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The document analyzes the impact of governance on the implementation of the Robust Decision Support (RDS) process in Colombia and Peru. While both countries have restructured their water governance to be more inclusive, different institutional barriers hindered the process: Colombia's Regional Autonomous Corporations (CARs) faced capacity constraints due to broad environmental mandates, while Peru's fragmented system of national approval and local implementation created coordination challenges and marginalized local technical staff. The authors recommend formal agreements to secure staff time and the direct involvement of national data agencies to improve the success of science-informed water policy.

The report details a USAID-funded project led by the Stockholm Environment Institute to integrate climate change considerations into Colombian water management. By deploying the WEAP modeling system and a participatory RDS process in the Otún, La Vieja, and Alto Magdalena watersheds, the program built technical capacity within regional environmental authorities (CARs) and academic institutions. Key findings include the critical role of páramo ecosystems in maintaining dry-season baseflows and the potential for hydropower development to disrupt downstream wetland dynamics in the Magdalena-Cauca basin. The project emphasizes moving from 'conscious incompetence' to 'conscious competence' in climate adaptation planning through institutional capacity building and the creation of a professional community of practice.

The 'Ríos del Páramo al Valle' project (2012-2015) focused on enhancing the adaptive capacity of Colombia's regional environmental authorities (CAR) in managing water resources under climate uncertainty. By implementing the Robust Decision Support (ADR) framework and the WEAP modeling system, the project provided technical tools and capacity building across several key basins: the Otún, La Vieja, Alto Magdalena, and the broader Magdalena-Cauca macro-basin. Key outcomes include the identification of basin-specific adaptation strategies—such as páramo conservation in the Otún and wastewater treatment in La Vieja—and the development of new WEAP functionalities to model floodplain dynamics and hydrological alteration. The project emphasized a gender-inclusive approach and the creation of a regional community of practice involving universities and government agencies like IDEAM to ensure the long-term sustainability of climate-informed water planning in Colombia.

The project aims to support Colombia's national climate change response by providing Corporaciones Autónomas Regionales (CARs) with analytical tools to manage water allocation and adaptation strategies. It focuses on the coffee-growing region, emphasizing the role of high-elevation páramo ecosystems in regulating water supply. Key activities include developing WEAP models for the Río La Vieja and Alto Magdalena watersheds, integrating hydrology and water quality data, and applying the RAND Corporation's XLRM framework for robust decision-making. The project also seeks to enhance WEAP software functionality regarding spatial scale articulation, floodplain inundation, and ecological limits of hydrologic alteration to better understand the cumulative effects of local adaptation on the basin-scale Magdalena-Cauca system.