Bolivia Water Crisis

In cochabamba bolivia lack of water caused troubles for several decades.

Bolivia water crisis. Bolivian glaciers have shrunk by 43 percent between 1986 and 2014 according to a study recently published by the geosciences union journal. This serious water crisis affected the cities of oruro potosí cochabamba sucre and above all la paz where more than 400 000 inhabitants were left without water supply for several weeks. Bolivia is suffering its worst drought in 25 years. Aunque la declaración de una emergencia nacional es un paso positivo hacia el abordaje de la crisis del agua en bolivia las protestas y disturbios en curso por parte de la población reflejan el pobre enfoque del gobierno al problema.

Aisa a subsidiary of the french suez formerly lyonnaise des eaux in 1997. In 1999 cochabamba s public water supplier semapa was leased to an international consortium aguas del tunari. One in la paz el alto to aguas del illimani s a. In the countryside some areas in the highlands lost up to 90 of the crops and the government declared the state of national emergency.

The privatization of water supply and sanitation in bolivia took place during the second mandate of bolivian president hugo banzer 1997 2001 in the form of two major private concessions. Water is arguably the substance most important to maintaining life on earth. At the mountainous center of south america bolivia s complex struggles with the scarcity and commodification of water captured worldwide attention at the turn of the twenty first century. Using our sector leading water evaluation and planning weap tool sei helped the country plan for the future by creating the first ever comprehensive model of bolivia s rivers lakes and streams.

The wave of demonstrations and police violence was described as a public uprising against water prices. A second water revolt this time by neighborhood organizations in the sprawling indigenous city of el alto ousted the french multinational suez company from the recently privatized la paz el alto water district. Water related troubles are not alien to today s world. President morales and water experts maintain that climate change has contributed to and continues to exasperate the current water crisis in bolivia.

Addressing a growing water crisis in bolivia like many countries bolivia faces a deepening water crisis that threatens to leave millions without secure safe drinking water. Bolivia s new constitution enacted in 2009 proclaims that access to water is a human right and bans its privatization. And one of the most vicious water wars occurred in 1999. The cochabamba water war was a series of protests that took place in cochabamba bolivia s fourth largest city between december 1999 and april 2000 in response to the privatization of the city s municipal water supply company semapa.

La paz residents have been protesting over months long water shortages which they say should have been avoided.