About Us
Motivation
LIS-Water emerged from the growing awareness of the need for countries to respond more effectively to the challenges of water services, recognized as one of the greatest priorities of Humanity. Since 2015, all countries must meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (ODS) by 2030, including ODS 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation for All. ODS 6 has a cross-cutting nature and is essential for achieving all the other ODS. Several other international and national policy documents impose similar obligations and suggest similar commitments on countries around the world.
In response to these challenges, various initiatives have been implemented and very significant investments have been mobilized in the sector in most countries. Despite this, the results worldwide continue to fall far short of expectations:
This situation is because the governance structures of water services are weak and fragmented in many countries with inadequate political, institutional and administrative practices and processes. The water problem is, in fact, largely a governance problem and will only be overcome if countries are able to implement in a structured and integrated manner good public policies, effective regulation and adequate management of these services.
The search for innovative solutions that integrate the various visions and disciplines is a pressing challenge. We must also reduce the gap between the level of knowledge and practice and improve communication and coordination between all the agents involved. Policymakers and decision makers must be more aware of the challenges and make decisions based on the best knowledge available. Water professionals and organizations need to be continuously qualified and empowered and internalize the advancement of knowledge and innovation. Industry and entrepreneurs need to be supported and attracted by the industry contributing to the resolution of problems. Finally, society needs to be more informed and involved with water issues.