The LATINOSAN Conferences are international events held every three years, with the aim of promoting access to quality and sustainable sanitation services in urban and rural areas. The aim is to position the issue of sanitation as a priority in the agendas of the countries; as it is one of the essential factors for improving health conditions
The 5th LATINOSAN conference held in San José, Costa Rica, between 1-4 April 2019 represented a platform for analysing the social, economic and political changes occurring the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries. The conference aimed to promote agreements and commitments among LAC countries, which allow the reduction of gaps in sanitation and water supply services, ensuring universal and equitable access in collective and individual systems and mak-ing progress in achieving the SDGs. Dr. Stefan (TUD) and Dr. Caucci (UNU-FLORES) used this excellent opportunity for interacting with decision and policy makers from Costa Rica and other LAC countries and establish new contacts for potential joint activi-ties in the future.
At the invitation of the Sub-Commission for Water and Sanitation of National Council of Rectors (Consejo Nacional de Rectores – CONARE), Dr. Stefan contributed with a short lecture on the benefits of managed aquifer recharge and gave some examples of successful applications worldwide. The presentation was included in the session dedi-cated to the sub-theme 4.6 “The role of green infrastructure as a basis for water, energy and food security in LAC”. The session organizers are kindly acknowledged for supporting the conference registration costs, with special thanks conveyed to Dr. Car-oline Alfaro Chinchilla from the School of Chemistry (UNA) for making the necessary arrangements.