Building Transformative Institutional Adaptive Capacity for Climate-Resilient Water Governance in Bolivia

Water governance has attracted increased attention as a policy concern in recent years because climate change is expected to increase the variability between wet and dry regions, and wet and dry seasons, leading to challenges associated with water security and sustainable development. This raises questions about the adaptive capacity of water governance systems and their abilityto respond to the threat of climate change. While the lack of adaptive capacity could serve as a barrier to adaptation, exploring where strengths and weaknesses exist allows stakeholders and decision-makers to tailor adaptation programs to bridge gaps and strengthen capacities.

In view of recent and projected climate change and the related challenges that Bolivia is facing in the water sector, this study has refined a robust methodological framework to assess adaptive capacity in the Bolivian water governance system. Under the framework of this study, an exploration of how governance systems have managed and responded to past extreme events, and what manifestations of adaptive capacity have arisen, has allowed us to examine whether governance practices have hindered or enabled adaptive capacity, emphasizing transformative processes. This assessment thereby provides the foundation to explore the potential of the Pilot
Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR) under the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) to address gaps, build adaptive capacity, and achieve transformative change in the Bolivian water sector.