The Government of El Salvador announced the financing of the Lempa River Conservation and Restoration Program, a key initiative to ensure the sustainability of one of the country's most important natural resources. Implementation will begin in 2025, through a joint execution between El Salvador's Environmental Investment Fund, FIAES, and Catholic Relief Services, CRS.
The Lempa River basin covers about half of the national territory and supplies water to two-thirds of the country, making it an essential resource for millions of Salvadorans. This territory faces serious environmental challenges, derived from factors such as climate change and pollution.
An investment of $350 million will restore and protect the Lempa River basin. The distribution of the financing contemplates $200 million for its implementation over 20 years, while $150 million will be allocated to an endowment as a source of sustainability for the Program beyond 2044.
FIAES and CRS will coordinate closely with government entities such as the Salvadoran Water Authority (ASA), Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN), and the National Administration of Aqueducts and Sewers (ANDA), as key actors in El Salvador's regulatory framework, which will foster collaboration between government experts, NGOs, and local actors.
The first phase of the program will be a diagnosis through an inclusive multi-stakeholder process, including local community organizations. This will contribute to the development of the comprehensive management plan for the basin.
As conservation objectives in these 20 years, we will work to improve water supply services, expand forest cover by 15,000 hectares, restore 5,000 hectares of degraded land, improve water quality in critical points of the basin, improve 75,000 hectares of agricultural land, and catalyze investments in wastewater and solid waste management infrastructure.
“FIAES is pleased to participate in the Lempa River Conservation and Restoration Program, acting as a strategic partner of the Government of El Salvador and the Government of the United States of America. In this framework, we will be able to contribute our experience accumulated over more than 30 years in the conservation of natural resources, with the effective and transparent administration of funds aimed at preserving the life of the different ecosystems and improving the living conditions for the communities”: Jorge Oviedo, executive director of FIAES.
“The program has been designed under a comprehensive approach since we understand that social and environmental crises are deeply interconnected. Both FIAES and CRS have extensive experience in the country working on conservation projects, obtaining tangible results and robust evidence of this. We work hand in hand with the active participation of local actors, ensuring that solutions not only align with the needs of the natural environment, but also with people's well-being": John Briggs, CRS Country Representative.
This $350 million allocation represents the largest financing commitment a country has ever made for conservation in a debt conversion transaction, thanks to the will and leadership of the Government of El Salvador, the Government of the United States, and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).
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