Argentina

Este documento nace de una serie de presentaciones en Ciudad de México, con motivo del seminario “Esquemas de Financiamiento del Sector Agua.” El objetivo de esta r... Mostrar más + ecopilación es promover el diálogo y la discusión mediante la entrega mutua de experiencias que contribuyan a apoyar las reformas al sector salud en ese país. Este informe incluye dos experiencias en México, dos internacionales y un nuevo esquema para asignar subsidios y transferencias, llamado Ayuda en Función de Resultados (AFR). La primera parte presenta los mecanismos usados por la municipalidad de Tlalnepantla-Baz para financiar una planta de tratamiento. La segunda parte resume la experiencia tras concesionar la planta de tratamiento de aguas residuales en Toluca. La tercera parte discute dos de los instrumentos centrales en la renegociación de las concesiones de agua potable y alcantarillado en Buenos Aires. La cuarta parte presenta la iniciativa AFR, que permite diseñar esquemas de transferencias gubernamentales que generan fuertes incentivos para mejorar la eficiencia de las operaciones y los negocios, uno de los mayores problemas para muchos organismos operadores mexicanos. La quinta parte analiza las políticas Brasileñas en el campo del agua potable y el saneamiento durante las cuatro últimas décadas, con énfasis en los esquemas y programas de financiamiento. Mostrar menos -

Esta publicación es una guía para los que toman decisiones y los planificadores del sector de agua sobre cómo abordar la dimensión de la calidad en el manejo de los... Mostrar más + recursos subterráneos en los países clientes del Banco Mundial. Existe evidencia creciente sobre el aumento de las amenazas que conlleva la contaminación del agua subterránea y algunos casos, bien documentados, de daños irreversibles en acuíferos importantes. Esta guía fue elaborada con la convicción de que la evaluación del peligro de contaminación del agua subterránea debe constituir un componente esencial de las normas de buena práctica ambiental para las empresas de servicios de agua. La guía es particularmente relevante para la región de América Latina y el Caribe, donde muchos países iniciaron importantes cambios para modernizar su marco legal e institucional para el manejo de los recursos hídricos, pero pueden no haber considerado todavía a las aguas subterráneas en el mismo nivel que las aguas superficiales, debido a la falta de comprensión y conocimiento de los asuntos relevantes del agua subterránea y las opciones de política. Mostrar menos -

This study synthesizes the results of six recent experiences with private sector participation in the water and wastewater sectors of developing countries. Its obje... Mostrar más + ctives are threefold: 1) to evaluate the results of these six cases and to describe the challenges and opportunities faced by governments and by water utilities, public as well as private, to improve the quantity and quality of services; 2) to assess whether local and national governments have taken full advantage of the potential benefits of private sector participation and to explore why some of those benefits may not be fully realized; and 3) to draw lessons from these experiences that can improve the planning and implementation of these water and wastewater projects and others elsewhere in which the private sector will participate. The report is organized as follows. Chapter 1 reviews the broader economic and institutional context within which private sector providers have participated in the water and wastewater sector in developing countries. Chapter 2 follows a profile of private sector arrangements in the six cases under study and a brief description of other arrangements elsewhere. The impact of these arrangements on service levels and quality as well as the costs of services to consumers are evaluated in chapter 3, and the constraints to implementing more adequate water-pricing systems are discussed in chapter 4. The performance of private firms and the efficiency gains achieved through their involvement are assessed in chapter 5. Chapter 6 discusses the financial aspects of private sector participation. The regulation of private sector arrangements is analyzed in chapter 7. Finally, chapter 8 summarizes the lessons learned and offers recommendations for increasing the likelihood of success of existing and future private sector arrangements. Mostrar menos -

The lack of an appropriate regulatory environment is a principal factor behind inadequate water and sanitation services in many parts of Latin America. Many governm... Mostrar más + ents recognize the need to improve cost recovery and accountability in services - and increasingly see private sector participation as a tool for improving efficiency and attracting commercial sources of investment finance. Consultants interviewed representatives of private companies that recently contended for contracts to provide water and sanitation services in four Latin American cities (Buenos Aires, Caracas, Mexico City, and Santiago). These private operators identify the regulatory conditions they look for deciding whether to participate in a bid. On the basis of the interviews, the authors identified nine conditions. (1) Specify key terms and conditions of regulation in the contract, leaving little discretionary power to the regulating authority. In particular, specify the key aspects of regulation (such as price, quantity, and quality) in the contract. (2) Spell out credible procedures for the fair resolution of disagreements about contractual or regulatory matters. (3) Carefully specify credible technical objectives which the contractor will be expected to achieve under the contract. (4) See that government tariff policies support the principle of cost recovery for water services - and that tariff adjustment formulas adequately reflect changes in costs, inflation, and the exchange rate. (5) If historical collection rates do not indicate consumers' willingness to pay for services such as tariffs that reflect the cost of service, allow an adequate period of time to phase in higher tariffs - and give the operator adequate protection from nonpayers (either the right to cut off service or recourse to another source of payment). (6) Review public works law, contract law, and accounting practices and, if necessary, amend them in advance to ensure that they accommodate and protect any long-term investments foreseen under build-own-transfer or concession-type arrangements. (7) Eliminate unnecessary and bureaucratic administrative requirements that make bidding expensive. (8) Make a contract and expected profits big enough to warrant the high fixed cost of bidding. (9) Provide the education and outreach needed to inform consumers and secure the support of labor interests. In addition, the firms interviewed said that host countries would be better able to attract private-sector providers if they: (a) used reputable outside technical, legal, and financial advisors; (b) allowed local and foreign banks that finance investments to review and comment on proposed contracts and participate in negotiations; and (c) reduced the cost of bidding for small contracts. Mostrar menos -