“I have been dealing with international funding issues for a long time, and I am confident that the participation of international cooperation organizations and agencies in countries greatly enriches the daily activities of public sector institutions.
Public officials are often absorbed in daily tasks and reporting on activities and goals. Therefore, when these organizations and agencies get involved in projects, they allow us to view things from different perspectives than those we are used to in the country, helping to avoid the "tunnel vision."
This discovery of new approaches, innovative topics, or actors opens the door to activities that were not initially planned and were not considered in our budget”.
“In the case of Mexico and the GEF CReW+ project, the water quality standard was updated, so wastewater treatment plants in Quintana Roo were analyzed to determine what changes would be needed to comply with the new standard.
Financing mechanisms were proposed to ensure the sustainability of investments, best practices were presented in developing a strategy to strengthen water governance in rural communities, and eco-technologies will be built in selected Mayan municipalities in the mentioned state.
Except for the last point, the analyses mentioned could not have been done without the project's support. In times of austerity, investments take priority, leaving studies behind.
Moreover, sharing experiences with other localities, institutions, and countries makes the projects helpful and deeply meaningful”.
“Unfortunately, as the years pass and we return to project sites, they are not always in the same condition as when they were handed over. Therefore, the local communities need to take ownership of these projects to ensure their continuity, and it is also crucial for countries and agencies to provide follow-up.
This way, no matter how much time has passed, we can return to the project sites and think that even though we may no longer be there and no one may remember us, a part of our heart remains in those places and the local communities have a better quality of life. I hope this is the case."
About the project
GEF CReW+: An integrated approach to water and wastewater management using innovative solutions and promoting financing mechanisms in the Wider Caribbean Region, is a partnership project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) that is being co-implemented by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 18 countries of the Wider Caribbean Region (WCR). This project builds upon its previous successful phase “The Caribbean Regional Fund for Wastewater Management (CReW)” project (2011-2017). GEF CReW+ is being executed by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the Organisation of the American States (OAS) and the Secretariat of the Cartagena Convention (CAR/RCU) on behalf of the IDB and UNEP respectively.
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