Water Laws for Water Security in the Twenty-First Century

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Burchi
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
First Century ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Recommendations For Action ◽  
Management And Development ◽  
The Third World

Concern for the long-term sustainability of water resources development and use has gained definitive prominence on the agenda of the world community at the Second World Water Forum and Ministerial Conference held at The Hague in March 2000. The concept and goal of water security were loosely articulated there, by reference to ‘key challenges’, namely, meeting basic needs; securing the food supply; protecting ecosystems; sharing water resources; managing risks; valuing water; and governing water wisely. Governance, in particular, attracted attention and debate at the International Freshwater Conference held in Bonn, in December 2001, preparatory to the United Nations World Summit for Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 2002) and to the Third World Water Forum (Kyoto, 2003). Governance has also attracted the attention of the water ministers of African countries meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, in April 2002, and it has been echoed in the ensuing Abuja Ministerial Declaration on Water committing African countries to put in place ‘arrangements for the governance of water affairs at all levels’. It is readily apparent that water security, and the governance issues which that concept and goal trigger in train, will be the mainstay of much contemporary international and domestic discourse about water resources. However, the authoritative pronouncements recalled earlier invariably fail to pin down with accuracy the concepts of ‘water security’, and of ‘good governance’ in relation to water. The ‘Recommendations for Action’ issued from the Bonn Freshwater Conference articulate seventeen priority actions in the field of water-related governance at the domestic and the international levels, which, in effect, help substantiate that elusive concept and translate it into measurable goals. Implicitly, action, in particular, at the domestic level is underpinned by legislation for the management and development of water resources, setting out a web of rights and obligations for the resource users, for government, and the members of civil society. This chapter will focus on such legislation, and, in particular, on the requirements for a supportive legal framework for the ‘priority actions’ recommended by the Bonn conference. A comparative state-of-the-art review and analysis of the contemporary legal framework for the management of water resources will first be made, and salient features and main trends highlighted.

scholarly journals GOOD GOVERNANCE AND PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN AFRICA: THE ROLE OF THE LEGISLATURE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
R K Salman
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
First Century ◽  
Modern Concept ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Level Of Functioning ◽  
Institutional Infrastructure ◽  
Human Rights Abuse ◽  
Effective Performance ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights

This article is intended to detail the extent of human rights abuse in Africa and broad conceptual issues of good governance and why it is needed in Africa. It commences with a belief that many African countries have been mis-ruled and as such needs good governance. It assumes that good governance on a continuing basis requires an effective institutional infrastructure and that functioning legislatures can help in that respect. It also contends that good governance and to a large extent some level of functioning democracy is related. The paper shows that effective legislature helps to sustain democracy where it exists and elsewhere help to democratize by fulfilling the promise inherent in the public’s right to be represented. If given necessary opportunity, representative institutions can connect people to their government by giving them a forum where their needs can be articulated. But to achieve this, cooperation of other institutional bodies are inevitable. Therefore, section I of the paper examines the African concept of human rights and chronicles the problems of Africa which is tagged violation of human rights and bad leadership. Sections II explores the concept of good governance, its genesis and what it entails. The section links human rights to good governance and states why it is needed in Africa. While section III explains the modern concept of legislature, what legislatures do, and how they do it. The section advocates for some mechanisms which will enhance effective performance of legislature. The paper concludes with a strong hope that the legislature can significantly impact on good governance and human rights if given cooperation by media, human rights bodies and other arms of government.

On the Road to Belgrade: Yugoslavia, Third World Neutrals, and the Evolution of Global Non-Alignment, 1954–1961

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 79-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandar Životić ◽  
Jovan Čavoški
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Third World ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Mutual Cooperation ◽  
The Road ◽  
Hierarchical Relations ◽  
On The Road ◽  
The Third World

Attempts by Yugoslav leaders to redirect their country's foreign policy orientation and redefine their priorities came to the fore in 1954. Yugoslav officials explicitly affirmed a long-term foreign policy goal of strengthening and developing relations with Arab countries, India, and other Asian and African countries that had no ties to existing political blocs. The idea of creating a wide movement deprived of hierarchical relations and centers of decision-making was much more acceptable for the Third World. The movement promoted peace and stability, opposed tensions and conflicts, and sought mutual cooperation and development. All these efforts demanded putting together a much broader international coalition than in just Asia and Africa. This is how the Non-Aligned Movement arose and took a more definitive shape after the Cairo Conference in 1964 and the Lusaka Summit in 1970.

Legal Perspectives on Ecosystem Services Protection for Water Security in South African Cities

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maricélle Botes ◽  
Rochine Melandri Steenkamp
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
South African ◽  
Regulatory System ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
African Cities ◽  
South African Cities ◽  
Substantial Effort

In the last couple of years, South African cities have exhibited extreme water stresses, despite there being a strong regulatory system for the management of said resources. The pressure to meet human demand for freshwater resources, accompanied by a wide array of other challenges, has largely led to a deterioration of ecosystems. Given the ongoing and widespread loss of ecological services, water protection requires a substantial effort to reverse the current decline in both the state of the ecosystems and the services they provide to society, and the country’s shared sense of governance of these significant resources. Achieving water security and the sustainable management of water resources will, therefore, require overcoming strategic challenges related to protected areas, water infrastructure, economies, human settlements and water quality, sanitation and health, as well as the protection of ecological infrastructure. This article argues that ecosystem services protection can add value to the protection and management of water resources in attaining water security in South Africa, as ecosystem services and water security are inextricably linked. The article further determines how the legal framework in South Africa makes provision for water security and ecosystem services protection, to assess what role local government can and should take on. The authors conclude the discussion with some observations on ecosystem services protection for water security in policies and by-laws of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality.

scholarly journals Charter Cities: Development Model or Neocolonialism?

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-187
Author(s):  
Tillman Van de Sand
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
New Order ◽  
Partner Country ◽  
High Level ◽  
New Framework ◽  
Country Specific

Facing the problems of corruption, inefficient bureaucracy, a lack of property rights or of the rule of law in developing countries, Paul Romer, the current Chief Economist of the World Bank, has chosen a radical approach when he provided advice to the Honduran government in 2010. His idea was to establish a new constitution of the regional administrations and the legal framework in areas of developing countries where no settlements exist. To establish such a special administrative region, so called Charter City, a developing country requires a partner country which already enjoys credibility in terms of a functional administrative order. A high level of trust is presupposed, because the Charter City will be highly independent from the state ruling government. In fact Romer assumes that it is far easier to establish a new framework under the condition of good governance in a region which will attract citizens and investors than to change an existing system. Certainly the possibilities of a far-reaching independence contain some fundamental problems at the same time. The cultural heritage of a society and the country-specific characteristics might oppose the new order. Even when no one should be forced to live in a Charter City such problems will occur, because not only the region will change but also the rest of the country will be affected in the long term. In this context the activities of a partner country could be seen as an act of paternalism. The paper deals with the theoretical background of trust and compatibility in international administrative cooperation such as Charter Cities.

Water Governance and Management in Indus Basin - Challenges & Threats

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marium Sara Minhas Bandeali
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
The State ◽  
Indus Basin

Water governance and management are important challenges for the River Indus Basin in Pakistan. Water governance refers to social, political and economic factors that influence water management. The water scarcity and water security are a major concern for the state to control its water resources. The study aims to give Sindh water policy by exploring the challenges to Indus Basin in managing water resources and to identify opportunities Indus Basin can look to improve water management. Interviews were conducted from water experts and analysts having 5 years’ experience or more in the water sector of Pakistan through a semi-structured self-developed questionnaire using purposive sampling technique and transcripts were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The findings show that increasing population, climatic change and rising demand of water are major challenges Indus is facing and Indus with time is getting water-scarce therefore need strong institutions, civil society and legislatures to ensure equitable distribution of water and maintain the ecosystem. The study emphasizes that water governance and management are necessary for sustainable use of water. Pakistan, the water stress country needs to address ‘governance’ at a wider scale to solve problems in the Indus Basin for the livelihood of people. The research will benefit the state, water experts, institutions as well as civil society to promote efficient use of water in Indus Basin.

Objectives of a Water Quality Monitoring Programme for the International River Basins in a Developing Country in Southern Africa – Mozambique

1984 ◽  
Vol 16 (5-7) ◽  
pp. 33-39
Author(s):  
S J Hugman
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Industrial Development ◽  
Water Quality Monitoring ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
Sample Collection ◽  
Water Quality Data ◽  
Maximum Benefit ◽  
Management And Development ◽  
International Obligations

Mozambique lies on the south-east coast of Africa. Its Independence, in 1975, was particularly difficult and severely disrupted the economy. All its major rivers rise in neighbouring countries and several, in particular those from South Africa and Swaziland, are already heavily used before crossing the border. Since 1977 the National Water Directorate has been responsible for management and development of water resources. The Directorate includes a hydrology department which maintains field-teams throughout the country. Virtually no water quality data are available from before 1972, when irregular sample collection began. Since Independence, sampling has continued but the Directorate has redefined the objectives of the programme to obtain maximum benefit from very limited resources. These objectives were chosen for economic, hydrological and political reasons. The long-term objectives are to provide the data required for agricultural and industrial development projects, to manage and maintain the quality of Mozambique's water resources, and to meet international obligations. In practice, the capacity of the hydrological service is insufficient to meet these objectives. The targets for the existing programme were therefore chosen to satisfy the most important objectives and to be feasible with present resources. The routine programme is being completely operated by technicians who have no more than nine years schooling.

The Many Faces of Socioeconomic Change

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Toye
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Development ◽  
Adam Smith ◽  
First Century ◽  
Social Progress ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The Face ◽  
Scientific Expertise ◽  
The Many ◽  
Century Development

This book provides a survey of different ways in which economic sociocultural and political aspects of human progress have been studied since the time of Adam Smith. Inevitably, over such a long time span, it has been necessary to concentrate on highlighting the most significant contributions, rather than attempting an exhaustive treatment. The aim has been to bring into focus an outline of the main long-term changes in the way that socioeconomic development has been envisaged. The argument presented is that the idea of socioeconomic development emerged with the creation of grand evolutionary sequences of social progress that were the products of Enlightenment and mid-Victorian thinkers. By the middle of the twentieth century, when interest in the accelerating development gave the topic a new impetus, its scope narrowed to a set of economically based strategies. After 1960, however, faith in such strategies began to wane, in the face of indifferent results and general faltering of confidence in economists’ boasts of scientific expertise. In the twenty-first century, development research is being pursued using a research method that generates disconnected results. As a result, it seems unlikely that any grand narrative will be created in the future and that neo-liberalism will be the last of this particular kind of socioeconomic theory.

The European Union and Diplomatic Law

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Butler
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
External Action ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Second World War ◽  
First Century ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Supranational Institutions ◽  
Second World ◽  
The Eu

Not long after the establishment of supranational institutions in the aftermath of the Second World War, the early incarnations of the European Union (EU) began conducting diplomacy. Today, EU Delegations (EUDs) exist throughout the world, operating similar to full-scale diplomatic missions. The Treaty of Lisbon established the legal underpinnings for the European External Action Service (EEAS) as the diplomatic arm of the EU. Yet within the international legal framework, EUDs remain second-class to the missions of nation States. The EU thus has to use alternative legal means to form diplomatic missions. This chapter explores the legal framework of EU diplomatic relations, but also asks whether traditional missions to which the VCDR regime applies, can still be said to serve the needs of diplomacy in the twenty-first century, when States are no longer the ultimate holders of sovereignty, or the only actors in international relations.

The geography of climate migration

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-37
Author(s):  
Michał Burzyński ◽  
Frédéric Docquier ◽  
Hendrik Scheewel
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
International Migration ◽  
First Century ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Mobility Data ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Working Age ◽  
Internal Mobility ◽  
Almost All

Abstract In this paper, we investigate the long-term effects of climate change on the mobility of working-age people. We use a world economy model that covers almost all the countries around the world, and distinguishes between rural and urban regions as well as between flooded and unflooded areas. The model is calibrated to match international and internal mobility data by education level for the last 30 years, and is then simulated under climate change variants. We endogenize the size, dyadic, and skill structure of climate migration. When considering moderate climate scenarios, we predict mobility responses in the range of 70–108 million workers over the course of the twenty-first century. Most of these movements are local or inter-regional. South–South international migration responses are smaller, while the South–North migration response is of the “brain drain” type and induces a permanent increase in the number of foreigners in OECD countries in the range of 6–9% only. Changes in the sea level mainly translate into forced local movements. By contrast, inter-regional and international movements are sensitive to temperature-related changes in productivity. Lastly, we show that relaxing international migration restrictions may exacerbate the poverty effect of climate change at origin if policymakers are unable to select/screen individuals in extreme poverty.

scholarly journals Treated Wastewater Irrigation—A Review

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 1527
Author(s):  
Mahmoud S. Hashem ◽  
Xue-Bin Qi
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Wastewater Reuse ◽  
Treated Wastewater ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Water Shortages ◽  
Water Resource Utilization ◽  
Extension Program ◽  
Agricultural Demand

As the most important resource for life, water has been a central issue on the international agenda for several decades. Yet, the world’s supply of clean freshwater is steadily decreasing due to extensive agricultural demand for irrigated lands. Therefore, water resources should be used with greater efficiency, and the use of non-traditional water resources, such as Treated Wastewater (TW), should be increased. Reusing TW could be an alternative option to increase water resources. Thus, many countries have decided to turn wastewater into an irrigation resource to help meet urban demand and address water shortages. However, because of the nature of that water, there are potential problems associated with its use in irrigation. Some of the major concerns are health hazards, salinity build-up, and toxicity hazards. The objectives of this comprehensive literature review are to illuminate the importance of using TW in irrigation as an alternative freshwater source and to assess the effects of its use on soil fertility and other soil properties, plants, and public health. The literature review reveals that TW reuse has become part of the extension program for boosting water resource utilization. However, the uncontrolled application of such waters has many unfavorable effects on both soils and plants, especially in the long-term. To reduce these unfavorable effects when using TW in irrigation, proper guidelines for wastewater reuse and management should be followed to limit negative effects significantly.

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