Annex VI: Participation and Institutions for Integrated Water Resources Management

Table of Contents

Introduction

Enhanced Participation for Improved Integrated Water Resources Management

Key Actors and Fulfilment of Their Role

Improvement of the Institutional and Participatory Framework for Integrated Water Resources Management

Summary of Key Recommendations

Annex IV:

Participation and Institutions for Integrated Water Resources Management
Report of working group 4

I. Introduction

107. Water is not only a social and economic good but also an environmental resource. To consider water resources as a "common heritage" carries for some countries a too restrictive connotation. In its broad meaning, the water sector encompasses all activities related to integrated water resources management (IWRM) and to the development, distribution and utilisation of the resource (water supply and sanitation, agriculture, environment and ecosystems, hydropower, industry and other uses). The main difficulties faced in the formulation and implementation of IWRM policies and programmes are not due to lack of technical solutions but rather to the deficiency of institutional organisation and to insufficient legislation and/or enforcement of water acts and regulations. Institutional and legal frameworks are key elements of IWRM. Equally, the involvement of users and stakeholders is required if empowerment and ownership of the process is to ensure sustainability of IWRM and water resources development.

108. In most developing countries, institutions are viewed as too weak or too young to adequately carry out IWRM and need therefore to be strengthened. IWRM has a cost that needs to be carefully evaluated and covered. External Support Agencies (ESA) are urged to consider parallel financing of the creation/strengthening of IWRM institutions, as an integral part of water resources development projects.

109. In the following, all recommended actions are meant to complement or extend the recommendations of Chapter 18 of Agenda 21.

II. Enhanced Participation for Improved Integrated Water Resources Management

110. The objective is to best manage the resource in an integrated fashion for the benefit of the users. Water policy and programmes should be co-ordinated with the overall economic planning of the country, particularly in the areas of agriculture and food security.

111. The focus areas for IWRM are as follows :

1. Water resources assessments including monitoring, quality control and water-related environmental concerns, with special attention to the over-exploitation of aquifers;

2. Socio-economic assessments including census data, patterns of water use and consumption, future needs, traditional customs, willingness to participate;

3. Water resources planning within natural management units and at national and regional levels, reconciling the supply and the demand as they emerge from the assessments and effectively involving the key actors in preparing, revising and adopting documents which need be updated on a regular basis; particular attention should be given to large infrastructure developments (such as dams and inter basin transfers);

4. Implementation of the action plans with full involvement of the key actors;

5. Day-to-day water resources management : adjustments of the plans with regard to the changing conditions of the water availability and needs. Specific attention should be given to extreme events (floods and droughts, including their long-term aspects) which need full engagement of the users and of the community at large to implement contingency plans and to the operation and maintenance of infrastructure;

6. Water resources protection and conservation, with specific emphasis on improving water quality, environmental health conditions and sanitation (urban and rural areas), institutional and legal linkages within an ecosystem approach. Particular attention should be devoted to the spread of water-related diseases and of aquatic weeds in large water bodies;

7. Mechanisms for prevention and resolution of water-related conflicts at local and national levels.

III. Key Actors and Fulfilment of Their Role

112. An institutional framework includes a system of laws and regulations, economic and financial instruments and a clear definition of mandates and responsibilities among the various actors. This institutional framework must guarantee the involvement of all partners in the definition and in the implementation of national policies and strategies for IWRM at different levels (local, regional and national).

113. In keeping with Chapter 18 of Agenda 21, the following actors need to play a key role in the formulation and implementation of IWRM policies, strategies and action plans:

1. Decision-makers;

2. International organisations and External Support Agencies;

3. Industrial water users;

4. Scientific and research institutes;

5. Water services providers, including private entrepreneurs, for drinking water supply and sanitation , irrigation and drainage, hydropower and other water uses;

6. Water and water-related departments of the state;

7. Municipalities and local authorities (elected and representing the states);

8. Users and user groups;

9. Professional organisations;

10. National and international NGOs.

114. Specific recommendations for the involvement of key actors include:

1. IWRM should integrate the interests of all users and stakeholders on a local, regional, national and international level in relation to water quality and quantity;

2. National plans for IWRM should be developed in a constructive dialogue with users and stakeholders at the level of the management unit. They should make clear their interests and their role in the short, medium and long terms. This dialogue should include an assessment of the consequences of priority setting;

3. There should be a clear distinction between the various stages of policy development and execution and the level of planning (local, sub-national, national and regional). The role and responsibility of the various actors should be clearly defined to avoid misunderstanding, but could change over time. The decision-making process should be at the appropriate lowest level taking into account these interests;

4. Women should have an equal role in all management with regard to water resources, at the local, national and international level.

IV. Improvement of the Institutional and Participatory Framework for Integrated Water Resources Management

115. IWRM should integrate and reconcile interests regarding water quantity, quality and aquatic ecosystems of all actors. Community involvement is a key element in this process. The planning and implementation budgets must include all costs, infrastructure, management and operation and maintenance.

116. The following specific actions were identified to address these goals:

1. Establish or update national policy and strategies for the entire water sector that are integrated with overall socio-economic development (including the co-ordinating mechanisms). The elaboration of policy, strategies and legal instruments should be a concerted process. A clear distinction has to be made for the implementation of IWRM between policy and standard settings, regulatory control/enforcement and the provision of services. An iterative planning process as a "bottom-up and top-down" dialogue is to be encouraged;

2. Prepare, validate and adopt legislative and regulatory measures (including water administration, provision of services, standards for equipment, water quality and uses);

3. Encourage countries to promote the use of economic and financial instruments, including appropriate incentives to improve water demand management;

4. Promote the effective application of the "polluter-pays principle" and of the users-pay approach to generate revenues and regulate resource use with a view to an equitable allocation and redistribution of water benefits and charges, with special attention for low-income population groups;

5. Ensure a clear operational framework at local, national and regional for the implementation of the action plans which should be well understood and accepted and include:
   • the role of the state and public/private operators, including basin organisations and sectoral operators;

   • the level and role of stakeholders in the management of basin institutions in a multidisciplinary mode;

   • the partnership mechanisms that ensure smooth financing, implementation and maintenance of all water supply systems.

6. Involve users and operators in the choice of the technological options and in the determination of services to be provided, taking into account existing local technologies and economic considerations.

7. Promote the development of comprehensive water information systems that include water resources and socio-economic data bases;

8. As part of capacity-building efforts, provide support to general education focusing on youth, as important advocates for information dissemination and attitude changes, and exchange of information, using as much as possible modern media and Internet;

9. Strengthen the capacity building of decentralised agencies and community-based organisations for IWRM, particularly for water conservation and resource protection and promote the creation of an enabling environment for the participation of the providers of commercially-based services, taking into account national conditions and the type of services needed;

10. Prepare water codes and other regulatory measures together with enforcement mechanisms;

11. Formulation and implementation of specific educational, participatory, regulatory, economic and financial measures for the control of non-point sources of pollution;

12. Consider the impacts of upstream decisions on downstream environments, especially on estuaries and coastal zones, taking into account other water-related intergovernmental conventions.

13. The international community, including donor organizations, need to play an important catalytic role in support of national efforts towards the formulation and implementation of national plans, capacity building, technology transfer, and in the provision of technical cooperation, taking into consideration local and regional experiences.

V. Summary of Key Recommendations

117. IWRM should integrate the interests of all users and stakeholders on a local, regional, national and international level in relation to water quality and quantity and ensure effective community involvement at all levels and at all stages of the process. A clear operational framework at local, national and regional levels for the implementation of the action plans which should be well understood and accepted and should include:

1. The role of the state and public/private operators, including basin organisations and sectoral operators;

2. The level and role of stakeholders in the management of basin institutions in a multidisciplinary mode;

3. The partnership mechanisms that ensure smooth financing, implementation and maintenance of all water supply systems;

4. National plans for IWRM should be developed in a constructive dialogue with users and stakeholders at the level of the management unit. They should make clear their interests and their role in the short, medium and long terms. IWRM must consider specifically non-point source pollution and the impacts of upstream decisions on downstream environments, especially on estuaries and coastal zones, and should take into account other water-related intergovernmental conventions;

5. A clear distinction between the various stages of policy development and execution and the level of planning (local, sub- national, national and regional). Establishment/update of national policy and strategies for the entire water sector that are integrated with overall socio-economic development (including essential co-ordinating mechanisms);

6. The elaboration of policy, strategies and legal instruments should be a concerted process but a clear distinction has to be made for the implementation of IWRM between policy and standard settings, regulatory control/enforcement and the provision of services; encourage an iterative planning process as a "bottom- up and top-down" dialogue;

7. The preparation, validation and adoption of legislative, regulatory and enforcement measures (including water administration, provision of service, standards for equipment, water quality and uses);

8. The promotion the use of economic and financial instruments, including appropriate incentives to improve water demand management; effective application of the "polluter-pays" principle and users-pay systems to generate revenues and regulate resource use; equitable allocation and redistribution of water benefits and charges, with special attention for low-income population groups;

9. The necessary capacity-building and information management sensu lato ; general education focusing on youth, as important advocates for information dissemination and attitude changes;

10. The exchange of information using as much as possible modern media and Internet;

11. The promotion of comprehensive water information systems that include water resources and socio-economic data bases;

12. The capacity building of decentralised agencies and community-based organisations for IWRM, particularly for water conservation and resource protection;

13. The role of women that should be equal in all management with regard to water resources, at local, national and international levels;

14. The international support to the overall and efficient financing of IWRM costs. External Support Agencies and United Nations agencies could play a catalytic role in national plan preparation and implementation, capacity building, technology transfer and technical assistance, capitalising on local and regional experiences;

15. The development of mechanisms to encourage riparian states to co-operate among each other on matters related to the management of transboundary water resources (including groundwater), building on existing agreement principles, arrangements, instruments and programmes of action, taking into account interests of the concerned states.

Annex II: Freshwater Ecosystems and Water Quality: Report of Working Group 2

Annex III: Economic and Financial Issues: Report of Working Group 3