Social inclusion to transform water governance in northern Peru
Young people, universities and local actors connect to build a new generation of leadership and participation in water management in the Tumbes and Chira-Piura basins.
A new look at water governance
Initiated in 2018 as a bilateral cooperation effort between the Netherlands and Peru, the Blue Deal Peru Project works in the Tumbes and Chira-Piura basins. These territories recurrently face the effects of extreme hydrometeorological events such as "El Niño", which has historically impacted the population, agriculture and urban areas of the north of the country. In this scenario, the project seeks to strengthen Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and water governance, articulating efforts with the Dutch Water Authorities, the National Water Authority (ANA) and the Water Resources Councils (WRCs).
Blue Deal Peru incorporated a Social Inclusion component with a clear premise: sustainable water governance needs to amplify the voices that participate in it and, at the same time, generate conditions for the renewal of those who will assume responsibilities in the future. For this reason, the strategy has focused especially on university students, young professionals, researchers and leaders of the youth sector, while continuing to strengthen the capacities of those who currently lead decision-making processes. In this way, social inclusion acts as an engine to create and consolidate knowledge while, simultaneously, laying the foundations for the renewal and continuity of water governance in the basin.
From the future of water management to today's leaders
For a long time, youth participation in water resources management has been mainly associated with awareness-raising or training activities. Blue Deal Peru seeks to take an additional step, recognizing young people as actors capable of producing knowledge, formulating proposals, articulating organizations and influencing governance processes.
This vision is based on a concrete reality. The members of the Water Resources Councils come from different disciplines, experiences and interests and, in addition, their representations are periodically renewed. Therefore, strengthening governance implies not only providing tools to those who currently make decisions, but also generating opportunities for a new generation to progressively join these processes. The Social Inclusion component thus articulates different dimensions: training, knowledge generation, applied research, community action, volunteering and youth participation in national and international platforms. The objective is that these dimensions do not work in isolation, but rather reinforce each other.
Connecting capacities to strengthen water management
One of the axes of work is capacity building, but instead of proposing exclusively technical training, the design of virtual courses is based on the skills needed by those who participate in water management. Thus, along with the contents related to the management of water resources and its regulatory framework, competencies related to leadership, communication and decision-making are incorporated.
This approach is particularly relevant in Water Resources Councils, where professionals with different backgrounds and knowledge converge. Training thus becomes a tool to promote more informed and effective participation in governance processes.
Research that starts from the needs of the territory
Inclusion is also being incorporated into the way knowledge is produced from the needs of the basins themselves. To this end, the Project promotes the development of Research Agendas, through processes that incorporate the mapping of actors, participatory workshops and interviews with institutions and experts. The objective is that the research priorities do not respond only to academic interests, but also to the problems and challenges identified by the actors of the territory and that are reflected in the Basin Water Resources Management Plan.
In Tumbes, progress was made in the diagnosis, the construction of a baseline of research related to water resources and the mapping of actors. Likewise, in both basins, work has been done in coordination with universities and young researchers to promote theses and applied research aimed at responding to specific problems of the basins.
Knowledge thus ceases to be a separate product of management and becomes a bridge between the needs of the territory, academia and decision-makers.
When research responds to the needs of the territory, knowledge becomes a tool for management.
Young people who participate, articulate and propose
Youth participation is one of the main innovative elements of this strategy. In this framework, the "First Youth Leadership Forum for Water" was held in Piura, an event led by the Peruvian Parliament of Youth for Water (PPJA), which brought together representatives of international cooperation, public entities, academia, the private sector and youth organizations.
The value of this meeting was in its methodology. Participatory co-creation made it possible to directly collect the perspectives and ideas of the participants, placing young people at the center of the conversation.
The realization of this Forum showed that youth organizations can not only participate in water governance, but can also contribute to convening, connecting and generating dialogue between different sectors. It also made it possible to link youth participation with formal platforms of water governance, such as the Water Resources Councils. This connection between young people, universities and current decision-making actors generates conditions for greater generational renewal and contributes to the sustainability of institutional processes.
Articulate what already exists to generate greater impact
Another of the lessons learned from the Social Inclusion component has been the importance of not creating parallel structures when there are already valuable initiatives in the territory, including: University Social Service, scholarships programs, Volunteering netowrk Red Agua Joven, and national/international youth leadership platforms. The challenge is to move from initiatives that operated independently to greater coordination between institutions, universities, young people and technical teams from the Tumbes and Chira-Piura basins. This articulation allows for the sharing of experiences, expanding opportunities for participation and generating a common vision on the role of the new generations in IWRM.
A look that incorporates equal participation
Social inclusion also has a cross-cutting gender dimension. The participation of women and men is considered from the design of interventions, both in training and knowledge generation processes and in governance areas. This seeks to strengthen women's participation in water resources management and promote governance processes that effectively incorporate different perspectives and experiences.
From participation to advocacy
The progress made shows that social inclusion can transcend the realization of isolated activities and become part of water management processes. The articulation between WRCs, universities, young people, researchers and social organizations, together with concrete tools such as research agendas, theses, training and volunteering, creates conditions for new voices to contribute progressively to water management.
The main challenge going forward will be to consolidate these mechanisms so that the participation of young people and other traditionally underrepresented actors goes from being occasional to sustained and linked to real decision-making processes. And perhaps one of the most important changes is conceptual; young people are beginning to be recognized as part of the present of water governance and not only as its future protagonists.
The challenge is not only to add new voices, but to create the conditions so that these voices can generate knowledge, formulate proposals and influence water management.
A commitment to the future of water governance
The experience developed by Blue Deal Peru shows that social inclusion can become a true instrument for transforming water governance.
In Tumbes and Chira-Piura, the work carried out is connecting those who currently manage and make decisions about water with a new generation of young people, universities, researchers and social organizations. This connection contributes not only to strengthening capacities, but also to generating knowledge, new alliances and opportunities for participation.
The experience provides a relevant lesson for water cooperation processes; the sustainability of water governance also depends on the ability of institutions to incorporate new perspectives, generate opportunities for participation and train those who will assume leadership of the basins in the future.
In this sense, social inclusion is not only a cross-cutting component of the Blue Deal Peru Project. It is a strategy to strengthen capacities and relationships today that will allow building a more participatory, diverse, and sustainable water governance.
Inviting young people to an event can generate enthusiasm. Linking them with universities can generate knowledge. Incorporating them into networks can expand their opportunities. But when these actions are connected to WRCs, research agendas, training processes and other management instruments, participation can begin to become advocacy.
A young voice for the future of water
Aurora Mija, representative of the Youth Parliament for Water, sums up the meaning of this process in one sentence:
"Sustainable management of water resources is only possible when young people are included in decision-making, not only because we deserve room to contribute, but because we are already creating the future in which we want to live".
A young Peruvian professional linked to the sustainability of the agricultural sector, integrated water resources management and youth participation in decision-making processes. Aurora represents a new generation of professionals who seek to connect knowledge, innovation and decision-making.
Her story reflects the purpose that guides the Social Inclusion component of Blue Deal Peru: to create bridges so that young people can contribute from the present to the challenges that will define the future of the watersheds.
Water governance is also built by including new voices
The experience of Blue Deal Peru shows that social inclusion can be much more than a cross-cutting component of a project, but can become a strategy to strengthen water governance and its sustainability over time. In the Tumbes and Chira-Piura basins, the process is building connections, expanding participation and bringing knowledge closer to decisions.
The central lesson is clear, the renewal of water governance begins long before a new generation assumes responsibilities; it begins when the conditions are created, from now on, so that they can participate, contribute and have an impact. For Blue Deal Peru, this is a commitment to the present and, at the same time, to the future sustainability of water management in northern Peru.
