4. Water Management Principles
A meeting in Dublin in 1992 gave rise to four principles that have been the basis for much of the subsequent water sector reform.
Principle 1: Fresh water is a finite and vulnerable resource, essential to sustain life, development and the environment.
The notion that freshwater is a finite resource arises as the hydrological cycle on average yields a fixed quantity of water per time period. This overall quantity cannot yet be altered significantly by human actions, though it can be, and frequently is, depleted by man-made pollution. The freshwater resource is a natural asset that needs to be maintained to ensure that the desired services it provides are sustained. This principle recognises that water is required for many different purposes, functions and services; management therefore, has to be holistic (integrated) and involve consideration of the demands placed on the resource and the threats to it.
The integrated approach to management of water resources necessitates co-ordination of the range of human activities which create the demands for water, determine land uses and generate waterborne waste products. The principle also recognises the catchment area or river basin as the logical unit for water resources management.
Principle 2: Water development and management should be based on a participatory approach, involving users, planners and policymakers at all levels.
Water is a subject in which everyone is a stakeholder. Real participation only takes place when stakeholders are part of the decision-making process. The type of participation will depend upon the spatial scale relevant to particular water management and investment decisions. It will be affected too by the nature of the political environment in which such decisions take place. A participatory approach is the best means for achieving long-lasting consensus and common agreement. Participation is about taking responsibility, recognizing the effect of sectoral actions on other water users and aquatic ecosystems and accepting the need for change to improve the efficiency of water use and allow the sustainable development of the resource. Participation does not always achieve consensus, arbitration processes or other conflict resolution mechanisms also need to be put in place.
Governments have to help create the opportunity and capacity to participate, particularly among women and other marginalised social groups. It has to be recognised that simply creating participatory opportunities will do nothing for currently disadvantaged groups unless their capacity to participate is enhanced. Decentralising decision making to the lowest appropriate level is one strategy for increasing participation.
Principle 3: Women play a central part in the provision, management and safeguarding of water.
The pivotal role of women as providers and users of water and guardians of the living environment has seldom been reflected in institutional arrangements for the development and management of water resources. It is widely acknowledged that women play a key role in the collection and safeguarding of water for domestic and – in many cases – agricultural