Improving Source Water Protection: Peru Implementation Research Plan

While not a widespread practice in most lower- and middle-income countries, Latin America is home to a growing number of self-driven and locally financed source water protection programs. In Peru, decision-makers are attempting to scale up source water protection nationwide to address the numerous water security challenges brought on by climate change, watershed deterioration, water pollution, and a lack of storage infrastructure. In the past decade, Peru has established a robust national legal and financial framework for source water protection; however, the country still lacks widespread implementation. USAID’s URBAN WASH activity is partnering with utilities in Peru to better understand how and why actors within financing and implementing institutions decide to implement source water protection. The objective of this research is to understand what drives key decision-makers to undertake source water protection for urban water supply resilience. This study will examine why some cities are able to undertake widespread source water protection while others are not. This research plan provides background information on watershed protection in Peru, summarizes key evidence gaps, and details the planned research methods for the first phase of this research.