During the Fourth Meeting of the National Focal Points of the IANAS (Inter-American Network of Academies of Sciences) Water Programme, held in the period of May 30-31 of 2009, the undersigned met in Managua, Nicaragua, to discuss water problems and possible solutions, taking into account the different realities faced by the countries in the region. The conclusions resulting from the discussions are the following:

1. All countries from the American Continent suffer to some extent from water scarcity, which effects are amplified by the inadequate management of this resource. For this reason, it is essential that all countries from the continent develop improved and sustainable water management practices. To mitigate the water scarcity problem it is important to adopt policies, procedures and strategies that focus on hydrologic basins as the basic unit of management. Such policies, procedures and strategies should be formulated with input from  the various stakeholders and the public. They should account for the climatic variability and the environmental attributes of the basins in question. Water management must be interdisciplinary and involve all of the academic disciplines that contribute to scientifically based management practices. The role of the Academies of Sciences in this process is fundamental.

2. One of the most urgent problems is the lack of access to safe  drinking water and adequate sanitation for a significant number of people in Latin America. These problems are especially prevalent in rural areas and among economically and socially marginalized groups. These problems persist despite clear evidence indicating that the costs of providing these services is considerably lower than the costs of treating waterborne disease which results from unsafe drinking water supplies. These costs include the loss of productivity and the environmental deterioration that results when water supplies are contaminated.

3. Although drinking water supply services in many cities are adequate, frequently urban populations do not receive adequate water because of large losses and qualitative deterioration in the distribution systems. Since most future population growth in the Americas will occur in urban areas, it will be especially important to find ways of assuring adequate supplies of safe drinking water and wastewater treatment services. Water reuse should be practiced in urban areas where appropriate.

4. Provision of sanitation services should include adequate collection and treatment services.   Levels of treatment should be sufficient to permit discharge of treated waters to the environment with no environmental degradation.

5. Agriculture is the largest consumptive user of water in the countries of the Americas.   Effective water management practices will require improvements in the management of agricultural water both to ensure that use is efficient and to minimize the levels of  environmental contamination.  Similarly, non-agricultural industries will need to manage their water so as to avoid or minimize environmental contamination.

6. In many countries, aquifers are strategic sources of water supply and support economic development. Ground water protection, including regimes of sustainable extraction and preservation of ground water quality,  deserves high priority.

7. Countries of the American Continent which share hydrologic basins must manage the transboundary waters cooperatively and in accordance with appropriately negotiated agreements so as to ensure sustainable water management.

8. Detailed analyses of the positive and negative effects of global climate change will be needed  as bases for adaptive management plans which will permit timely and appropriate responses to emerging changes in climate.
 
9. Water plays a fundamental role in the maintenance of environmental assets and environmental services. This fact must be acknowledged in water management plans. More specifically, such plans should assure water for ecological purposes.

10. Adequate monitoring as well as the management and maintenance of water quantity and water quality data will be essential to the creation of effective programs of water management. Every country in the Americas needs to improve its programs of monitoring, data gathering and data management.

11. Education programs must be created for all sectors of society to promote awareness of the importance of taking care of water quantity and quality in order to assure its safe use by future generations. 

Managua, Nicaragua, (date).
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