1844 As a result, METRHI was formally constituted by representatives from the following public and private stakeholders: the Ichuña District Municipality; the Tambo Alto Tambo Local Water Administration; rural communities; civil society organizations; Buenaventura Mining Company; the Ichuña Agricultural Agency; the “Alianza Ichuña Bélgica” Public Higher Pedagogical Education Institute; Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation Management Committees (JASS); the Ichuña Health Center; mayors of centros poblados; and local council members responsible for water management. Figure 4 - Members of METRHI In the process of establishing METRHI, its significance lies not only in the broad inclusion of additional water-related users, such as the JASS and the local health center, but also in the adaptation of institutional arrangements to the specific local context. For instance, within CRHCs, agricultural users are typically represented through the president of a formally constituted Water Users’ Board within the basin. In Ichuña, however, this role is fulfilled by the council members responsible for water management, who function as the local institutional equivalent of such organizations. Similarly, at the territorial level and in terms of representativeness, the Alianza Ichuña-Bélgica Institute serves as the local counterpart to universities, reflecting the realities of educational representation in the district. The role of the Buenaventura Mining Company is also noteworthy, as it participates in METRHI as a regular member rather than occupying a central position or acting as an external facilitator. This approach avoids bilateral relationships in contexts where multiactor processes are required at the territorial level. It is acknowledged that access to water constitutes a critical risk for mining operations, and that an understanding of the territory and its governance cannot be limited to the traditionally defined environmental area of influence, nor to improvements in water-use efficiency within mining operations. Acting as a catalyst implies assuming an active role alongside other users to ensure long-term socio-environmental sustainability, in which water resources serve as a structuring axis for the multiple interventions occurring within a basin. Through METRHI, the Buenaventura Mining Company operationalizes and adapts public-private partnerships to promote the creation and strengthening of transparent and equitable participatory spaces with other water users, thereby contributing to the sustainable management of water resources at the territorial level. Finally, the process of defining METRHI’s membership responds to existing gaps between regional and local governments, seeking to generate tangible shared value among the water users involved, while recognizing the Local Water Administration (ALA) as the local governing authority for the IWRM. Decisions adopted in relation to water resources must therefore be grounded in the specific physical and social
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