global water partnership meeting the wssd action target on iwrm and water efficiency strategies: a...
TRANSCRIPT
Global Water Partnership
Meeting the WSSD action target
on IWRM and water efficiency strategies:
A how-to guide
Progress
Some countries have made good progress towards meeting the target.
But many more need to accelerate their efforts.
Good progress
Some progress
Just beginning.
Why has progress not been greater?
Uncertainty over:What IWRM means and how it contributes to
sustainable social and economic development What an IWRM strategy is and its role in water
reformHow to go about developing a strategy
?
Providing some guidance
The GWP handbook
Purpose: To provide countries with the tools and knowledge they need to act on the WSSD action target in the way that is most useful for them.
A handbook for change
The handbook covers: Concepts – The meaning of IWRM and the role
of an IWRM and water efficiency strategy Content – How to decide on the substance of a
strategy Process – Steps in developing a strategy and
how to avoid snags Action – Tips for ensuring effective
implementation
What does IWRM mean?
The basics of integration
More coordinated decision-making across sectors…
National
Basin
Local
Fisheries
Environment
Tourism Industry
Finance
Agriculture
Energy
Water
and scales.
Misconceptions
IWRM demands wholesale integration.
Sectoral decision-making should be abandoned entirely.
Risks of fully sectoral approach
Sectoral approach
Integrated approach
Overlooking negative impacts on environment and other sectors
Inefficient use of resources—natural and financial
Risks of fully integrated approach
Sectoral
approac
h
Integrate
d
approach
Getting mired in complexity.
Not making good use of specialist expertise.
Finding a balance
Sectoral approac
h
Integrated
approach
Each country needs to decide where integration makes sense based on its social, political and hydrological situation.
Not just about physical resources
IWRM is not just about more efficient management of physical resources (land, water, forests, fisheries, livestock)…
…it is also about reforming human systems to enable people—women as well as men—to reap sustainable and equitable benefits from those resources.
What is the role of a strategy?
Catalyst for change
An IWRM strategy can be a catalyst for action and ultimately, positive change.
A coherent approach to change
A strategy should effect action—providing a coherent and measured approach to governance change.
Enabling environment
Institutional roles
Management instruments
Strategy
Not just another “Water Plan”
Differences between an IWRM strategy and a traditional water plan:
Dynamic rather than static—lays down a framework for a continuing and adaptive process of strategic and coordinated action
Involvement from multiple sectors—for example, health, energy, finance, tourism, industry, agriculture, and environment.
Fisheries
Environment
Tourism Industry
Finance
Agriculture
Energy
Water
Not just another “Water Plan”
Differences between an IWRM strategy and a traditional water plan:
Broader focus that looks at water in relation to other ingredients needed to achieve larger development goals or meet water challenges.
More extensive stakeholder participation
Goal+? =National
Basin
Local
Fisheries
Environment
Tourism Industry
Finance
Agriculture
Energy
Water
Taking the first steps
A strategy is an important first step, not an end in itself.
Equity Sustainability
Efficiency
Strategy
How do countries develop a strategy?
Approaches to developing a strategy
Targeted approach - focusing on specific water-related problems that are hampering the achievement of goals.
Broad approach - considering the various ways in which water resources development and management have the potential to advance or hinder development goals.
Possible entry points
Achieving MDGs
Addressing recurrent water-related problem hampering national development—such as reducing vulnerability to droughts and floods
Possible entry points
Remedying unsustainable situations and mitigating environmental costs of past policies.
Sharing transboundary water resources
Possible entry points
Developing management links between freshwater and coastal resources.
Misconceptions
Developing a strategy necessitates “starting over from scratch”.
Strategies demand immediate and large-scale change.
Build on what’s there
IWRM strategies can build on existing IWRM or water plans, or incorporate water into current national development strategies.
They can also build on existing frameworks and planning processes and implement changes a step at a time.
Link to other strategies and plans
An IWRM strategy should link to relevant national and regional plans and strategies.
Examples: National strategies to meet Millennium Development Goals Country poverty reduction strategy papers (PRSPs) National Five Year Plans or Sustainable Development
Strategies National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans National Plans to Combat Desertification National Plans on women’s development and empowerment
What is needed?
Process and outcomes may differ from country to country but basic ingredients are the same: High-level leadership and commitment
Broad support
Tools, capacity,
knowledge
Conclusions
Strategies can take different forms—with different starting points, different goals, and different degrees and paces of change.
All strategies should: Serve as a catalyst for positive governance change.Lay down a framework for more coordinated
decision-making on an on-going basis.Translate into doable actions—taking into account
the country’s political, social and capacity situation.
Thank you