Water governance: trends and needs for new capacity development

Water Policy ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 9 (S2) ◽  
pp. 19-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Håkan Tropp
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Capacity Development ◽  
Integrated Water Resources Management ◽  
River Basin Management ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Water Sector ◽  
Informal Networks ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Water Issues

New forms of governance focusing on process-oriented societal co-steering through, for example, formal and informal networks, partnerships and dialogue, have emerged within the water sector. The governance transformation is intrinsically linked to the increasing focus on the complexity of water management and the multifunctional character of water and the search for alternative forms of organisation. The emergence of concepts like integrated water resources management and river basin management should be seen in the light of the governance transformation. The full potential of the governance transformation for improved management of water resources and services is yet to be fully realised. Water decision-makers and managers are currently not prepared to fully realise the development potentials of new forms of governance, such as facilitating inclusive decision-making processes, coordination and negotiated outcomes. There is thus a need for additional sociocratic knowledge and capacity development that, for example, puts the emphasis on the management of people and processes, diversity of organisation and knowledge sharing. As a part of this it is paramount to treat politics as a part of the problem as well as of the solution and to broaden water issues outside the water sector itself.

Good water governance and IWRM in Zambia: challenges and chances

Water Policy ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 845-862 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Uhlendahl ◽  
Pritam Salian ◽  
Claudia Casarotto ◽  
Jakob Doetsch
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Resources Management ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Integrated Water Resources Management ◽  
Water Sector ◽  
Resources Management ◽  
Hydropower Production

The implementation of principles for water governance is widely accepted but challenging for the whole water sector of a developing country like Zambia, because of the legal and administrative changes and organizational requirements involved. In February 2010, a revised water policy for Zambia was approved by the Cabinet. The revised National Water Policy 2010 aims to improve water resources management by establishing institutional coordination and by defining roles as well as responsibilities for various ministries. Taking into account the previous political and administration changes, this paper points out the problems and challenges of the implementation of good water governance mechanisms in Zambia. Focusing on the Kafue River Basin, from which water is abstracted for a variety of conflicting purposes (like municipal supplies, industrial use, mining, irrigation of agricultural land, fishery activities, wetland reserves and hydropower production), the gaps in implementing good water governance and Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in Zambia are identified, as well as the factors causing these gaps in the Zambian water sector. The paper finishes with a overview of the opportunities given by the new water policy through Water User Associations (WUAs) at a local level.

scholarly journals Data management for integrated water resources management in Central Asia

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 1425-1440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iskandar Abdullaev ◽  
Shavkat Rakhmatullaev
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Data Management ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Integrated Water Resources Management ◽  
Water Sector ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Institutional Settings

Information technologies can act as technical artifacts and can facilitate stakeholder communication, supporting decision making in a complex societal context. The water sector is one such example where limited water resources are threatened by climate change and growing competition for resources between sectors, regions and countries. Attempts to improve water governance and management through information technologies have been made by international, regional and national water agencies for the last 20 years in Central Asia. However, early attempts were focused on collection, systematization and analysis of the generic data related to the water sector in the region. There are still significant gaps (technical, human and financial capacities) for application of such technologies at the lower operational levels of water management, i.e. where the full dimensions of variables, interactions and complexities are observed and, most importantly, everyday politics of water are performed. The aim of this paper is to present practical results on improving water management in Central Asia through the application of better data management tools at the operational level across diverse institutional settings, i.e. transboundary, watershed levels in the region.

scholarly journals A Water Compact for Sustainable Water Management

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 7339
Author(s):  
Khaldoon A. Mourad
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Resources Management ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Integrated Water Resources Management ◽  
Water Sector ◽  
Governance System ◽  
Resources Management ◽  
Sustainable Water Resources Management ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
National Workshop

The water sector in Somalia is fragmented and needs coordination to establish a functioning water governance system. Therefore, commitments from all affected stakeholders are needed to support water resources development in Somalia. This paper proposed a water compact for Somalia that can address all water sector challenges to approach sustainability. The paper starts by analyzing water sector stakeholders in Somalia, describing their missions and relationship with the compact, categorizing all selected stakeholders based on their power and interest, and identifying key stakeholders. Based on the outcome from the national workshop and the literature, a water compact was proposed highlighting possible actions to solve the identified challenges. The compact covered four thematic areas: water governance, water use and services, water resilience, and integrated water resources management, which were discussed by all engaged stakeholders in a national workshop. The water compact will ensure sustainable water resources management. The paper highlighted the need for engaging the local media and the local people to get the much needed and valued feedback for possible interventions.

scholarly journals Towards sustainable utilisation of water resources: a comprehensive analysis of Ghana's National Water Policy

Water Policy ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 377-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isaac Monney ◽  
Kafui Ocloo
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Integrated Water Resources Management ◽  
Gender Mainstreaming ◽  
Sea Waves ◽  
Water Sector ◽  
Water Scarce ◽  
National Water

In the years ahead, meeting the challenges of food security in a water scarce world will require drastic changes in the way water resources are managed. Accordingly, Ghana's water sector has seen tremendous changes over the years culminating in the 2007 National Water Policy. This paper evaluates the policy to highlight its strengths and weaknesses, to inform possible future review and guide new policy development in developing countries or troubleshoot existing policies. It draws on a framework based on three thematic areas distilled from global water policy development guidelines. Using a 3-point Likert scale, sub-thematic components are ranked and used to quantitatively compute the theme-specific scores (TSS) and the overall performance (OP) of the policy. Per the study findings, cross-cutting water policy issues including integrated water resources management, climate change adaptation and gender mainstreaming are more highlighted (TSS = 67%) than country-specific water management issues (TSS = 50%). Specifically, the policy neglects key national issues including protection of coastal regions from the onslaught of sea waves, and water resource protection against oil spills, and its institutional framework for implementation excludes key sector institutions. Generally, the policy addresses most pertinent issues in the water sector (OP = 64%) and areas for improvement are further discussed in the paper.

scholarly journals Improving water governance in New Zealand: stakeholder views of catchment management processes and plans

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Fenemor ◽  
Diarmuid Neilan ◽  
Will Allen ◽  
Shona Russell
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Scientific Understanding ◽  
Catchment Management ◽  
Stakeholder Views ◽  
Management Processes ◽  
Decision Making Processes

Water governance refers to the institutions, legislation and decision-making processes applied to develop and manage water resources. As pressures on water resources increase there has been a realisation that technocratically-driven water management has not achieved desired sustainability outcomes. Attention must be focused not only on better scientific understanding of water and its values and uses, but also on what constitutes good water governance.

scholarly journals Analysing inter-relationships among water, governance, human development variables in developing countries: WatSan4Dev database coherency analysis

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 485-539 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Dondeynaz ◽  
C. Carmona Moreno ◽  
J. J. Céspedes Lorente
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Integrated Water Resources Management ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Water Sector ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Joint Research ◽  
Sanitation Services

Abstract. The "Integrated Water Resources Management" principle was formally laid down at the International Conference on Water and Sustainable development in Dublin 1992. One of the main results of this conference is that improving Water and Sanitation Services (WSS), being a complex and interdisciplinary issue, passes through collaboration and coordination of different sectors (environment, health, economic activities, governance, and international cooperation). These sectors influence or are influenced by the access to WSS. The understanding of these interrelations appears as crucial for decision makers in the water sector. In this framework, the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission (EC) has developed a new database (WatSan4Dev database) containing 45 indicators (called variables in this paper) from environmental, socio-economic, governance and financial aid flows data in developing countries. This paper describes the development of the WatSan4Dev dataset, the statistical processes needed to improve the data quality; and, finally, the analysis to verify the database coherence is presented. At the light of the first analysis, WatSan4Dev Dataset shows the coherency among the different variables that are confirmed by the direct field experience and/or the scientific literature in the domain. Preliminary analysis of the relationships indicates that the informal urbanisation development is an important factor influencing negatively the percentage of the population having access to WSS. Health, and in particular children health, benefits from the improvement of WSS. Efficient environmental governance is also an important factor for providing improved water supply services. The database would be at the base of posterior analyses to better understand the interrelationships between the different indicators associated in the water sector in developing countries. A data model using the different indicators will be realised on the next phase of this research work.

scholarly journals Climate-water governance: a systematic analysis of the water sector resilience and adaptation to combat climate change in Pakistan

Water Policy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hafiz Qaisar Yasin ◽  
Jessica Breadsell ◽  
Muhammad Naveed Tahir
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Irrigation Management ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Water Sector ◽  
Global Issues ◽  
Leadership Policy ◽  
Combat Climate Change ◽  
Water Issues

Abstract Climate change and water security have become the most challenging global issues of this era, especially for developing countries like Pakistan. Amid many hindrances, poor governance has been identified as one of the most pressing reasons for ineffective action to tackle multifaceted and integrative climate-water issues in Pakistan. This article, therefore, applied a systematic literature review methodology to examine the current climate-water governance archetype, including key areas, major elements, critical gaps, and potential strategy in Pakistan. This study found that key climate-water governance areas in Pakistan are: river basin and watershed management, agriculture and irrigation management, urban and domestic water issues, floods, droughts and disaster management, groundwater management, and transboundary management. Moreover, it is revealed that the major governance elements are political commitment and leadership, policy formulation and regulation, institutional capacity and coordination, stakeholder engagement, and resource management, technology, and infrastructure development. The article also discusses how Pakistan has not effectively employed most of the identified governance elements to tackle its climate-water problems, lacking mostly in political, policy, institutional, coordination, and infrastructure aspects. In conclusion, a four-dimensional governance strategy, encompassing leadership, policy, institutions, and stakeholders is proposed to improve water sector resilience and adaptation to combat climate change in Pakistan.

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