Hurricane Michael brings flooding rains to El Salvador after long drought.

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Rains leave destruction and dead throughout the country

4 personas han muerto y cientos se encuentran albergados debido a la inundaciones causadas por las lluvias en diferentes partes del país. Árboles caídos y derrumbes han afectado las carreteras.POR DEPARTAMENTO DE FOTOGRAFÍA
4 people have died and hundreds are sheltered due to the floods caused by the rains in different parts of the country. Fallen trees and landslides have affected the roads.FOR PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT​
OCT 09, 2018- 13:55

Water Crisis in El Salvador

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The profound crisis of water resources in
El Salvador, in terms of quality, quantity and access, is widely recognized and scientifically documented. And now, the country is living a drought that has devastated thousands of family crops, threatening their only income source and even their only food resource. 
Share has decided to launch a campaign and support the struggle that many communities in
El Salvador are suffering involving the lack of water. We wish to create a fund that will support 210 families from El Bajo Lempa in the department of Usulután. This fund will buy grains and food to help them in a short term plan with their current crisis, but will also give an initiative to expand the campaign and support an ongoing demand to establish a general water law in
​El Salvador. 
Let’s do our part!

Nothing grows, nothing lives without water.

​The Share Foundation´s “Growing with Water” campaign is a national broad based grass roots initiative in the United States supporting the ongoing struggle to overcome this opposition and establish a General Water Law in El Salvador capable of assuring good governance with equitable, efficient and sustainable water management through direct support to affected communities, especially women, and through public policy advocacy. Our job, and our moral obligation as SHARE, is the accompaniment of organizations and communities that are fighting for the right to ensure reliable and sustainable water resources and sanitation services for all citizens in El Salvador with a rights based focus. Learn more

Marching for Water 


September 27, San Salvador.

Andrés McKinley is a water and mining specialist at the José Simeón Cañas Central American University (UCA). He has a Master's degree in Health Administration and has been working on sustainable development issues in Central America, South America and Africa for 50 years.

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 FOUR FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES FOR WATER MANAGEMENT IN EL SALVADOR
 
by Andrés McKinley /from El Salvador
 
The profound crisis of water resources in El Salvador, in terms of quality, quantity and access, is widely recognized and scientifically documented. Toxic waste, agricultural runoff and untreated sewage pollute more than 90% of our rivers, lakes and groundwater and the over exploitation of aquifers generates scarcity for communities and ecosystems throughout the national territory.
 
The main cause of the crisis is the lack of good governance in the water sector due to the lack of public policies and an efficient institutional framework for the regulation of this resource so essential for life and for the sustainable development of our country. Nevertheless, for more than 12 years, the deputies of the Legislative Assembly have demonstrated an alarming lack of interest, capacity and political will to seek consensus and approve a General Water Law.
 
The key obstacle in the process has been the debate on the design and make up of the institutional architecture for good water governance.  In the search to move the debate forward, it is useful to keep in mind four fundamental principles that should guide any initiative of water legislation in an effort to ensure equitable, efficient and sustainable management:

• A rights based focus:

The first challenge in the formulation of any water bill for El Salvador is to ensure a rights based focus stipulating the rights of citizens and the obligations of government. Water is the source of all life. According to Genesis, water existed before creation itself. In this sense, water is a public good and a fundamental human right, essential for the enjoyment of other rights, such as life, health and work.

• A public governing body:

If we recognize water as a public good and as a human right, it is obvious that the State (central government) has the obligation to manage it effectively and guarantee access to the citizenry in an equitable, efficient and sustainable manner. According to article 117 of the Constitution of the Republic, it is the obligation of the State to preserve and care for the natural resources of the country. It is also the obligation of the State to defend and guarantee the human rights of citizens. A study recently presented by the Central American University José Simeón Cañas (UCA) on the institutionality of water in Latin America shows that no country in our continent has a private governing body for water management. In fact, no country in the world has the rectory of water in private hands.
 
The private sector, through permits or concessions approved by the State, can participate in the provision of technical services related to water management. But allowing the private sector to govern water, with the power to approve national water policy, develop national water plans, establish priorities for water use, define tariffs, etc., would be tantamount to privatizing this vital liquid.

• Citizen participation:

The water crisis in El Salvador is complex and urgent, requiring effective and integral solutions. This requires the active participation of the citizenry. Along with a State governing body for water management, it is important to assure a broad, permanent and dynamic space for the effective participation of citizens with the power to influence the decisions of the governing body. This space should include all interested parties (stakeholders), including the business sector,  local governments, environmentalists, women's organizations, academics and other actors. In the proposal of the UCA on institutionality, presented to the Legislative Assembly in August of 2017, this space is considered strategic and is called the National Water Council.

• A focus on local watersheds:

The integral resolution of the dramatic water crisis facing El Salvador depends on what happens at the local level. We can have the best national water policy in the world and, still, fail in our governance efforts if there is no change in the way we manage water at the watershed level. When we speak of a focus on local watersheds, we are talking about more than the quantity and quality of water available. It implies taking into account all the factors that influence the availability and quality of water, including the forest, soil, air, fauna, etc.
 
The debate on water in El Salvador is at a definitive moment, influenced by a great variety of economic, social, political, environmental, party and electoral interests. It is time to recognize that this issue, for El Salvador, is a matter of life or death. It is a matter of national survival, not of political parties or ideologies. It is time to leave partisan discourses behind, seek consensus based on the principles set forth in this document and focus on the common good and the interests of our nation.

Important News About Water

Central American dry corridor

Droughts causes deficit in the humidity in the region, leading to soil conditions worse for September. Learn more

Students raise awareness of
global water crisis

Students carried 44-lb. jugs to symbolize the arduous journey people make daily around the world to secure clean water. Learn more

Farmers from Central America
and Brazil Join Forces to Live
​with Drought

“All our lives we’ve been going to rivers or springs to get water, and now it’s a great thing to have it always within reach,”. Learn more