Asif Kabani Sustainable Development With Water Governance 2012

Why Water Governance Sustainable Development Presentation by: Asif Kabani

Presentation by: Asif Kabani and Maliha A. Kabani Email: [email protected] | Skype: kabaniasif

Structure of Presentation Agenda

What is water governance?

Making change happen for Development

Tools & Approaches Make it [or] Break it


Things to Know about Water Governance for Sustainable Development

1

2

3

4

What is water governance? Why is water governance important? Situation in your country? Water Governance (Group work)

Tools & approaches towards Water governance

Planning and Review - Making change happen

5 Recommendations - Way Forward With Climate change adaptation for Sustainable Development


The Movie-Youtube The Wonder of Water



Water governance is defined by the political, social, economic and administrative

systems that are in place, and which directly or indirectly affect the use,

development and management of water resources and the delivery of water

service delivery at different levels of society. Importantly, the water sector is a

part of broader social, political and economic developments and is thus also

affected by decisions outside of the water sector.

Source: UNDP



Water governance addresses among other things:

1. Principles such as equity and efficiency in water resource and services

allocation and distribution, water administration based on catchments, the need

for integrated water management approaches and the need to balance water use

between socio-economic activities and ecosystems.

2. The formulation, establishment and implementation of water policies,

legislation and institutions.

3. Clarification of the roles of government, civil society and the private sector

and their responsibilities regarding ownership, management and administration

of water resources and services, for example: ( read notes)


The Movie-Youtube Water Governance


Why is water governance important? Dimensions of water governance

Source: UNDP


Situation in your country?

There are various indexes showing the governance situation in most of countries:

Worldwide Governance Indicators, World Bank

Corruption Perceptions Index 2009, Transparency International

Global Integrity Index: 2008, Global Integrity

Governance Assessment Portal, UNDP

Why Water Governance 5 person in each Group

GROUP WORK


Presentation by Groups Thematic Topics

Tools & Approaches towards Water Governance


Tools & Approaches towards

Building knowledge and capacity

Dialoguing and networking

Financing and investment choices

Going beyond the water sector

Indigenous Approach to Development

Water Governance


Building knowledge and capacity

Capacity building is a cross-cutting issue at the foundation of many of the changes required

to introduce sustainable water resources management and services and address the

governance issues surrounding the establishment of an appropriate policy and institutional

enabling environment.

Inadequate capacity continues to be a major constraint to realise water reform. Some of the

areas that require enhanced capacity include, for example, integrated water resources

management, transboundary waters, gender mainstreaming and institutional/technical

innovations and adaptability.


Dialoguing and networking

A critical aspect of water reform is how it is being communicated within government

agencies and to the public and stakeholders. It is important that reform is communicated in

ways that are understood by sector players and the public.

Dialogue and networking must be understood as being a long-term partnership and

commitment towards reforming the water sector. It is not a one-off event.

It must be perceived as a long-term process that is attempting to change the relationships

between government and other stakeholders and to form a basis for an ongoing, effective

and fruitful dialogue and networking at local and national levels.


Financing and investment choices

Clearly, the water sector in many countries is under-financed. Currently, government

taxation funds the management of water resources and services in many developing

countries. Most developing country governments have so far not been able to raise

adequate funds through taxation or the application of water tariffs for cost recovery.

The challenging task of raising additional funds should also make decision makers

aware of the need to complement capital-intensive investments with alternative low-

cost technologies. Despite the attention given them, private companies and

entrepreneurs are only modestly involved in water-related services.


Going beyond the water sector Drivers and policies outside the water sector have more impact on water management than

do many policies championed and implemented by water-related ministries.

Other development sectors, such as energy, planning, land and ecosystem management, trade, etc, need to identify trade-offs and synergies linked to the water sector, in order to

enhance policy impacts in all sectors and avoid some adverse effects on water.

Examples of win-win situations abound - whether created by governments, communities or businesses - that point to promoting deliberate cooperation between water and non-water

actors and integrating water issues into external decisions.

International organizations, notably the UN system, can provide support and expertise to governments, help civil society build capacity and catalyse leadership in the private sector.


Water Governance for Sustainable Development

Making change happen



Why are certain water decisions made but not others?

What stakeholders are involved?

What principles and formal and informal rules and regulations were applied?

Many countries are currently in the process of changing the ways of how water is being governed.

Practical point of view this means formulating, setting in place and implementing water policies, legislation and regulations

Water Governance for Sustainable Development



Despite country water reform variations, most reforms typically include components linked to:

Decentralisation of water decision making, Increasing stakeholder participation, Promoting incentives for more and better public-private partnerships, including

privatization of water services and community involvement, Principles of integrated water resources management and river basin

management approaches, and Clarification of institutional roles and responsibilities, such as through formal

legislation and informal customary water rights and by linking water rights and land tenure, for example.

Despite the negative impact of corruption on water resources and services, remedial anti-corruption measures are not being adequately addressed in water reform.

Water Governance


Water decision making

Decentralization and participation play important roles in water reform. Through

decentralization the government delegates some of its decision making powers and

management responsibilities to lower levels of government, the private sector or

community and civil society organizations.

Many countries are currently moving away from conventional forms of water

governance, which usually have been dominated by a top-down approach, towards

bottom-up approaches, which combine the experience, knowledge and understanding of

various local groups and people.

Decentralization and participation in water decision making


Water integrity and accountability

Reduces economic growth and discourages investments within the water sector,

Undermines performance and effectiveness of both public and private sectors, leading to inefficient and unequal allocation and distribution of water resources and related services,

Decreases and diverts government revenues that could be used to strengthen budgets and improve water and other services, especially for poor people,

Makes existing legislation, rules and regulations ineffective, which can drive increased water pollution and over-abstraction of ground and surface water, and

Dilutes the integrity of the public service sector, since discretionary decision making creates unpredictability and inequalities and can circumvent the rules of law and justice.

How? For starters, corruption siphons off scarce monetary resources and diminishes countries prospects for providing water and sanitation for all and sound water resources management. Corruption:


Partnership choices?

Some key elements in successful partnerships include:

Shared vision Compatibility Equitable representation Legitimacy Communication Mutual trust and Understanding among partners and Govts

Frameworks for sustainable water development.


Clarifying roles of water institutions

It promotes equitable water use between existing user groups. It can also facilitate improved access to water by groups that previously have been denied formal or

informal water rights.

It improves the efficiency of existing water supply allocations. For example, those

requiring additional water resources, such as growing cities, can increasingly meet their needs by acquiring the water rights

of those who are using water for low value purposes.

It provides a basis for improving hydrological data and information to manage the resource more effectively.

It increases willingness to take economic risks for investing in improved water

management and practices in both rural and urban contexts and thus impacting

positively on productive livelihood opportunities. It can also reduce the

pressure on water resources as it is likely that those with water rights have incentives for sustaining water.

The establishment of well-defined and coherent roles and responsibilities, such as through legislation of formal and informal water rights, leads to a number of social, economic and environmental benefits:


Transboundary water cooperation

Even though there is no blueprint for how transboundary water cooperation should be done, it is important that:

The respective riparian feel an ownership of, and a political commitment to, processes of promoting cooperation,

The benefits of water and productive outcomes of water are shared, The respective riparian shifts focus and moves from challenges and

constraints to opportunities, Broad partnerships are built for negotiated outcomes among and

within riparian countries, and Trust and personal relations are developed among riparian

delegations from countries and between domestic water user groups. This is a key ingredient to move the process forward.

Sustainable Regional Development


Water Governance - Life Cycle

Water for economic growth,

energy, and poverty reduction

Water for food and fibre Water for nature

Water for people (health and livelihood)

Economic and Social Development

Climate change adaptation Recommendation and Way Forward Water Governance for Sustainable Development


Climate change adaptation

The core business of water resources management is

about coping with variability. It is related to storing excess water from wet periods to

bridge dry spells, protecting low lying areas from floods,

balancing withdrawals between upstream and downstream areas and

between different uses, etc.

The new dimension added by climate change is that the

characteristics of water resources management are

much more dynamic, imposing major challenges in terms of

more rapid, and more intense and randomly frequent changes. These changes

further increase the risks to the quality of life of the poorest higher and more complex.

The importance of water adaptation


Climate change adaptation

The multiple water challenges most countries are facing provides a convincing argument of the necessity to respond urgently.

People and economies are already suffering from lack of water or too much water. Water adaptation to climate change is critical to safe-guard progress made in: Water for economic growth, energy, and poverty reduction Water for food and fibre Water for nature Water for people (health and livelihood)

The importance of water adaptation


Reading Reference by Authors Similar Topic Presentations and report


Sustainable Development Matters Water Changes Everything in Life


Resource and Links


Reference Readings


Resources used in Presentation Reports 1. JP Synthesis: Review of Goals, Strategies and Cross-Cutting Themes, 2011

2. Sntesis de programas conjuntos: Revisin de objetivos, estrategias, temas transversales y

preocupaciones comunes, 2011

3. Training Manual on Water Integrity: Training Manual on Water Integrity, 2011.

4. Regional Water Intelligence Report: The Nile Basin and the Southern Sudan Referendum,

2010 Promoting Transparency, Integrity and Accountability in the Water and Sanitation

Sector in Uganda, 2010 Country Sector Assessments UNDP GoAL WaSH Programme

Governance, Advocacy and Leadership for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (Volume 2), 2010

Djibouti / El Salvador / Nepal / Mongolia / Tajkistan

5. Regional Water Intelligence Report Central Asia, 2010

6. Water Adaptation in National Adaptation Programmes for Action - Freshwater in Climate

Adaptation Planning and Climate Adaptation in Freshwater Planning, 2009

7. Corruption Risks in Water Licensing, 2009


Resources used in Presentation Reports

1. Country Sector Assessments, UNDP GoAL WaSH Programme

Governance, Advocacy and Leadership for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (Volume 1)

Bosnia and Herzegovina / Madagascar / Mali / Paraguay / Sierra Leone / Zambia

2. Mapping of Integrity and Accountability in Water Activities and Relevant Capacities in the SADC Region.

Co-authored together with WaterNet and CapNet, 2008.

3. Water Governance: Trends and needs for new capacity development, 2007

4. Input to thematic areas and report outlines: United Nations World Water Development Report 3 WGF

coordinated and produced Chapter 2 "The Challenges of Water Governance" of the United Nations World

Water Development Report

5. Water Governance Challenges: Managing Competition and Scarcity for Hunger and Poverty Reduction and

Environmental Sustainability.

6. Background paper to the 2006 Human Development Report. Water Scarcity Challenges in the Middle East

and North Africa (MENA). Thematic report to the 2006 Human Development Report.

7. Issue Sheets - Informative highlighting different water governance related topics.

Decentralisation | Anti-Corruption in the Water Sector | Gender and Water | Water and Sanitation Governance

Why Water Governance Sustainable Development Presentation by: Asif Kabani and Maliha A. Kabani 2011-2012

Contact us: Email: [email protected] Skype: kabaniasif Facebook: kabaniasif Twitter: kabaniasif Linkedin: kabaniasif

Supported by: International Sustainable Development Resource Centre, Geneva

Documents

Asif Kabani Sustainable Development With Water Governance 2012