Lake Titicaca is the largest freshwater lake in South America, and it faces great challenges for governance due to its transboundary location. It is also an example of good practices led by the community. Lake Titicaca was visited during the II International Symposium on Transboundary Waters for Latin America and the Caribbean, held in Bolivia from December 1-3, 2022. Participants learned about the challenges and some solutions to the environmental problems that the lake faces, such as the vulnerability of the shallow areas due to climate change and the continuous inflow of untreated wastewater into the lake. The opening of the Symposium included an indigenous ceremony that narrated the history and collaborative work between Bolivia and Peru, the two countries that share the Lake. Attendees, including Verónica Minaya, Programme Officer of the Natural Sciences Sector of the UNESCO Regional Office in Quito and representative for Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela, participated in an activity for the restoration of endangered species populations. In recent years, eutrophication caused by the accumulation of nitrogen and phosphorus in some areas has changed the balance of the ecosystem and deteriorated aquatic life.  In response to this situation, the community has developed "Binational Releasing of Native Fish" in the lake, which this time released 2 million juveniles around floating islands in the lake that harbor the necessary conditions for their growth. On the other hand, the role of international cooperation and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in establishing the "Permanent Observatory of Lake Titicaca" was highlighted. This observatory is able to continuously map water quality and meteorological conditions in the area, which allows mapping the spatio-temporal dynamics that facilitate phytoplankton blooms and result in the eutrophication of the lake. The observatory also investigates the effect of climate change and human activities on eutrophication. The observatory is indispensable for predicting and minimizing environmental and economic damages that may be caused by the escalating deterioration of Lake Titicaca's waters. International cooperation is key to improving the conditions of the lake and the populations of people who depend on it. The challenges in the area were presented by the Binational Autonomous Authority of the Lake Titicaca, Desaguadero, Poopó, Salar de Coipasa Water System (ALT), the Binational Observatory of Lake Titicaca (OBLT), the French Research Institute for Development (IRD) and the director of the Lake Program of the Ministry of Environment and Water of Bolivia. Undoubtedly, many efforts have been made in Lake Titicaca to manage transboundary water resources and promote integration among people. In the context of the increasing environmental crisis, the urgent need to continue cooperation to safeguard and make sustainable use of transboundary water resources became evident. From UNESCO, we emphasize our commitment to support the programs, especially through the tools that the Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP) makes available to the States.

The Biosphere Reserve of Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Network (IberoMAB) is a network made up of young people from 24 countries that articulates, coordinates and leads strategic actions in biosphere territories for the empowerment of youth, and seeks to effectively and efficiently influence decision-making in this area. The II Youth Forum of IberoMAB took place from 1 to 3 November 2022, and was attended by more than 50 young people from 35 biosphere reserves from 24 countries of the Network that met in La Fortuna, Costa Rica, and was held with the support of the IberoMAB Network, the National Parks Autonomous Agency (OAPN), the Man and the Biosphere Program (MAB) of UNESCO and the Agua y Paz (Water and Peace) Biosphere Reserve of Costa Rica. The event also included field trips to the main tourist attractions in the area, to observe the endemic vegetation and the animals that inhabit the area. The working groups held during the forum discussed various topics such as: the governance of the IberoMAB Youth Network, youth training, communication and involvement, the information platform and projects. It was also considered essential to include quantitative and qualitative indicators to evaluate and monitor the impact of the actions and activities carried out by the Network. As a result, the action plan and the IberoMAB Network Youth Declaration were created. Karen Morocho, one of the representatives of Ecuador at this Forum, emphasized that "including and linking young people committed to creating a greener society makes them maintain their commitment to continue strengthening ties and ensuring good practices in the biosphere reserves they represent”. The closing of the forum, on November 3, also marked the opening of the celebrations for the International Day of Biosphere Reserves, which will be celebrated in 2022 for the first time. The II Youth Forum of IberoMAB was a fruitful space for young people to continue working together for sustainable development. UNESCO Quito will continue to develop projects with and for young people in the biosphere reserves of the countries it represents: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela. Links of interest:https://es.unesco.org/node/302852https://www.unesco.org/es/articles/el-ii-foro-de-jovenes-de-...

The II International Symposium on Transboundary Waters in Latin America and the Caribbean, organized by the Plurinational State of Bolivia was held from November 30 to December 3. Verónica Minaya, Officer of Natural Sciences of the UNESCO office in Quito and representative for Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela, participated in a series of talks and lectures aimed at strengthening dialogue, cooperation, exchange of experiences, lessons learned and best practices among the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on the management of transboundary water resources, promoting integration among peoples, Mother Earth and water-related life systems. This symposium took place in the context of a growing environmental crisis and particularly an urgent need for cooperation to safeguard and utilize well the tools available for the sustainable use of transboundary water resources. The organizing committee of the Symposium invited UNESCO's Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP), represented on this occasion by the Natural Sciences Officer of the UNESCO Quito Office, to present the initiatives and projects they are managing in the region on transboundary water issues and in particular on "Knowledge management and information systems for decision making". As part of the effects of climate change in the region, a reduction in precipitation and an increase in temperature are expected in the coming years, which may hinder navigation and commercial activities on which many families depend. For this reason, this symposium was a unique opportunity to go into depth on the objectives and resources that UNESCO-IHP makes available to the governments of the region on water quality issues: Water Quality Portal, IHP-WINS Platform (Geonode), UNESCO Digital Library (UNESDOC), Webinars and IHP-LAC courses. In addition, Verónica Minaya was part of the panel "Knowledge Management and Information Systems for Decision Making" which addressed the initiatives UNESCO is carrying out in the use of technology in information platforms in a context of climate uncertainty. The panel was attended by experts from the Amazon Regional Observatory (ARO), Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), Water and Sanitation Division of IDB, General Secretariat of CIC-Plata, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), and Ibero-American Meteorological and Hydrological Services (CIMHET). In Veronica Minaya's presentation within the special panel: "Knowledge Management and Information Systems for Decision Making in Contexts of Climate Uncertainty", she presented UNESCO's IHP initiatives, which are focused on 3 main themes: Data collection Information systems to make information available to different decision-makers, and Dissemination of the initiatives through newsletters, documents, reports and capacity building workshops and courses (on-site and online). Through these themes of work, IHP contributes to research, education and capacity building related to water resources management. For example, the Governance of Groundwater in Transboundary Aquifers (GGRETA) project, which focuses on the management of transboundary aquifers, and ISARM, which has supported the inventory and study of transboundary aquifer systems with a total of 600 TAS, with detailed studies in 199 of them. The GGRETA project - Trifinio aquifer case has had 3 phases: Phase 1 (2013-2015): to know and understand technically-scientifically how the aquifer interacts. This information was used to understand the interactions. Phase 2 (2016- 2018): Improve dialogue between countries for the benefit of transboundary resource use. Shared governance and management model between countries. Including pollution sources, water quality, technical capacity building. Phase 3 (2020-2022): Strengthen stability, dialogue and cooperation leading to a transboundary agreement. In addition, she presented the opportunities provided by the UNESCO Water Quality Portal, which is available for those institutions and governments that need to monitor water quality in water bodies. The portal is a tool that encourages scientific research, use of technology and reinforces the capacity and knowledge of users, but also provides a graphical interface to facilitate decision-making based on scientific data, especially for authorities. It also aims to raise awareness on activities and practices that deteriorate water quality. The portal uses images from Sentinel-2 and Landsat satellites validated with in-situ information that with the use of machine learning techniques and radiometric equations obtain water parameters including pH, depth, algae, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll A, organic matter and turbidity. The information is displayed in color-coded maps and time series, which facilitates analysis of water characteristics over time including minimums, maximums and averages. By adding hydrometeorological information, important conclusions can be drawn about the impact of climate on changes in water quality. UNESCO also makes available the IHP WINS Network which has geo-referenced information related to water resources, transboundary aquifers, among others, which allows visualization and mapping. This information is used for decision-making and research. Lastly, the UNESDOC platform was presented with a large number of publications and webinars available online. The documentation includes material related to governance in transboundary aquifers, specific studies on cyanobacteria and water quality, legal and institutional frameworks for water management in the Americas for the management of transboundary aquifers, reports on socioeconomic, environmental and climatic aspects, regional strategies and others. It was stressed that UNESCO is open to continuing the dissemination and use of these tools by organizations and governments. The symposium was supported by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the Organization of American States (OAS), the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), among others. From UNESCO, we would like to emphasize our commitment to support programs that seek the sustainable use of transboundary water resources, especially through the tools that the Intergovernmental Hydrological Program (IHP) makes available to the States.