Long-term volunteers James Seppi and Taylor Cook represented the EWB-AUS Peru Program at the Foro Agua Santa 2011 held in Huaraz, Anchash, Peru on September 22 and 23. The forum was a venue for water users at all levels of the Santa River Basin, from the peaks to the coast, to share their concerns and ideas about how to implement integrated management of this important resource.

Taylor and James met with forum attendees and handed out information to promote the Peru Program.

More details to follow soon.

Today marks the end of the Peru Program’s first Assessment Trip.  The assessment team visited two communities of the Tres Cuencas Commonwealth: Canrey Chico and Huasta.  In addition to signing the Program MOU, the team met with local researchers, scientists, professors, mayors, and community members to learn about water problems and potential first projects.   They look forward to sharing their findings, data, and pictures with the rest of the Peru Program Team and the EWB-AUS Board!

Caryn McKinney, Daene McKinney (mentor), Laura Read (lead), James Seppi, Taylor Cook

The signing of the Tres Cuencas Commonwealth-The Mountain Institute-EWB-AUS Memorandum of Understanding has made the local Huaraz, Ancash, Peru, news: http://www.huaraznoticias.com/que-esta-pasando/mancomunidad-tres-cuencas-firma-convenio-con-asociacion-ingenieros-sin-fronteras

Today in the City of Chiquián during the meeting of the Tres Cuencas Commonwealth Board of Directors, Peru Program Lead Laura Read, along with President Ernesto Rivera of the Commonwealth and Cristina Giraud of The Mountain Institute, signed a Memorandum of Understanding signifying official cooperation of the three organizations. This foundational document states how the three organizations will work together to facilitate community projects that mitigate the impacts of climate change in rural Peru.

The signing of the memorandum of understanding came after visits to two potential project sites within the Tres Cuencas Commonwealth, Canrey Chico and Huasta. EWB-AUS volunteers were accompanied on these visits by employees of The Mountain Institute who are familiar with the communities and their water needs. The assessment team spoke with representatives of the communities, collected GPS data, and investigated current water infrastructure. The team looks forward to sharing its findings with the rest of EWB-AUS and selecting the first project for the Peru Program.