Inland navigation and a more sustainable use of natural resources: networks, challenges and opportunities for South America

The workshop represents a joint effort between the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure (PIANC), the National Waterway Transportation Agency (ANTAQ) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) to promote a regional dialogue on South American inland waterways of international and local importance.
Organized within the framework of the COPEDEC 2016 Conference, the workshop targets regional and international experts and decision makers from Latin American countries which share significant inland waterway networks. The workshop builds upon a series of previous events organized by PIANC, such as the Smart Rivers Conference (Buenos Aires, 2015), as well as ECLAC’s work on inland shipping in South America and the results of the ECLAC international seminar on River Mobility in Amazonia held in Quito in May 2016.
The main objective of the workshop is to offer decision makers, national experts and technical advisers an opportunity to share their experiences and exchange views on the challenges and potential for inland waterways development in South America. Particular attention will be paid to the role that inland waterways can play on a more sustainable use of the region’s natural resources.
The workshop will be structured around three main topics:
Inland waterways infrastructure, i.e. identification of the economic potential of national and regional inland waterways classification,
Funding Schemes for Inland Waterway Development, i.e. trends and challenges in public and private investment in inland waterways,
Policies and governance for inland waterways, i.e. the building blocks of a national and regional policy on inland waterways development and institutional framework.