Water resources assessment
Pedro Martínez-Santos (Water Observatory - Botín Foundation, Universidad Complutense de Madrid)
Claudia Campuzano (Centro de Ciencia y Tecnología de Antioquia)
Bárbara A. Willaarts (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Universidad Complutense de Madrid)
Elisa Blanco (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile)
Luis F. Castro (Universidad Nacional de Ingenieria, Lima)
Julio Kuroiwa (Universidad Nacional de Ingenieria, Lima)
Marielena N. Lucen (Ministry of Energy and Mines)
Markus Pahlow (University of Twente)
J.I. Montenegro Gambini (Universidad Nacional de Ingenieria, Lima)
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Abstract
The Latin America and Caribbean region is water-abundant. It boasts some of the world’s largest rivers, lakes and aquifers, which yield more water per person than any other region in the planet. However, water is irregularly distributed in time and space due to climatic variability. While heavy rainfall takes place across the year in the Amazon rainforests, it barely ever rains in the Atacama Desert. Besides, the majority of the population is concentrated in cities. This generates strong asymmetries between water demands and water availability. Largely as a result, many freshwater ecosystems are endangered by a wide array of different pressures. Adaptation to climate change, universal access to water and sanitation services, pollution control and an integrated approach to transboundary water resources management are the main challenges ahead.