The value of the guarani aquifer agreement as effective implementation of the of transboundary groundwater protection

Abstract

Water resources are essential to both economic development and the maintenance of natural systems. The interdependence of surface water and groundwater are very close and the degradation of each-one, inevitably causes a deterioration of the other, that’s why the protection and regulation can only addressed through integrated management policies. Groundwater, which represent 95% of the total volumen of the sweet water in the planet, are a vital resource for humanity. The Guarani Aquifer constitutes one of the largest reservoirs of groundwater in the world, located in the southeast of South America and underlies in some areas of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The importance of this resource from an environmental, economic, political and social standpoint for the States sharing it, it was the starting point for the joint construction of an operational structure that allowed implement an institutional, technical and legal common framework for the management and the preservation of the Guarani Aquifer.