There is an encouraging degree of movement in Peru’s regions to look more carefully at the management of water, threatened by climate change and the expansion of mining. On 26 and 27 November, Cajamarca’s second water forum will take place, bringing together over a hundred experts and concerned public sector representatives.

The meeting is designed to raise awareness of issues around the management of water, the impact of climate change, the appropriate norms that should govern public policy, and all the issues involved in how to harvest water sustainably. The Cajamarca regional government will present its plans for the management of water resources.

The Cajamarca forum follows close on the heels of a major event on 8 and 9 November in Ica, where leaders from Ica, Huancavelica, Ayacucho, Apurímac and Cuzco met. This meeting was the second regional follow up to the First Encuentro Nacional por el Agua – Yaku, held in Lima in July 2017.

The Lima event came up with the memorable slogan ‘water doesn’t just come from the tap’. The object of the meeting was to develop an agenda of demands and actions which groups would then take back to their regions.

The final act of the Ica regional meeting was to prepare and authorise a group to go to Lima to hold meetings with the Autoridad Nacional de Agua (ANA), the Ministry of Agriculture (Minagri), the Ministry of the Environment (Minam), and the office of the president, conveying its conclusions.

Follow-up and accountability arising out of such meetings is needed, not just talk.