9: Principles of good freshwater governance
and transparent: water institutions should work in an open
manner, using language understandable to the general public;
water policy decisions should be transparent, particularly
regarding financial transactions.
and communicative: wide participation should be ensured
throughout the water policy chain,from conception to implementation
and evaluation; governance institutions must communicate among
water stakeholders in very direct ways.
Coherent and integrative: water policies
and actions must be coherent, with political leadership and
a strong responsibility taken by institutions at different
levels; water institutions should consider all potential water
users and sectors and their linkages with, and impacts on,
the traditional water sector.
Equitable and ethical: equity between and
among various water interest groups, stakeholders and consumers
should be carefully monitored throughout the policy development
and implementation process; penalties for malfeasance should
be equitably applied – water governance must be strongly
based on the ethical principles of the society in which it
functions and on the rule of law.
Accountable: the rules of the game, as well as legislative roles and executive
processes, must be clear; each water-related institution must
explain and take responsibility for its actions; penalties
for violating the rules and arbitration-enforcing mechanisms
must exist to ensure that satisfactory solutions to water
issues can be reached.
Efficient: concepts of political, social,
and environmental efficiency related to water resources must
be balanced against simple economic efficiency; governmental
systems should not impede needed actions.
Responsive and sustainable: water demands,
evaluation of future water impacts and past experiences should
be the basis for water policy; policies should be implemented,
and decisions made, at the most appropriate level; water policies
should be incentive-based, to ensure clear social or economic
gain if the policy is followed; long-term sustainability of
water resources should be the guiding principle.
|Source: Adapted from Rogers and Hall 2003
A series of global conferences, meetings
and events focusing totally or in part on freshwater resources and sustainable
development have taken place over the past three decades. An extensive
knowledge base on water-related issues has been built. Major decisions
and recommendations have been made, most recently in the framework of
the MDG and WSSD goals and targets. Yet most water problems remain.
The increasing freshwater demands of an expanding global population
continue to outstrip the investment and infrastructure needed to accomplish
the goals, particularly in developing countries. Stronger and more concerted
efforts are clearly required on the part of governments, UN agencies
and other water stakeholders to overcome the primary constraints to
implementing the recommended actions in a timely and effective manner.
These primary constraints include limited public awareness and understanding
of human impacts on freshwater resources and ecosystems, lack of stakeholder
participation, weak governance and accountability systems, and inadequate
funding and human resources (WLVC 2003). Legal and institutional frameworks
are critical to effective partnerships at different level. Box 9 gives
an overview of basic principles for good freshwater governance, emphasizing
the need for strong and effective institutions and laws.