Integrated management plan for the Copiapó river basin

In August 2014, the General Water Directorate (DGA) contracted the CSIRO Chile Research Foundation to develop, together with colleagues from Australia, Phase 1 of the project Integrated Management Plan for the Copiapó Basin.

This, after a preliminary study  funded by the Australian government and led by experts from CSIRO Australia, which recommended the development of an integrated management plan for the Copiapó basin.

A tributary to the Jorquera River  ©Edmundo Claro

A tributary to the Jorquera River  ©Edmundo Claro

Key programs

The project, which seeks to bring together relevant stakeholders in a collaborative context to enable attractive options to face the region’s water scarcity, will be developed through four key programs:

• Increasing Participation: generate a participatory process of all stakeholders, to design the future of the basin, establishing a shared vision for it.
• Copiapó Heritage: develop and communicate a detailed basis of geography, hydrology, flora, fauna and culture of the watershed line.
• Basin at Work: analyze trends and projections for the flows and water demand, demographics, mining, agriculture, energy and urban development.
• Enabling the Future: collaboration of stakeholders in order to propose and prioritize options and scenarios for the development of the basin.

Phase 1 objectives

The objectives of Phase 1 of the project, which will last eight months, are:

• Establish agreements and governance structures of the project.
• To promote the project among key actors on tour presentations.
• Develop a fundraising strategy necessary for sub-projects associated with all four programs.
• Prepare terms of reference of the sub-projects associated with all four programs.

To meet these objectives, CSIRO will advise and support the DGA in meetings, conferences and discussions on various aspects of the project such as the establishment of its Steering Committee and its relation to existing parallel and regional initiatives.

CSIRO also develop terms of reference for the sub-projects to be implemented in Phase 2 of the project, which would take an additional 24 months approximately. Both phases of the project contemplate a baseline budget of US$ 2.2 million.