IWRA Proceedings

AbstractThe objective of the integrated management of water resources is to obtain a sustainable use of water and a correct use of the available infrastructure in order to improve life quality. The “integrated management” implies the participation of social actors involved, to get an optimal distribution of responsibilities, specially those of the users, who have been historically to the margin of decisions concerning water resources. The theoretical definitions of this participation were born only few decades ago, and their implementation still represents a challenge, specially in Latin America. Besides, the process of participation demands the centrality of a field of action that has traditionally been on the margin of water management: communication, which requires developing new concepts and strategies of intervention. The most important challenge for a publication is to get to the user with specific and pertinent information, in a suitable format to allow a real comprehension of the problems and to provide a connection of the information with everyday matters related to water. This way, it will help to create the basis for social consensus towards a change of cultural habits in the relation of people with natural resources, particularly with water and the problems of the water service management. As an answer to this challenge, a publication in the frame of the integrated management of water should be a link among the technical sector, policy makers and users and institutions, creating a common language to represent concerns and projects of everyone. Following this aim, we have based the editorial design of “revista Hydria” in four fundamental aspects: - The divulgation of complex information treated in deep, so that the same articles can be of interest for a profesional, a teacher, a leader and an industralist as well. - An attractive layout, in which the graphic elements also supply information and/or comprenhesion. This layout eliminates barriers to comprehension of scientific and technical topics to readers who are not familiarized with them. - An open distribution for technical and not technical sectors, which means a delicate work of building a contact data base and operative and logistic costs. - Finally, an editorial plan that responds to the raised objectives. This is a key aspect because the content of the magazine must answer to the created expectations and adjust the diversity of themes related to water with a guideline in format, style and approach. A new issue of Hydria is published every two months (12 have been realesed up today) and it is distributed by postal mail, in specific events and through social institutions, with previous agreement. Hydria has become a referential publication, with an increasing demand from technical and educational institutions and a variety of organizations. It counts with the collaboration of the main referents of the water sector in Argentina, to whom, in many cases, the magazine constitutes the only media to get to general public.