1836 WATER AND MINING: BUILDING TERRITORIAL WATER GOVERNANCE THE CASE OF THE ICHUÑA WATER RESOURCES THEMATIC ROUNDTABLE, MOQUEGUA, PERU A. Espinar1; S. Huangal2 1Chief of Environmental Sustainability and Water Resources, Buenaventura Mining Company, Peru, (*Presenting author: angel.espinar@buenaventura.pe) 2 Independent researcher in water governance and climate policy, Peru ABSTRACT Peru is recognized as one of the eight countries with the greatest water availability worldwide and the third in Latin America; however, it has significant challenges to guarantee water security at the territorial level. Numerous studies, including those by the OECD, indicate that water governance gaps are explained by overlapping and poorly coordinated management scales, weak articulation among actors and functions, and limited capacity to manage the different temporal dynamics of water, both under normal conditions and during crises. In this context, social perceptions of water and competition among users constitute key challenges for the mining sector. Although substantial progress has been made in improving water-use efficiency within mining operations, territorial conflicts related to water access, use, and permitting remain prevalent. This situation highlights the need to strengthen collaborative governance spaces with effective local stakeholder participation, particularly to address challenges related to water availability and quality. Institutional responses to these challenges are framed within the National Water Resources Management System (SNGRH), which promotes Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) through coordination and consensus-building mechanisms. River Basin Water Resources Councils, however, often face limitations in decision-making capacity, technical and financial resources, and local representativeness, especially in basins with large territorial extents. In response to these constraints, local water thematic roundtables have emerged as complementary governance mechanisms operating at smaller territorial scales. This paper analyzes the case of the Ichuña Water Resources Thematic Roundtable (METRHI), established in the highAndean district of Ichuña, in the Moquegua region of southern Peru, an area characterized by limited water infrastructure, increasing climate change pressures, and the development of a new mining project. Grounded in the existing regulatory framework, METRHI is configured as a participatory, bottom-up governance space aimed at managing water-related disputes, negotiating functional rules, and adopting consensual solutions among users, in line with principles of commons governance. The paper contributes to the discussion on responsible mining by demonstrating how territorial grounded water governance mechanisms can complement basin-level institutions, reduce governance gaps, and support more resilient and sustainable water management in mining-influenced contexts. KEYWORDS Water governance, multi-stakeholder participation, mining, local water institutions, river basin governance, National Water Authority, Local Water Administration Authorities, River Basin Council. 1. BACKGROUND AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY In 2008, the National Water Authority (ANA) was established as the governing body for water management and for the SNGRH. One year later, the Water Resources Law (Law No. 29338) was enacted, establishing fundamental principles oriented toward multisectoral and participatory water management at the hydrographic unit level through the creation of River Basin Water Resources Councils (CRHCs). These councils are mandated to coordinate, plan, and build consensus around water resources management. However, significant water governance challenges persist, due to weak institutional arrangements and incipient participation processes, particularly within smaller hydrographic units. According to the OECD, such governance gaps hinder the effective implementation of the SNGRH at the territorial level (2017), primarily as a result of overlapping and poorly coordinated spatial scales (actors and functions at national,
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