CERC-Fellow Maria Gwynn in Santiago, Chile: Water Dialogues and International Conference on Transboundary Waters CERC-Fellow Maria Gwynn in Chile: Water Dialogues and International Conference on Transboundary Waters

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile, the UN Economic Commission for Europe, the UN Economic Commission for Latin America, and the UN Water Convention Secretariat organised jointly an international meeting that took place in Santiago, Chile on 6-10 October. The participants included representatives from the Foreign Affairs, Environmental and Public Work Ministries of many Latin American countries, Head of Water Departments and Agencies of different countries, experts, representatives from the civil society and academia. CERC Senior Fellow, Dr. Maria A. Gwynn was designated moderator for the invitation only session where Latin American countries representatives discussed their different experiences, challenges and their progress when cooperating in the uses and management of their transboundary water resources, which include both international rivers and transboundary aquifers. The session was extremely useful for opening a clear and transparent dialogue among countries, which helped identify obstacles that need to be overcome to promote further transboundary cooperation in the region. On the occasion, Dr. Gwynn also held expert bilateral meetings with the Chilean Vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, representatives of international organizations, and other Latin American countries governmental officials.