Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul the German minister for Economic Since then, the Germany-based Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) has been drilling in many indigenous countries, at such sites as the Cochabamba Valley of Bolivia in order to provide a clean, sustainable water supply.

"The groundwater flows through to the floor of the basin," Dieter Ploethner, a hydroecologist with BGR, explained to Conference News Daily. "Most of the water is of good quality, except for the really deep water, which is too high in salt content." BGR, he said, provides the necessary technical cooperation in hopes that one day the people of Bolivia will be able to provide for themselves. "We are actually training Bolivians so they can do geophysical investigating, water analysis, groundwater exploration and research on their own," he said.

But when it comes to ensuring that actually happens, there is little BGR does to guarantee the success of their projects. "I can only hope that the Bolivians will continue the work, but I can't say," he said. "SERGEOMIN is not very strong, so it is a bit flawed. There is some fluctuation. But this project has shown a lot of results in Cochabamba and other areas."

The procedure for such projects, he says, involves the preparation of a project proposal for a concerned ministry, which goes on to a national planning commission to the German embassy. It is then reviewed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, which decides which institution can best execute it.

"There must be an appraisal to determine whether or not the project is feasible," he said. "Once it has been approved, the project will start working after a number of years."

So how have the water wars regarding privatization in Bolivia affected BGR?

"We want to research the state of basins and groundwater to see if it can be used for industrial purposes," he said. "But building pipelines, organizing tariffs-that's not our business. We are just the geologists."

That they are. But for all the advantages of staying outside the boundaries of the wretched privatization debate, it is not the most lucrative of jobs. "The UN is much better paid," he commented. "And much more boring."