Stakeholder Participation In Developing Institutions For Integrated Water Resources Management Lessons From Asia

A five-country river basin study in Asia used a participatory method for diagnostic investigations to learn about contextual processes, as well as for stakeholder consultation to develop action plans. The use of this methodology was encouraged by the positive results of an earlier action research program conducted in Pakistan for mobilizing farmers to form their own organizations. The method was found to be exceptionally effective, and had many advantages over the conventional methodsof field research and action planning where the stakeholders are treated as objects of research and passive recipients of development messages. The contribution of participatory learning and action in developing institutions appeared to vary across the five selected river basins, depending on thedegree to which stakeholder participation was forthcoming. This variation could be attributed to study constraints in terms of time and other resources, which acted differently on the five study teams. In some cases, conducting full-fledged participatory methods was not possible due to sociopolitical constraints, and in some others, time was too short to build sufficient awareness among the large number of stakeholders for meaningful participation. Of the five river basin case studies in China, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines and Sri Lanka, satisfactory participation levels achieved in the cases of Sri Lanka, Philippines and Indonesia generated a momentum on their own, which helped them to initiate action plans for further institutional development.

In many developing countries, their governments dominate the field of water resources management. Even in “participatory irrigation management” efforts, the governments play a dominant role. As these efforts are rarely based on any internally generated demand from the water users, they usually fail to create viable organizations at the local level. A similar setback can be seen in the more recent institutional reforms in Asia’s water sector, which are promoted by the donor agencies and, national and international development professionals. A survey of experiences in Asian countries shows that no country has successfully completed establishing new water sector policies and laws and river basin organizations, as prescribed. The need to improve current performance of water resources management is widely appreciated.In managing the scarce water resources, a change in attitude and approach is seen to be essential. Participatory learning and action methods conducted in a study of selected river basins in five Asian countries surfaced a distinct need for coordination at the river basin level. They also indicated a clear stakeholder preference for establishing coordinating mechanisms, by way of adapting the existing institutions, as an initial step towards greater stakeholder control of river basin management. Essentially, cost-effective and contextually appropriate institutional arrangements were preferred over the prescribed standard models, in order to meet the varying needs related to integrated water resources management.

The need for an integrated management of water resources has derived from the emerging understanding that the water crisis cannot solely be regarded as a hydrological crisis. Instead, it is frequently defined as a crisis of governance, as institutional and management scarcity are hindering a sustainable, equitable and efficient use of water resources. Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is internationally accepted as a toolbox to achieve these objectives. However, implementation of the IWRM-approach is still lacking, especially in developing countries and transitional economies. This study poses the central question of what kind of governance is necessary to achieve an integrated management of water resources. Evaluating the concept from a regional perspective, three case studies have been conducted in Yemen, Jordan and Syria to identify the main governance challenges during the IWRM-process and develop strategies on how to meet them, aiming to improve the practical applicability of the theoretical framework of IWRM in the Middle East.

The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) has been working in Nepal since 1986 with the objective of undertaking research in water management and to strengthen the research capabilities of concerned government agencies. The research helped to develop appropriate mechanisms for providing support to Farmer-Managed Irrigation Systems (FMIS) and the initiation of participatory irrigation management (PIM). The river basin studies helped policy formulation for integrated planning and management of water resources besides the methodological contribution through the development of appropriate tools for water management studies. It also contributed to enhancing the capabilities of agency officials and local researchers through their involvement in research activities.

Authored by world-class scientists and scholars, The Handbook of Natural Resources, Second Edition, is an excellent reference for understanding the consequences of changing natural resources to the degradation of ecological integrity and the sustainability of life. Based on the content of the bestselling and CHOICE-awarded Encyclopedia of Natural Resources, this new edition demonstrates the major challenges that the society is facing for the sustainability of all well-being on the planet Earth. The experience, evidence, methods, and models used in studying natural resources are presented in six stand-alone volumes, arranged along the main systems of land, water, and air. It reviews state-of-the-art knowledge, highlights advances made in different areas, and provides guidance for the appropriate use of remote sensing and geospatial data with field-based measurements in the study of natural resources. Volume 4, Fresh Water and Watersheds, covers fresh water and watersheds, their health and conservation, protection, and management. Organized for ease of reference, it provides fundamental information on groundwater storage, water quality, supply and balance, and water resource vulnerability. New in this edition are discussions on water footprint assessment, water surface dynamics, and water management on a global scale. Understanding the conditions of watersheds is crucial for restoring areas with degraded water quality as well as protecting healthy waters from emerging problems. This volume demonstrates the key processes, methods, and models used through several practical case studies from around the world. Written in an easy-to-reference manner, The Handbook of Natural Resources, Second Edition, as individual volumes or as a complete set, is an essential reading for anyone looking for a deeper understanding of the science and management of natural resources. Public and private libraries, educational and research institutions, scientists, scholars, and resource managers will benefit enormously from this set. Individual volumes and chapters can also be used in a wide variety of both graduate and undergraduate courses in environmental science and natural science at different levels and disciplines, such as biology, geography, earth system science, and ecology.

Contributed papers presented at the conference organized by International Water Management Institute, Irrigation Dept., Dept. of Agriculture, and Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute.

Better water management will be crucial if we are to meet many of the key challenges of this century - feeding the worlds growing population and reducing poverty, meeting water and sanitation needs, protecting vital ecosystems, all while adapting to climate change. The approach known as Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is widely recognized as the best way forward, but is poorly understood, even within the water sector. Since a core IWRM principle is that good water management must involve the water users, the understanding and involvement of other sectors is critical for success. There is thus an urgent need for practical guidance, for both water and development professionals, based on real world examples, rather than theoretical constructs. That is what this book provides. Using case studies, the book illustrates how better water management, guided by the IWRM approach, has helped to meet a wide range of sustainable development goals. It does this by considering practical examples, looking at how IWRM has contributed, at different scales, from very local, village-level experiences to reforms at national level and beyond to cases involving trans-boundary river basins. Using these on-the-ground experiences, from both developed and developing countries in five continents, the book provides candid and practical lessons for policy-makers, donors, and water and development practitioners worldwide, looking at how IWRM principles were applied, what worked, and, equally important, what didn‘t work, and why. Published with the Global Water Partnership

This volume presents a selection of the main contributions made to the international conference on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) entitled ‘Management of Water in a Changing World: Lessons Learnt and Innovative Perspectives’ that was held from 12 to 13 October 2011 in Dresden, Germany. The book summarise the main messages issuing from the conference and contains selected papers which were presented during the conference, either as keynote lectures in plenary sessions or as submitted papers in one of the thematic sessions. The key themes of the book are: Water resources in changing environments Groundwater management Technologies and implementation Water management indicators at different scales Information and decision support systems Water governance: actors and institutions The book provides an overview on important issues concerning the conceptual framework of integrated water resources management (IWRM). All presentations and abstracts and the corresponding PowerPoint presentations as well as a video recording of the panel discussion are available at the conference website http://www.bmbf.iwrm2011.de. Readers are encouraged to complete their review of the conference and its messages by consulting this interesting on-line source of accompanying scientific material.