Indigenous water systems gain ground as climate pressures intensify in Bolivia

• When a 2022 drought hit Bolivia’s Ascensión de Guarayos, restoring traditional paúros helped the community survive after the municipal reservoir ran dry.

• The youth-led effort to revive paúros has grown into a broader conservation project, including a legally protected urban ecological corridor.

• The initiative is part of a global trend to restore Indigenous water systems as low-cost, climate-resilient solutions to growing water scarcity.

• Experts say blending traditional and modern approaches can strengthen water security — but only if local communities lead and retain control.