least 6 months of water deficit per year.