Institutional and Policy Analysis of River Basin Management : The Tárcoles River Basin, Costa Rica

This paper describes and analyzes the effort to institute river basin management in the Tárcoles basin of Costa Rica. Located in west-central Costa Rica, the Tárcoles basin represents 4.2 percent of the nation's total land area, but is home to half the nation's population and the metropolitan area of San José, the nation's capital and largest city. Water management issues include severe water pollution resulting from sewage, industrial waste discharges, agricultural runoff, and deforestation. In the early 1990s a locally-initiated effort established a river basin commission for the Río Grande de Tárcoles (CRGT), which was supported by the central government's environment ministry. Since the late 1990s, however, the DRGT has struggled through changes of leadership, inconsistent support from the central government, and waning participation from basin stakeholders. Despite several programs to arrest deforestation and encourage better industrial and agricultural practices, the basin's water problems continue largely unabated. The Tárcoles case is instructive about both the possibilities and the fragility of efforts to establish integrated water resource management at the river basin level.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Blomquist, William, Ballestero, Maureen, Bhat, Anjali, Kemper, Karin
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2005-05
Subjects:	ADEQUATE WATER, AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITY, AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES, AGRICULTURAL RUNOFF, AGRICULTURAL WATER, AGRICULTURAL WATER USE, AQUEDUCTS, AQUIFERS, BASIN AREA, BASIN COMMISSION, BASIN PLANNING, BASIN WATER, BASIN WATER MANAGEMENT, CENTRAL AMERICAN, CHANNELS, CIVIL SOCIETY, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, CONFLUENCE, CONSERVATION, CONSERVE WATER, CONTAMINANTS, CONTAMINATION, CONTAMINATION OF GROUNDWATER, CUT OFF, DAIRY FARMING, DRAINAGE, DRINKING WATER, DRY SEASON, ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL LAW, ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, FARMERS, FERTILIZERS, FISHING, FLOODING, FLOODING PROBLEMS, FORESTRY, GRAVEL, GROUNDWATER, GROUNDWATER QUALITY, GROUNDWATER USE, HEAVY METALS, HYDROELECTRIC POWER, INDUSTRIAL USE, INDUSTRIAL WASTE, INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER, INDUSTRIAL WATER, INDUSTRIAL WATER USE, INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT, IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE, IRRIGATION, JURISDICTION, LAND USE, LATIN AMERICAN, MANAGING WATER RESOURCES, NATIONAL WATER LAW, NATIONAL WATER PLAN, NATIONAL WATER POLICY, NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, NATURAL RESOURCES, PERMITS, POTABLE WATER, PROGRAMS, PROTECTED AREAS, PUBLIC HEALTH, QUALITY WATER, RECHARGE, RESERVOIRS, RIVER BASIN, RIVER BASIN LEVEL, RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT, RIVER BASINS, RIVER FLOW, RIVERS, SAND, SEPTIC SYSTEMS, SEPTIC TANKS, SEWAGE TREATMENT, SEWERAGE SYSTEMS, SOIL EROSION, SOILS, SOLID WASTE, SOLID WASTE COLLECTION, SPRINGS, STORMWATER, STREAM, STREAM CHANNELS, STREAMS, SURFACE WATER, SURFACE WATERS, SUSPENDED SOLIDS, WASTE DISCHARGES, WASTEWATER, WATER AVAILABILITY, WATER CHARGES, WATER DEMAND, WATER FLOWS, WATER LAW, WATER MANAGEMENT, WATER POLICIES, WATER POLICY, WATER POLLUTION, WATER PROVIDERS, WATER QUALITY, WATER QUALITY PROBLEMS, WATER RESOURCE, WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, WATER SCARCITY, WATER SUPPLY, WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS, WATER SYSTEMS, WATER TREATMENT, WATER TREATMENT FACILITIES, WATER USE SECTORS, WATER USES, WATERSHED, WELLS,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2005/05/5800558/institutional-policy-analysis-river-basin-management-tarcoles-river-basin-costa-rica http://hdl.handle.net/10986/8232
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