Framework for Assessing Integrated Water Resources Management in Latin America: Case Studies of Buenos Aires and São Paulo
This thesis examines the World Banks Latin America and the Caribbean Blue Water Green Cities (BWGC) urban water development initiative that began in 2009. This program attempts to create a comprehensive Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approach for policymakers at both local and national levels, improving water management approaches and disseminating data on lessons learned. This thesis evaluates the success of the BWGC initiative by analyzing Buenos Aires and S\xe3o Paulo as case studies. Each city is analyzed through examination of the specific World Bank program and through application of a general assessment tool, the City Blueprint Framework (CBF), which was designed to evaluate IWRM projects holistically. This research attempts to answer how well the CBF works to assess the sustainability of IWRM in both cities, and how well the cities are doing as part of the CBF indicator. World Bank results show that all initiatives are projected to either finish on time with some funds undistributed, or be extended to a later date. City Blueprint Framework results combined a mixture of quantitative and qualitative data, revealing both cities were ranked low on the index and therefore seen as having unsustainable IWRM practices. By examining both the World Bank documents and the extensive data collected through the CBF, results show that the World Bank needs more comprehensive data from its projects, and that the CBF serves as an effective tool for analyzing the sustainability of IWRM.'
international water management, Latin America, Argentina, Brazil, integrated water resources management, IWRM, water resources, World Bank, City Blueprint Framework, Environmental Sciences
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