Peru, ranked as the eighth country in the world with the largest amount of fresh water, and third in Latin America after Brazil and Colombia, must be aware of its privileged situation and seek better management of its water resources, both for human consumption and for the development of key economic activities such as agribusiness.

Carla Toranzo, coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) points out the great inequities of a country like ours, where there are seasons and zones in which excess water even causes disasters in inhabited areas, while in other The population does not have drinking water in their homes.

“One million five hundred thousand Peruvians have water in their home for only between one and three hours a day. More than seven million Peruvians do not have a sewage system. The Peruvian coast, being rich in fresh water, is not evenly distributed over the territory. Water security is having good quality water XNUMX hours a day. Some ten million Peruvians do not have water twenty-four hours a day”, he graphs.

The situation, of course, is not unique to Peru, since worldwide more than 80% of wastewater is not treated properly and is returned to the fields and water sources.

In this lack, however, there is an opportunity, since it is possible to seek coverage with authorizations for dumping and reuse in agricultural areas, especially in desert regions.

And it is not just about health, which is the main thing, but also about protecting an economic force, such as agribusiness: "In European countries there is concern about how it is produced in Peru in terms of water use," he says. Toranzo.

He warns that the news that reaches the countries of the Northern Hemisphere does not always correspond to the local reality on this issue, which is why it is a pending challenge for producers and marketers who export to work on making visible their responsible management of the use of water resources.

In addition, this responsibility is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations Organization, which establishes in point six that by 2030 universal access to clean water and sanitation must be guaranteed in an equitable manner. The AWS spokesperson acknowledges that there are indicators that this goal will not be achieved, so it is even more urgent to encourage this task.

Application of standards at the local level
In fact, the AWS works with a series of national and international companies, as well as entities that support its cause, that seek to develop and apply standards for water management. In the country, the cases of Agrícola Chapi, Sunfruits, Agrovision, Safco, Campos del Sur, Pampa Baja stand out. “You cannot look at one's farm or factory without looking at the basin, the natural water infrastructure. And if we share risks in the basin with other companies, those risks cannot be solved only with water efficiency in our farm, we must have a basin view”, he adds.

In this way, a standard for the sustainable use of water was born a decade ago, which establishes five different stages to be met: good water governance, sustainable water balance, good water quality, important areas related to water; and safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene for all.

These points are the visible part of a total of 80 indicators in a sustainability plan for farms and basins in which the challenges of the sector are addressed with the support framework in neighboring communities. “We see leadership in the private sector, also the state sector, such as with AGAP. When companies apply the standard, they receive a certificate for sustainable water management”, complements Toranzo, who highlights in this line that the cases of Agrovision and Pampa Baja were reviewed positively in an OECD water governance report. An agreement is also being developed between the Municipality of Pueblo Nuevo (Chincha) and Sunass, which is a good case in the public field.

"The agro-export sector, the mining sector, the textile sector, we must all be on board with new solutions, learning more," he concluded.