\
Dear Prf. Navaraj and Bukola,

My name is Adalet BUDAK. I am from Turkey and I was second prizer of
the Water Voice Project. We have met at the award ceremony and lunch
of the project.

As you know I had collected more than one thousand messages. After
collecting the messages, we prepared and implemented a "water,
sanitation and health project." But, after coming back from the
forum, I have not had enough time to collect messages. I have been so
busy

Have you still been collecting messages? What are you going to do the
messages that you collect? Could we exchange our ideas reagarding to
the messages?

Best Wishes,
Adalet


     PRESS STATEMENT

NIGERIAN ACTIVIST WINS "WATER VOICE MESSENGER PRIZE"

The 3rd World Water Forum held  in Tokyo, Japan last  month honoured
a Nigerian Water activist, Mrs. BUKOLA BABALOBI with the "Best Water
Voice Messenger prize".

Dear Bukola
Accept my congratulations!

Regards

Akpan Anthony Johnson
ajakpan@...

> NIGERIAN ACTIVIST WINS  "WATER VOICE MESSENGER> PRIZE">

> The 3rd World Water Forum held  in Tokyo, Japan last>  month
honoured
> a Nigerian Water activist, Mrs. BUKOLA BABALOBI with> the "Best
Water
> Voice Messenger prize".

Bukola

Congrats on the award

.Prof A G Onibokun

PRESS STATEMENT

>NIGERIAN ACTIVIST WINS "WATER VOICE MESSENGER PRIZE"

The 3rd World Water Forum held  in Tokyo, Japan last  month honoured
>a Nigerian Water activist, Mrs. BUKOLA BABALOBI with the "Best Water
Voice Messenger prize".

Dear Bukola,
Congratulations! You and your team deserve it. I am always reading
your
network messages and reports with great interest.
How can I access all these water voices?? Is there a synthesis of
themesages?
Best regards, HakanHakan TroppWater Resources SpecialistUNDP/BDP
email: hakan.tropp@...

babalobi wrote:>

PRESS STATEMENT

> NIGERIAN ACTIVIST WINS  "WATER VOICE MESSENGER PRIZE">
> The 3rd World Water Forum held  in Tokyo, Japan last  month honoured
> a Nigerian Water activist, Mrs. BUKOLA BABALOBI with the "Best Water
> Voice Messenger prize".>

This is very washable. More grace to her.
.
Bye

Tayo Babalobi

teacher@...

Cogratulations.

  I hope you let us know what you presented to win the prize.

Best wishes.

Victoria Taiwo Obasaju-Ayo

PRESS STATEMENT
NIGERIAN ACTIVIST WINS  "WATER VOICE MESSENGER PRIZE"

The 3rd World Water Forum held  in Tokyo, Japan last  month honoured
a Nigerian Water activist, Mrs. BUKOLA BABALOBI with the "Best Water
Voice Messenger prize".

The `Water Voice' project was instituted in 2001, by the Secretariat
of the 3rd World Water Forum whereby Volunteers from all over the
world working as "Water Voice Messengers" collected `Water Voices'
reflecting the views of people on water related issues as an
important input to the Water Forum.The objective was to make the
biggest international Conference on Water held March 16-24, 2003 in
Japan an open platform accessible to all people concerned with water
rather than meetings reserved for decision makers, scholars, and
professionals.

"Water Voice Messengers" over the past 20 months collected voices
from ordinary people, especially those living in remote areas without
adequate means of communication, and sent these "Voices' to the 3RD
World Water Forum secretariat in Japan. A total of 2,045 "Water Voice
Messengers' participated in the `Water Voices" project and nearly 27,
000 `Water Voices" were collected from 142 countries through the
tireless efforts of these `Water Voice Messengers'

Mrs. Babalobi, who is the Executive Director of WaterWatch Nigeria
along with 19 others from various parts of the world were honoured
the "Best Water Voice messenger prize" for collecting and reporting
voices adjudged to be the best in quality and quantity. For emerging
as one of the Best 20 Water Voice messengers, Mrs. Bukola BABALOBI
was invited to participate in the 3rd World Water Forum all expenses
paid trip, and honoured with the "Best Water Voice Messenger prize"
at a ceremony held in Tokyo, March 21.

WaterWatch Nigeria -www.groups.yahoo.com'group/waterwatch_Nigeria -
is a project of The Bread of Life Development Foundation, a Nigerian
non-governmental organization

The Pan African Vision for the Environment(PAVE) is a
non-governmental, non-profit Organisation promoting
Integrated  Water Resources Management(IWRM) in
Nigeria.

We promote awareness, appreciation, knowledge, and
stewardship of water resources among the various
stakeholders including policy makers, women,   youth
and children etc.

The Pan African vision for the Environment (PAVE)
believes :

Water moves through living and non-living systems and
binds them together in a complex web of life.

Water of sufficient quality and quantity is important
for all water users(energy producers, farmers and
ranchers, fish and wildlife, manufacturers,
recreationists, rural and urban dwellers).

Sustainable water management is crucial for providing
tomorrow's children with social and economic stability
in a healthy environment.

Awareness of and respect for water resources can
encourage a personal lifelong commitment of
responsibility and positive community participation.

Water is essential to human beings and all forms of
life. But pollution and lack of access to clean water
is proliferating the cycle of poverty, water-borne
diseases, and gender inequities.

We are committed to implementing the Kyoto and the
Ministerial Declaration of the 3rd World Water Forum.


Akpan Anthony Johnson

President

Pan African Vision for the Environment(PAVE)

P.O.BOX 494, IJANIKIN,LAGOS, NIGERIA

The 3rd World Water Forum in Kyoto is starting at the end of this
week. I am
sending this message to encourage you to find out more about what
activities
are planned in the way of ecological sanitation. Quite a few ecosan
sessions
will take place in Kyoto. My own institute has, as part of the
EcoSanRes
Programme, arranged two ecosan sessions and an ecosan exhibit. For
more
details please refer to: www.ecosanres.org, where you find fact
sheets,
programme information, links, publications, etc.
During the 3rd WWF in Kyoto we hope to be able to influence some of
the
policy decisions concerning sanitation. to this end the EcoSanRes
Programme
has organised two ecosan sessions in Kyoto and an ecosan exhibit.
The programme of the sessions is found under www.ecosanres.org and
more
precisely atwww.ecosanres.org/PDF%20files/Kyoto%20WWF3%20Ecosan%
20sessions.pdf.
The ecosan exhibit will be located in exhibit booth 35.
We would like to encourage those who participate in Kyoto to come to
our
ecosan sessions as well as to visit our exhibit, which will be
staffed by
experts from all over the world. Kindly circulate this information as
widely
as possible, since we anticipate meeting a huge challenge from the
conventional water sector during this event and this is the
opportunity for
us to promote ecosan advocacy. Global Ecosan Challenge
2.4 billion with no sanitation2.8 billion with basic pit latrines
0.8 billion with dysfunctional flushsan0.3 billion with flushsan
I would be pleased to respond to any queries. Very
best,CeciliaCecilia Ruben
Programme Development Manager, SEITel: +46 8 412 14
16cecilia.ruben@...
Stockholm Environment InstituteBox 2142, S-103 14 Stockholm, Sweden
Fax: +46 8 723 03 48www.sei.se

Welcome to the first edition of Currents - news from the World Water Assessment
Programme,
bringing you regular updates, events and more from the Programme.

This newsletter is also available in French, and will soon be available in
Spanish. If you
would prefer to receive it in one of these languages, or would like to
subscribe/unsubscribe to the English version, please let us know at
currents@....

----------------------------------------------

Contents:

In this edition of Currents, you'll find:


- What's happening at WWAP?
    - WWAP at the 3rd World Water Forum
    - Launching the World Water Development Report
    - Water for people, water for life exhibit
    - Other events
- What's new on the site?
- Country initiatives
- Focus on case studies

---------------------------------------------------
What's happening at WWAP?


WWAP at the 3rd World Water Forum

The 3rd World Water Forum, held March 16-23 in Kyoto, Japan, will focus on a
variety of
themes. These include: water for peace, cities, climate, water supply,
sanitation, hygiene
and water pollution, governance, agriculture and food security, energy, nature
and the
environment, poverty, education and capacity-building, gender, youth, and dams
and
sustainable development.

WWAP is participating in many of the sessions, among them:

- Water for peace: March 21-22. Four sessions will be held, revolving around
PCCP (From
Potential Conflict to Co-operation Potential, a UNESCO contribution to WWAP) and
its
related themes. Among other things, the sessions will look at the origins of
water-related
conflicts, the tools available for their resolution or prevention, and will
discuss the
role that integrated water resources management in shared basins can play in
achieving
goals of sustainable development. More information on PCCP here:
http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/pccp/index.shtml or contact Léna Salamé at
l.salame@....

- Water and information: March 18-19. Information is one of the essential
drivers of water
management policies. The session will focus on different information needs,
information
technologies and the Internet, and more. On March 19th at the Grand Cube Venue
in Osaka,
WWAP, in partnership with the International Hydrological Programme and UNESCO,
will be
unveiling the Portal of the Americas, a prototype for a World Water Portal. This
prototype
will be a model for sharing information, and an important step in building up an
information base through training. For more information on the session or the
project,
contact Pilar Gonzalez at p.gonzalez@....

- World Water Assessment Programme: March 22nd (World Water Day). WWAP is
holding a special
session at the Annex Hall in Kyoto, 14:00, to talk about the Programme, and
officially
launch the first World Water Development Report.

We are in the process of setting up a site for up-to-date information regarding
Forum
sessions, so keep checking back: http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap.

----------------------------------------------------
Launching the World Water Development Report

"Faced with 'inertia at the leadership level', the global water crisis will
reach
unprecedented levels in the years ahead [...]" WWAP co-ordinator Gordon Young
was in Tokyo
on March 5th for the press conference for the first edition of the World Water
Development
Report - Water for People, Water for Life. Resulting from the collective
initiative of 23
UN agencies and convention secretariats, and elaborated under the WWAP umbrella,
this major
publication offers "the most comprehensive, up-to-date overview of the state of
the
resource." The Report monitors progress against water-related targets in the
fields of
health, ecosystems, cities, food, industry, energy, risk mitigation, resource
sharing,
economic and cultural valuation, knowledge and governance. Indeed, one of the
key themes
explored in the Report is the lack of effective and integrated management in
water:
"Despite widely available evidence of the crisis, political commitment to
reverse these
trends has been lacking."

You can read the full text of the press release from the WWAP web site:
http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/.

Already newspapers and radios from all four corners of the world are picking up
on the
story, and our press corner (http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/press_corner/) is
being
regularly updated to keep up with the stories.

More details on the Report, including the executive summary in different
languages, facts
and figures and a selection of graphics are available at our site:
http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/facts_figures/.

Order your copy of the Report in English here:
http://upo.unesco.org/bookdetails.asp?id=4042.

-------------------------------------------------------
Water for people, water for life exhibit

From the 3rd till the 17th of April, WWAP is mounting a water exhibit in the
Salle des Pas
Perdus in the main building of UNESCO. The tentative contents of the exhibit
are:

- a publications stand, with flyers, posters, brochures, executive summary of
the WWDR and
more;

- many full colour panels illustrating the programme, the Report, the case
studies, and several devoted to the International Year of Freshwater;

- a video corner where you can view water images from around the world;

- photos, drawings and paintings inspired by water;

- much more to be announced, with participation from various groups.

If you live in the area, come and check out the exhibit: Salle des Pas Perdus, 7
Place de
Fontenoy, 75015, Paris, France.

------------------------------------------------------
Other events

To keep up to date on water events around the world, you can subscribe to
SPLASH! the
newsletter of the International Year of Freshwater by sending an email to
wateryear2003@..., or you can check the Year's web site:
http://www.wateryear2003.org/.

-------------------------------------------
What's new on the site?

The executive summary of the Report is now available on our web site in Arabic,
English,
French, German, Russian, Spanish, and Japanese. It will shortly be available for
download
in Bahasa Malay and Chinese. The summary provides the main points of the book,
along with
key figures and graphics. For more in-depth information on the Report and to
access the
Executive Summary in the various languages, visit our web site at
http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/wwdr. You can now also access facts and figures
for each
of the WWDR's challenge areas, a selection of graphics, as well as the full
table of
contents. We'll be adding to the pages little by little, so keep checking back.

Our press corner will be regularly updated with mentions of the Report:
http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/press_corner/.

----------------------------------------------
Country initiatives


Two years ago, WWAP sent out letters to authorities from every country inviting
them to
participate in the Programme and to get involved. To date, more than 80
countries have
responded positively, and we are aiming to get even more of them involved over
the next
year. Each country that responded provided us with a national focal point, the
full list of
which is available here:
http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/partners/nat_partners.shtml.

Earlier this week, we sent a second invitation to those countries who have not
yet
responded and an update to those who had. We're eagerly anticipating a renewed
interest in
the Programme!

One of WWAP's main objectives is capacity-building within communities, cities,
countries -
our national partners are therefore a major component of the Programme. Each
country can be
a part of that, and with your help, we can disseminate information and start
doing some
real on-the-ground work. You can help us build up our national partner base by
sending us
information on your country. This can take the form of:

- relevant reports or articles;

- regional/national case studies;

- photos;

- information on relevant publications;

- information on regional/national initiatives and projects, either already
underway or
foreseen.

If you would like to contribute material, please send us an email at
currents@....
We'll update you as to how you can participate in the Programme in the next
edition of
Currents.

---------------------------------------------------------
Focus on case studies

WWAP is developing new case studies all the time, one in particular in the Aral
Sea basin.
The seven pilot case studies presented in the WWDR are spread across the globe,
and each
face different economic, social and environmental challenges.

- Chao Phraya River basin in Thailand, whose major challenge is overcoming a
fragmented
water management system, is implementing a new water law. Read more here:
http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/case_studies/chao_phraya/.

- Lake Peipsi/Chudskoe-Pskovskoe, shared between Estonia and the Russian
Federation, is
dealing with extreme climates and eutrophication. New water quality standards
will have to
be met when Estonia joins the European Union in 2004/5. Read more here:
http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/case_studies/peipsi_lake/.

- Ruhuna basins in Sri Lanka are developing their hydropower and industrial
production,
which is putting pressure on the resource, already under stress from severe
drought. Read
more here: http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/case_studies/ruhuna_basins/.

- Seine-Normandy basin, France, has made many improvements to its water quality
in recent
years, but it has still lost some 80% of its wetland area in the last half
century. Read
more here: http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/case_studies/seine_normandy/.

- In the Senegal River basin, where agriculture and hydropower are the most
important
activities, the construction of dams has proven to be a mixed blessing for the 4
countries
sharing the resource (Guinea, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal). Read more here:
http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/case_studies/senegal_river/.

- Lake Titicaca, shared by Bolivia and Peru, faces the double challenge of a
severely
impoverished population and endemic health problems. While attempting to better
people's
lives, traditional ways of life and values must be taken into consideration Read
more
here: http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/case_studies/titicaca_lake/.

- Finally, in Greater Tokyo, Japan, risk management and public awareness
activities are
essential to protecting the valuable assets and millions of inhabitants. Read
more here:
http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/case_studies/tokyo/.


See you next time!

GOVERNMENT ALLOCATES N1.2B TO WATERS SUPPLY…By Bukola Babalobi

The Kwara State Government in Northern Nigeria has allocated N1.2
billion (about $152b) to water supply in the year 2003. The state
Governor, Alhaji Mohammed Lawal, announced this last Friday, while
presenting the 2003 Budget proposal to the State Legislative Body-
the House of Assembly, for approval.

According to the Governor, the existing water schemes across the
State will be made functional with N.5billion naira, for their
expansion and rehabilitation; and urban and semi urban water schemes
will be expanded with another allocation of N200million naira.

He said N50 million naira has been set aside for the procurement of
water treatment chemicals to ensure that the water being supplied met
the World Health Organization Standard.

SPLASH! the newsletter of the International Year of Freshwater 2003
Issue n°2, 28 February  2003

Thank you for your overwhelming response to SPLASH!
The newsletter for the International Year of Freshwater.
Please continue to send us your ideas, comments, resources and projects to
wateryear2003@.... You can also access the newsletter online at
www.wateryear2003.org

-------------------------------
CONTENTS

- In Focus: International Women's Day, 8 March 2003:
	 The role of women in managing water
- What's new on the website?
- Bright idea of the month!
- Take action!
- Educational material
- Water talks
- Water events

-----------------------------------

IN FOCUS
8th March, International Women's Day -
The role of women in managing water

First celebrated in 1911 by a few countries, International Women's Day is now
rallying
women from all over the world, coordinating efforts to expand women's rights and
encourage
their participation in the political and economic process. The celebration of
this day is
the occasion to highlight the extreme importance of women's role in water
education and
management.

In many societies, water is at the core of women's traditional responsibilities:
collecting and storing water, caring for children, cooking, cleaning, and
maintaining
sanitation.  Women are also the world's principal food producers and providers
and are
assuming an increasing role in agriculture, partly because of the rural-to-urban
migration
of men. But they often remain underestimated in development strategies. Yet
since the early
1980s more and more attention has been devoted to the relationship between women
and the
environment, and especially water, during international conferences.

More at http://www.wateryear2003.org, In Focus


Related websites


Gender and Water Alliance (GWA)
http://www.genderandwateralliance.org/

United Nations (UN) - Women Watch
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/

United Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
http://www.unifem.undp.org/


--------------------------------------
WHAT'S NEW ON THE IYFW WEBSITE?

The International Year of Freshwater website is now available in English, French
and Spanish.

Teachers, students : help us to live up the website!
Is your class looking to get involved in the International Year of Freshwater?
We are looking for your water art work (photos, painting, drawings etc.) to
share with
people from around the world on our website. Let your imaginations go wild and
send them
to us at wateryear2003@...

Youth Focal Points for the International Year of Freshwater
If you are a youth group and are organising events in your country for the year,
we want to hear from you! Please contact us g.weybrecht@...

------------------------------------
Bright idea of the month!

Bangladesh: Old saris are the key to cleaner, safer water
The number of cholera cases in remote Bangladeshi villages were halved when
local
women poured drinking water, collected from rivers and ponds, through their old
saris.
The folded saries trapped more than 99 per cent of the cholera causing bacteria
which,
although tiny, attached themselves to plankton that are too big to squeeze
through
the pores in the fabric. Tens of thousands of people die every year from
dehydration
caused by cholera induced diarrhoea and many lives could be saves by filtering
water
in this way.

For more information, visit
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993258

------------------------------------

TAKE ACTION!

Australia - Rainfall Data Competition in schools
Manorvale Primary School won the rainfall data competition in 2002 by reducing
water consumption by 25% since October 2001, through the installation of
anti-vandal
taps and automatic sprinkler systems. Other water-sensitive activities
undertaken
by the school included planting suitable plants, a monthly contract with a green
plumber
to check and maintain taps and installing a rainwater tank. The challenge, which
began
during National Water Week 2002, involved students from 100 schools.

For more information and details for the contest in 2003 e-mail:
lisa.beechey@..., or visit
http://www.education.melbournewater.com.au

Canada: Youth educating youth about water and sustainable consumption
The Otesha Project Team, a by youth for youth grass roots organization, will be
biking
across Canada to present 100 empowering multimedia presentations and workshops
to youth
across the country on sustainable consumption and water.

For more information, email info@..., or visit their website at
http://www.otesha.ca/home.htm

India: Human chain along the Ganges for World Water Day
Over 10,000 people will join in a 'human chain' along the entire stretch of the
Ganges
in Varanasi, the holy city for Hindus, on World Water Day this year. The human
chain will
stretch for the entire 7 km length of the waterfront, along the sacred bathing
ghats.
The event is organized by the Sankat Mochan Foundation.

For more information, email vbmganga@...

Italy: Students learn about water
The small village of Giusvalla is located in an uncontaminated and unpolluted
place,
with no factories. In this context, the primary school G. Bigatti has been
working on a
3-years project regarding water as natural resource to be preserved and
respected.
This cross-disciplinary project has been developed by means of maps which focus
on
everything from water and music (from water sounds and rythms to mathematics,
art,
religion, history, language, etc).

For more information email: ic_mioglia@... or visit their website at
http://www.savonaonline.it/school/icsassello

Portugal: The longest cloth banner of the world for water
On June 5th, the Association of Young Professors of the Alentejo will create a
cloth banner
for the International Year of Freshwater of 60,000 meters long, to beat the
established
Guiness record already in India (50,400 meters). This banner will show water
through
paintings and other artistic manifestations of schools students, as well as
advertising
announcements. The funds raised from this project will be used to recover a
closed Primary
School and to create an interdisciplinary centre on water.

For more information email tjuv315@...

If you know of initiatives that could inspire others to act, please send them to
us! wateryear2003@...


--------------------------------------------
EDUCATION CORNER

Everything you need to know about oil spills
With thanks to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Web kit with information about what oil spills are, experiments and projects you
can do
at home and in your class room to learn more about oil spills, resources for
teachers
on teaching about oil spills, and even information to help report writers
including photos
and information on the history of oil spills.

Kids and Acid Rain
With thanks to the Environment Canada
Information and resources for teachers and students on Acid rain including
information
on measuring acid rain, the affects of acid rain, a poster to print and colour,
experiments
and additional resources. Available in English and French.

Manatees and Dugongs, a online colouring book and information kit
With thanks to UNEP Global Programme of Action
Space which focuses on Manatees and Dugongs, animals living in estuaries, where
the river
meets the sea. Each page focuses on educating youth about these species, their
habitat,
threats and how to take action. Several pictures of manatees that you can print
out or
colour online! Available in English.

Every Drop Counts! A Speaker's Kit on Water Conservation and Water Efficiency
With thanks to the Environment Canada
This kit for all age groups allows anyone to become a speaker on water issues.
It consists of a PowerPoint presentation, slides, speaking notes focusing on
water
conservation and water efficiency. Available in English and French.

Send us your educational material in any languages at wateryear2003@....
Available at http://www.wateryear2003.org, section 'Education Corner'

-----------------------------------
WATER TALKS

From Arie Hapsari, 22 years old, Indonesia

In my village, Mondokan, in Central Java, people do not think and worry about
the
existence of water. Mondokan is a small village in which most of the daily
activities
run in traditional system, including the way to get water.

There are two main ways to get water. First by building a well in our own land
around
the house. The well can give enough water for daily needs, especially in rainy
season.
Fortunately there is no industry or factories around my village, so the water is
less
polluted. Second, in the dry season there are some wells that cannot supply
enough water,
so people get water from a place called BELIK. A BELIK is a shallow hole near
the river
that has water which surprisingly gives us enough water for our needs.

Up to now, we do not realize that one day we will lack water.
We haven't made any effort to protect and to manage our water resources.
It is just a small village that the industrialization and pollution do not touch
yet.
So, we do not value water yet.


Send us your Water talks to wateryear2003@...

--------------------------------------
WATER EVENTS

International Conference on Advances in Flood Forecasting in Europe
(2-5 March, Rotterdam, the Netherlands)
Conference on advances in flood forecasting in Europe, focusing on the themes of
weather,
flash flood, large river flood, and future forecasting. Also including  flood
inundation
forecasting and modeling.

6th Gulf Water Conference
(7 -11 March, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
The conference is run in conjunction with the 2nd Symposium on Water Use
Rationalization
in the Kingdom.

Events outcomes:
World Youth Parliament for Water
(November 18-22, 2002, Quebec City, Canada)
The event brought together young people between the ages of 14 to 18 from 24
countries
to reflect on the issues of water management and passed a new water law.
For more information about the results visit http://www.i-s-w.org.

Coming up:
Third World Water Forum
(16-23 March 2003, Japan)
This Forum, which will include 300 sessions, will gather decision-makers and
water professionals from all over the world. According to the organizers,
120 country ministers and 8,000 participants will be attending the Forum.
More than 150,000 visitors are awaited in the general public exhibits.
http://www.worldwaterforum.org/

World Water Day, 22 March 2003
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the responsible UN agency for
World Water Day this year, with the theme 'Water for future'
http://www.waterday2003.org/

More events at http://www.wateryear2003.org, section 'Events Calendar'.

MEDIA ADVISORY

                    Please join us for a "virtual roundtable"
                                        on
                      ANTICIPATING THE 3rd WORLD WATER FORUM
       Looking for lasting solutions for poor- and middle-income countries
                A Distance Learning Opportunity for Journalists in

        Washington, DC, Ethiopia, South Africa, Uganda, Nigeria and Ghana

                       Sponsored by the Water Media Network
       and the World Bank Institute Sustainable Development OUTREACH Series


                               Friday, March 7th, 2003

                          Washington, DC 9:30am ? 11:30 am
                          South Africa:  4:30 pm - 6:30 pm
                             Nigeria: 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm
                             Ethiopia: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
                              Ghana: 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm
                              Uganda: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm


       What  are  the main obstacles in delivering clean water to the poor and in
ensuring  a  healthy  environment?   What has worked well and what hasn't?  What
lessons can be learned?  What should the 3rd World Water Forum address?

       As a conclusion to the World Bank's Water Week, journalists are invited to
participate  in  a roundtable on water hosted by the Water Media Network and the
World  Bank  as part of the World  Bank Institute Development Outreach Series on
Friday, March 7th in advance of the Third World Water Forum to be held in Kyoto,
Japan (March 16th ? 23rd).

       Hosted by Ralph Begleiter, former CNN anchor/reporter and now professor of
journalism  at the University of Delaware, the roundtable will be in interactive
discussion  between  journalists and the panel ? which will include Ian Johnson,
World  Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development; Nemat Shafik, World Bank
Vice  President for Private Sector Development & Infrastructure; Fouad Djerrari,
Vice  President  for  Operations,  Suez, Morocco; Radha Singh, Ministry of Water
Resources, India; and a representative from civil society.

No fee required.  Please call or send an email to the contact in your region to
register.

Locations and contacts:

Washington, DC
The World Bank
WBI Studio 2
Room MC-C2
1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC
Kristyn Ebro 202-458-2736
Email: Kebro@...

Nigeria
Nigeria World Bank Office
The World Bank
Plot 433, Yakubu Gowon Crescent
Opposite Ecowas Secretariat
Asokoro District
Abuja, Nigeria
Nneke Okerek,  Coordinator
Phone:  234-9 - 314-5269
Email: nokereke@...

Uganda
Uganda Distance Learning Center
Uganda Management Institute (UMI)
Distance Learning Center
P.O.Box 20131
Kampala, Uganda Director:
John Oloa ,   Director
Wilfred Tussubira, Training Coordinator
256-41-345990
Uganda_dlc@...

Ethiopia
Ethiopian Civil Service College
P.O. Box 5648
Addis Ababa, EthiopiaDirector:
Berhanu Seboka, Manager
Belay Gebremedhin, Training Coordinator
Tel. 251-1-463068/69
Email: Ethiopia_dlc@...

South Africa
South Africa World Bank Office
The World Bank
First Floor, Pro Equity Court
1250 Pretorius Street
Hatfield, Pretoria 0083
Republic of South Africa
Mallory Lee Saleson
(27-12) 431-3100
Msaleson@...

Ghana
Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA)Email: URL:    -
Distance Learning Center, GIMPA
Achimota, Accra, Ghana
H.320
PICTURETEL CONCORDE
S6E NOC
30
GMT  Director:
Vivian Attah, Training Coordinator
233 21-401338
Email: gha_vattah@...
ghana_dlc@...



For more information on the Water Media Network visit www.worldbank.org/wmn.
                                          Contacts:   Kristyn Ebro 1-202-458-2736
                                                              Kebro@...
                                                    Tracey Osborne 1-202-473-4033
                                                           Tosborne@...

                                      -###-


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list!

Welcome to SPLASH! the newsletter of the International Year of Freshwater
2003!

Every few weeks throughout this special year 2003, SPLASH! will bring you
news and information related to the International Year of Freshwater. But
there's a catch (there always is): this is YOUR newsletter, not ours. To
make the Year a success, to make a really big splash, we need your
participation. So send us your ideas, pictures, events, news, no matter how
modest. Remember, every little drop counts.

Based on your feedback, here's a provisional "starter" list of what we'll
include in each issue of SPLASH!

· a specially-selected theme or geographic area featuring a selection of
related multimedia resources, such as educational material, books, photos,
web links;
· a summary of major scientific and water-related public events for the
month;
· an action-oriented section;
· a focus on educational projects and awareness-building activities;
· an update on what's new on the IYFW website.

Of course, if you think we're all wet, please tell us so. Jump right in! We
look forward to your comments and feedback at wateryear2003@...

This newsletter is also available in French and Spanish. If you would prefer
to receive it in one of these languages, or would like to
subscribe/unsubscribe to the English version, please contact us at
wateryear2003@...

---------------------------------------------

Contents

- In Focus: World Wetlands Day, 2 February 2003 - 'No wetlands-no water!'
- Water events in February
- Take action!
- What's new on the IYFW website?

-------------------------------------------

In Focus: World Wetlands Day, 2 February 2003 - 'No wetlands-no water!'

February 2nd of each year is World Wetlands Day. It marks the date of the
signing of the Convention on Wetlands in 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar
on the shores of the Caspian Sea. The theme chosen this year is 'No
wetlands - no water!', in support of the International Year of Freshwater
initiative.

Wetlands are a main component in helping to maintain the water cycle,
capturing and holding rainfall and snowmelt, retaining sediments, and
purifying water. For fifty years now they have been very much threatened by
human actions and activities. Initiatives need to be taken in order to
reverse the destruction of these essential ecosystems.

More at: http://www.wateryear2003.org

Related publications

International Hydrological Programme (IHP):

Wetlands of the humid tropics, IHP humid tropics programme series; 12, Publ:
1998; 48 p., illus.; SC.99/WS/3. Available online
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0011/001160/116084eo.pdf

World Wide fund for Nature (WWF):

Protecting Wetlands for a Water-Secure Future : National Summaries: Prepared
for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), this document gives
an overview of the Ramsar sites in countries designating at least 500,000 ha
of wetlands under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International
Importance since January 1, 2002.
Available online
http://www.panda.org/downloads/freshwater/wetland_protection_national_summa
ries.doc

World Conservation Bookstore (IUCN):
Check the wetlands and Ramsar sections of the catalogue
http://www.iucn.org/bookstore/

Educational material

Websites:

Earth and Space Science for K-12 (NASA) - Learning about wetlands
Website with several different resources and activities to teach all age
groups about different kinds of wetlands found in many areas of the world.
Includes activities such as how to draw a wetland, quizzes, riddle books,
and information about what kinds of plants and animals call wetlands their
home and why we have to protect our wetlands.

Ducks Unlimited - Educators
This site is dedicated to enabling educators to create engaging curriculum
about wetland habitat and wetlands animals.

More at http://www.wateryear2003.org section 'Education Corner'

------------------------------------

Water events in February

Scientific and technical events:

LARS2 - Large Rivers Symposium
(11-14 February, Phnom Penh, Cambodia)
Second International Symposium on the Management of Large Rivers for
Fisheries which theme is 'Sustaining livelihoods and biodiversity in the new
millennium'.

12th IHP Training Course: Precipitation and Water Resources
(23 February - 8 March, Nagoya and Kyoto, Japan)
This course includes a series of lectures in English, practice sessions and
technical tours to in situ observation sites, national offices and
facilities concerned with precipitation and water resources.

83rd Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society
(9-13 February, California, USA)
The 83rd Annual Meeting is organized around the theme of water cycle
variability and impacts.

Introduction to River Hydrology and Hydraulics
(12-13 February, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom)
This two-day course includes descriptions of the basic hydrological and
hydraulic processes and these will be demonstrated by a number of worked
examples interspersed throughout the course.

Coming up:

World Water Day, 22 March 2003
http://www.waterday2003.org/
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the responsible UN agency
for World Water Day this year, with the theme 'Water for future'.

More events at http://www.wateryear2003.org, section 'Events Calendar'.

----------------------------------------------

Take action!

All over the world, people are taking initiatives to raise people's
awareness of water issues. Here is a short selection of actions: Get with
it! Get involved! Get inspired!

ARGENTINA - Murals contest for World Water Day
The Public Services Regulatory Body of Salta, whose mission is to regulate
and control privatized public services, is organizing a mural contest that
will be held March 22, on the occasion of World Water Day. The theme is:
'What value does water have for you?'. High school students of all secondary
schools in the province of Salta are participating in this initiative Prizes
to be awarded to the winning schools will be books on environmental issues,
and the organizers are looking for sponsors.
Contact : Lic. Daniela Chaya, Ente Regulador de los Servicios Públicos,
Ameghino N° 299
4.400 - Salta, Argentina

CANADA - A Girl Guide Badge for Water
The Girl Guides of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada have created a Year
of Freshwater Challenge. In order to receive a special Year of Freshwater
badge, the Guides are being asked to choose to complete at least 5
challenges from a list of 53. Some examples include inviting someone who
works in the water profession to speak to your unit; clean up a portion of a
river; discuss the importance of a pollution free habitat; research local
myths and legends relating to water; and learn a traditional rain dance.
Other activities being planned include a Drinking Water Week and Activities
for World Water Day.
For more information, contact: hollyheron@...

FRANCE - Water Campaign at the Cité Universitaire, Paris
A group of students living at the Cité Internationale Universitaire of
Paris, which hosts about 5,000 students from more than a hundred countries,
has just started a freshwater reduction campaign, called Le Pari de l'Eau.
This initiative aims to reduce water consumption at the Cité by 5% compared
with the previous year. A stand will be installed from the end of January in
order to make this project better known.
For more information, contact André S. Pereira: asp2000@...

LEBANON - Puppets for water
In Beirut, three mothers/amateur puppeteers show plays on different tops for
children 3 to 10. The plays are interactive and at the end of the play the
puppets have a conversation with the children to make sure they have
understood, to discuss the issues, and to explore the children's opinions.
For the International Year of Freshwater they have decided to create a new
play on Water as it is an important issue for children in their country to
understand.
For more information, contact Tamara Keldany: mnat.k@...

PORTUGAL - Participate in creating a book on water
The Information Centre for the United Nations in Portugal is calling all
Portuguese-speaking people to participate in the creation of a commemorative
book on the International Year of Freshwater. This is not a competition,
just an invitation to express yourself: send your texts or drawings on water
before the end of April, and you'll be one of the authors of the book!
For more information, visit: http://www.onuportugal.pt

You are organizing an event, a campaign, for the International Year of
Freshwater? Send us the information, and we'll announce it in SPLASH!
wateryear2003@...

------------------------------------------------

What's new on the IYFW website?

In early February, the website will also be available in French and Spanish.

Educational material

Cyberschoolbus Water Quiz
With thanks to the UN Cyberschoolbus
Hop aboard the Cyberschoolbus!. You'll take a Water Quiz that is embedded in
an agricultural setting where you can learn interesting facts about water
and the way it is used. Do you know how much freshwater there is in the
world or how much is needed to make a stack of papers or to raise a chicken?
Test your knowledge at the UN Cyberschoolbus!.

Environmental Education Kit on Desertification
With thanks to UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) programme
This educational kit on desertification was launched in collaboration with
the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
(UNCCD). It is principally targeted to teachers of primary school education
and their pupils, aged 10-12 years old. Its positive approach demonstrates
that desertification is not inevitable and that everyone, at his or her own
level, has a role to play in Earth's future.

Daffy, the water flea
With thanks to the German Society of Limnology
Daffy, the waterflea, explains - through comics - aquatic limnology. This
poster covers a wide variety of topics including the simple understanding
that waterfleas live in the water, how they live there and explanations of
results of recent and ongoing research. The aim is to get people (kids &
adults) curious about life in water. For students it is supposed to support
lessons on aquatic ecology. For scientists it is intended to add a sprinkle
of humour to aquatic sciences.

Available at http://www.wateryear2003.org, section 'Education Corner'

A multi faceted approach to water delivery in the country has been
unveiled by the Nigerian Federal Government.

Code named THE IMPROVED NATIONAL ACCESS TO WATER SUPPLY AND
SANITATION PROGRAMME it targets a water service coverage to all
Nigerians by 2011.

The target of the policy is to improve service coverage from 40 per
cent to 60 per cent in 2003 to 80 per cent in 2007 and 100 per cent
in 2011.

Major componets of the policy according to the Federal Minister of
state for Water resources Chief Precious Ngele,include: constructiuon
of two rural water points and rehabilitation of 10 rural water points
in each of the 776 local governmnets in the country; construction of
new mini water works;water scheme in each of the 109 senatorial
districts in the country; collective participation by all the three
tiers of government; and small towns water supply and sanitation
programme.

NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT INAGURATES COMMITTEE ON OPERATION AND MAITENANCE
OF WATER RESOUCES

The Federal Government of Nigeria has inaugurated a Committee to
prepare a draft policy for the operation and maintenance of water
resources infrastructure. The Committee will look into operation and
maintenance problems of water resources projects in the country,
which has resulted in poor performances below designed capacity in
water supply for domestic and agricultural purposes.

The terms of reference of the committee include:

To classify all types of water resources whose implementation fall
within the mandate of the Federal Ministry if water resources and its
parastatals; to identify the major problems associated with the
operation management and maintenance of these projects; to recommend
ways including the preparation of a policy framework for the proper
operation management and maintenance of the projects to ensure their
sustainability; to draw up a draft policy for the operation and
maintenance of water resources infrastructure; and to examine and
recommend on any issue related to the operation and maintenance of
water resources infrastructure


Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Dr.
L.C. Ibe said that at the end of the day the Committee will work
towards eliminating poor operation and maintenance culture from the
planning, design, construction and operation of Nigeria water
resources in order to make them sustainable and live their entire
life span delivering full services. Completely

KATSINA STATE COMPLETES WATER PROJECTS
The Commissioner for Water Resources and Rural Development in Katsina
State, Northern Nigeria Alhaji Abdul Idris Kusad has announced the
completion of all the World Bank assisted water projects in the State.

The four projects jointly funded by the Katsina State Government and
the World Bank are situated in Katsina, Futua, Daura and
Malunfanshi .The World Bank committed about $35.4milliom,
representing 75per cent of the project cost, and the Katsina State
Government provided a counterpart fund of N836.6million representing
25 per cent

THREE AND A HALF YEARS OF DEMOCRACY IN NIGERIA: DIVIDENDS IN THE
WATER SECTOR

By
Babatope Babalobi
Waterwatch, Nigeria
babalobi@...


Significant achievements in the management of water resources have
been recorded since Nigeria transited to democracy in May 29, 1999.
Most of these achievements are a result of projects executed by the
governmental sector. In Nigeria, the state is the biggest industry
and the dominant player in the national economy, and provides most
social services including water supply. Unlike in some other
countries, the country does not experience crises caused by the
privatisation of water resources management. This article is
therefore mainly focussed on the impact made by governmental projects
and programmes in the field of water resources management in Nigeria,
within the past three and a half years of democratic governance.

At its inception, the Federal Government of Nigeria launched a
National Water Supply and Sanitation Policy.  The Policy is to act as
a guide for the regulation of water supply and sanitation for all
stakeholders in the country.  In addition, the Policy defines the
necessary conditions and contributions for the collaboration of the
Federal Government, States, Local governments and communities on one
hand and the Governments and Private Sector participants on the other
hand. The Policy as approved by the Federal Government shares out the
capital cost of water supply and sanitation as follows:

Agency Rural Water Supply Small Town Water Supply Urban Water
Supply
Federal Government 50% 50% 30%
State Government 25% 30% 60%
Local Government 20% 15% 10%
Community 5% 5% Nil


Substantial progress was also recorded under the National Access to
Water Supply Programme, which seeks to achieve the following:
v rehabilitate ten (10) broken down handpump boreholes per
Local Government Area
v construct two new handpump boreholes in all the 774 Local
Government Areas in the country,
v provide one small town water supply (motorized boreholes with
overhead tank) and sanitation scheme in each of the 109 senatorial
districts
A total of 171 contracts lots were awarded for the construction of
motorised boreholes, though some of them have not been completed
until now.

Moreover, rehabilitation of urban water schemes nationwide with the
assistance of the World Bank was commenced and about 180 schemes were
completed. The schemes have increased supply capacity to 1.2 million
cubic metres per day and have restored access to about 10 million
beneficiaries.

Furthermore, as a result of the termination of the National Water
Rehabilitation Project, a National Urban Sector Reform project, also
with the support of the World Bank was commenced.  The programme
essentially seeks to consolidate the benefits of the National Water
Rehabilitation Project and has as its major appeal, the involvement
of the private sector at the State Water Supply agency level.

The Nigerian Government also introduced the Small Towns Water Supply
and Sanitation Pilot Project, which is meant to cater for nearly 21
million Nigerians who inhabit the nation's small towns with
population ranging between 5,000 to 20,000 inhabitants. The strategy
is to harness and mobilize private sector potential for operation and
maintenance of the water supply facility that is provided through co-
operative governance.

The World Bank is partly financing the pilot phase of the project in
four towns each in the states of Ebonyi, Katsina and Niger while the
European Commission is supporting the project in eight towns each in
Delta, Ekiti and Adamawa States. Currently, 1,145 motorized schemes
are being provided all over the country to restore and provide water
supply coverage to 4.13 million people at a cost of  N17.175 billion.

In current year, additional 2,500 schemes are being provided. The
Nigerian Government is also working with the World Bank, French
Agency for Development and the European Union to develop a sound
strategy for Small Town Water Supply that will be propagated all over
the country to ensure lasting and sustainable water supply.

Another notable programme introduced by under the present democratic
dispensation is the Water Quality Laboratories and Monitoring Network
aimed at ensuring that governments and private sector agencies supply
safe quality water to Nigerians. It involves the establishment of a
water quality-monitoring network consisting of four regional water
quality laboratories in Dadin Kowa, Minna, Akure and Enugu as well as
two reference laboratories each in Lagos and Kaduna. Two of these
laboratories have been constructed and are being equipped at present.

RIVER BASIN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITIES (RBDAs) set-up in 1977 play major
roles in water resources management in Nigeria. Generally, they
function to ensure a sustainable development of the nation's abundant
water and allied resources for multi-purpose use.

Various Water Supply schemes executed between May 1999  - 2002 by the
River Basin Development Authorities include: Water Supply Scheme (Edo
Central Senatorial District), Water Supply Scheme (Ijero, Ado-Ekiti
and Efon-Alaye), Water Supply Scheme in Cross River South (Calabar,
Odukpani, Akamkpa LGAs), Water Supply  Schemes in Akwa-Ibom South
Senatorial District (Ikot-Abasi, Uruefong/Oruko, Eket etc), Water
Supply Scheme (Bauchi Central Senatorial District), Water Supply
Scheme (Jigawa North-East Senatorial District), Water Supply Scheme
(Oshun West Senatorial District) Water Supply Scheme (Lagos
Senatorial District), the drilling of 86 nos. motorized boreholes in
(Bakolori, Dadin mahe, Tidibale, Katani etc in Sokoto State. 34nos
motorized boreholes and 10nos handpump boreholes in Alwasa, Bunza,
Waje etc. in Kebbi State. 53nos motorized boreholes in Dankama,
Jirowa, Tsani, etc in Katsina State and 22 nos motorized boreholes
and 21 nos handpump boreholes in Gima, Zurumi, Maradun, Gwashi etc.
in Zamfara, States.  Water Supply Scheme in Adamawa South Senatorial
District, Water Supply Scheme in Gombe North Senatorial District,
Mbawsi Water Project, Ogbunike Water Scheme, Share, Adio and
Alengongo Water Scheme, Elekan Water Project, Onoebum Water Scheme,
Water Supply Scheme in Benue North West Senatorial District, Water
Supply Scheme in Benue South Senatorial District, Water Supply Scheme
in Borno South and Central Senatorial Districts, Saminaka and Fadan
Karshi.

Other water supply programmes of the RBDAs include the special
intervention project for special circumstances such as the schemes at
Iruekpen, Ekpoma, Gusau, Ogwashi-Ukwu, Zangon Daura, Zobe, Enugu,
Ibusa, Abeokuta, Ijebu Ode, Ifo/Kinside/Ilaro.  Ijebu-Igbo, Biu,
University of Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Gaya, Usman Dan Fodio
University, Ishiagu and Northern Ishan where contracts were awarded
by the Nigerian Government

IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE PROGRAMMES
During the past three years, the irrigation development programme in
Nigeria revolves around The National Fadama Development Project.
Under this scheme, a network of 50 hydrological stations, 30
meteorological stations, 150 special observation wells out of which
120 were fitted with automatic water level recorders for data
collection were established.  Data retrieval and Analysis of it from
the special tube wells are being periodically carried out from the 7
pilot states of Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Jigawa, Zamfara, Sokoto and
Kebbi.  Furthermore, the Groundwater network programme in the Fadama
areas have been extended to 10 additional states of Ekiti, Ebonyi,
Cross River, Niger, Nassarawa/FCT, Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Kaduna and
Kasina.

The Federal Ministry of Water Resources in Nigeria adopted the
concept of Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) to improve the
operation and maintenance of irrigation schemes and to enhance the
financial viability of government Agencies operating the irrigation
projects.   The concept involves a joint management of public
irrigation schemes by both the farmers and the Agency.

A number of irrigation projects which were earlier completed by the
River Basin Development Authorities were routinely operated and
maintained and have been contributing  food security and  creation
of  employment opportunities.  The projects include the following:

a.  Lower Anambra - Irrigation Project (Anambra-Imo River Basin
Development Authority)
The project is located in Ayamelu LGA of Anambra State. It is a rice
irrigation project covering a total land area of 3,850 hectares.  It
also incorporates a modern rice mill.
	 b.  South Chad Irrigation Project (Phases I and 2) (Chad
Basin Development Authority)
The project is situated South of Lake Chad, 120km north east of
Maiduguri.  The project is planned for the development of 67,000
hectares of irrigable land to be undertaken in three stages.  Stage I
covers an area of 22,000 hectares with headquarters at New Marte.
Stage II is for 27,000 hectares with headquarters at Ngala while
stage III is to cover 18,000 hectares with headquarters at Baga. To
date, about 23,000 hectares have been developed in the 3 phase.
Investigations showas that work on the development of additional
413,394 hectares of irrigable land covering the entire  River Basin
Development Authorities is in steady progress. Additionally, other
irrigation schemes are at various levels of completion.  They
include:-

(c)  Middle Ogun Irrigation Project 12,000ha (Ogun-Oshun River
Basin Development Authority)
The  project covers Oyo, Ibarapa and  Iseyin Local Government Areas
of Oyo State. It involves the establishment of 12,000 hectares of
irrigation scheme to be developed in four phases.
	 (d)  Middle Rima Valley Irrigation Project (Sokoto Rima
River Basin Development Authority) - Falalia Sector (817 ha)
		 The Middle Rima Irrigation Project (Falalia Sector)
is located in Goronyo  L.G.A, Sokoto State. The project has an
entire  irrigable area of 20,000 hectares, The first phase of this
scheme (Falalia Sector)  has a capacity to irrigate 817 hectares at
Falalia and is about  68% completed.
(e)  Lower Ogun Irrigation Project 12,000 ha (Ogun-Oshun River
Basin Development Authority)
The project is located in Obafemi/Owode Local Government Area of Ogun
State.

(f)  Doma Irrigation Project 2,000 ha (Lower Benue River Basin
Development Authority)
The project is located in Doma Local Government Area of Nassarawa
State. This multipurpose project consists of a dam which has a
reservoir capacity of 37.5mcm, 8nos installed pumps, a treatment
plant of 10,000cm3/day and a total irrigable area of 2,000ha out of
which 1,600ha have been provided with sprinkler irrigation
components.  The project is aimed at developing the water resources
potential of Doma for irrigation, domestic water supply and
hydropower generation.

	 (g)  Kampe Irrigation Project 4,100ha (Lower Niger River
Basin Development Authority)
		 Kampe irrigation project is located in Omi village
near Ejiba in Yagba Local Government Area of Kogi State. It is a
gravity irrigation project covering  4,100 hectares (net) of land.
1,000 hectares of the net irrigation area..

	 (h)  Hadejia Valley Irrigation Project Phase II (Hadejia
Jama'are River Basin Development Authority)
The project is located in Kafin Hausa, Auyo and Hadejia Local
Government Areas of Jigawa State. 3,000 hectares of land has been
developed and put under irrigation activity with a resultant
production of 19,169.70 tonnes of  assorted grains valued at
x447,778.914.40. About 120,000 farm families are gainfully employed
on the project.

	 (i)  Ado-Ekiti Pilot Irrigation Project (Benin Owena River
Basin  Development Authority)
The project is located at Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti State. Contract for the
development of this 65 hectare pilot scheme was signed in February,
2001.

(j)  Ilushi-Ega-Oria Irrigation Project (Benin Owena River Basin
Development Authority)
The project is located in Edo State and lies on the bank of River
Niger at Ilushi Ega. It involves development of 5,000ha of land for
irrigation for all year round farming. Irrigation  water supply is by
direct pumping from the River Niger and irrigation method is by
gravity system. So far, 250ha have been developed out of the 400ha
designed for the pilot scheme.
(k)  Oniong-Nung Ndem Irrigation Project (Cross River Basin
Development Authority)
The project is located in Oniong Nung Ndemin, Onna Local Government
Area of Akwa-Ibom State. It aims to develop 400ha of land for
irrigation using boreholes. 25 ha of the irrigation farm have been
developed.

(l)  Tugan Kawo Irrigation Project (Upper Niger River Basin
Development Authority)
The project is located in Wushishi town in Wushishi Local Government
Area of Niger State. The project has a command area of 800 hectares
out of which about 400 hectares are currently been put under
irrigation.  However, stakeholders are of the opinion that project
requires major rehabilitation to restore it to its full design
capacity.

	 (m)  Tada - Shonga Irrigation Project (Lower Niger River
Basin Development Authority)
The project is located in the flood plains of River Niger at Shonga,
in Edu Local government area of Kwara State.  It is a lift and
gravity irrigation system and involves the construction of 21km long
flood protection dyke, canal/ field channels, installation of pumps/
generators and connection to the national grid for the irrigation of
3,200 hectares.

	 (n)  Itoikin Irrigation Project (Ogun-Oshun River Basin
Development Authority)
The Itoikin irrigation project is located at Itoikin off the Ijebu-
Ode-Ikorodu Road in Epe LGA of Lagos State.   The aim of the project
is to train local farmers in the art of growing rice under
irrigation.  The project covers a total of 315 hectares of land out
of which 141 hectares were developed into surface irrigation system.

	 (o)  Isampou Rice Irrigation Project (Niger Delta Basin
Development Authority)
The project is aimed at establishing 1200hectares of irrigated rice
farm in Isampou in Bayelsa State.
	 p.  Bakolori Irrigation Project (Sokoto Rima River Basin
Development Authority)
The project is located in Talata Mafara in Zamfara state.  It
consists of a 5.5km long Dam with a storage capacity of 450million
cubic meters, a 10.5mw standby power house, and total irrigable  area
of 23,000ha (15,000 hectares is for sprinkler irrigation and 8,000ha
for gravity irrigation).   The project is now under rehabilitation
(phase I) covering 8,000 ha under gravity and 2000 ha for conversion
from sprinkler to gravity system
	 q.  Swashi Irrigation Project (Upper Niger River Basin
Development Authority).
The project is located in Swashi town in Borgu Local Government Area
of Niger State.  It consists of two main dams (Kubli and Swashi
Diversion Dams) with storage capacities of 65mcm and 4.5mcm
respectively.  These dams are capable of irrigating 3,000 hectares of
farm land and water supply to the environs
	 r.  Jibiya Irrigation Project (Sokoto River Basin
Development Authority).
The project is located in Jibiya town of Katsina State.  It has a 3.4
km long  dam that stores 142mcm of water.  The project has a total
irrigable area of 3,400ha and the project is connected to the
national grid.  The project provides water for domestic use to 22
villages, Jibiya town and its environs.

	 s.  Kano Irrigation Project Phase I (Hadejia Jama'are
River Basin Development Authority).
The project is located in Kano State.  Phase I  involves the
construction and operations of 22,000hectares of land for irrigation
in Kano River Project, 15,000 ha of which  has been fully developed
and operational since 1983.

t.  Kiri Dam and Irrigation Project (Upper Benue River Basin
Development Authority)
Kiri Dam is located at Kiri village in Sheleng Local Government Area
of Adamawa State.  The dam has a storage capacity of 615mcm and
supplies water to Savannah Sugar Project covering 6,000 hectares.  It
is expected that the project would be expanded to cover 12,000
hectares for sugarcane production.

A number of dams and reservoirs for water supply, irrigation, flood
control and fisheries activities are being constructed around the
country. They include the following:

(a)  Owena Multipurpose Dam (Benin Owena River Basin Development
Authority)The project is in Ondo State.  It is a multipurpose dam for
both water supply to Akure town and 65 other villages in the state
and for irrigation of 500ha of land for agricultural production.

(b)  Obudu Dam (Cross River Basin Development Authority).
The dam is located in Okwei Obudu, Obudu LGA of Cross River State.
It is to improve water supply to Obudu and Obanliku LGA of Cross
River State, Tsar and Vandekiya LGA of Benue state and for irrigation
of 100 hectares of land.
(c) Kagara Dam (Upper Niger River Basin Development Authority)
The dam is situated about 4km South of Kagara town.  It is mainly for
water supply to Kagara town with a 1mgd treatment plant and is to
irrigate 1000 hectares of land.

(d)  Auna (Kontagora) Dam (Upper Niger River Basin Development
Authority)
The project is situated at Auna town near Kontagora in Magama LGA of
Niger State.  The dam is to provide water supply to the area and for
irrigation of 11,200 hectares.

(e)  Waya Dam (Upper Benue River Basin Development Authority)
Waya dam is situated in Bauchi state.  It is a medium sized earth dam
for water supply to Waya town and for irrigation of 2,000 hectares.

(f)  Jada Multipurpose Dam Project (Upper Benue River Basin
Development Authority)
This dam is located on River Mayo-Ine near Jada town in Jada LGA of
Adamawa state.  It is designed for water supply to Jada town and its
environs, generation of hydro-electric power of 5-10 mega watts and
for irrigation.
(g)  Okuku Small Earth Dam (Ogun Oshun River Basin Development
Authority)
The project is located in Okuku in Odo Otin LGA of Oshun State.  The
Earth dam is for water supply and irrigation.
(h)  Galala Dam (Hadejia Jama'are River Basin Development
Authority)
Galala Dam is located in Warji and Ningi LGAs of Bauchi state.  It is
a medium sized dam for water supply, irrigation, fisheries and
livestock development.
(i)  Small Earth Dams Naka, Bokkos Kwa, Guma (Lower Benue River
Basin Development Authority)
These small earth dams are located in Benue State.
(j)  Gurara Interbasin Water Transfer Scheme :-
The project is to augment water supply to the Federal Capital
Territory (F.C.T.), Abuja through the  construction of a large dam
and associated works in the upper reaches of Gurara River and the
conveyance of raw water through pipelines to Lower Usman Dam to meet
the projected demand of 21,000 x 106 m3 in the FCT by year 2003 and
the development of irrigation schemes.

  HYDROLOGY AND HYDROGEOLOGY ACTIVITIES
(i). 	 HYDROMETRIC NETWORK
		 Achievements in this field include establishment of a
network of primary hydrological stations nation wide. And efforts to
ensure regular collection, collation, analysis, storage and
dissemination of hydrologic data from designated primary hydrological
stations.

 			 Nigeria maintains and operates 163 Primary
Hydrological Network Stations 		 across the eight
Hydrological Areas of the country. 27 of these stations were
		 recently upgraded and re-equipped with solid state
loggers to bring them in 		 line with  WMO
specifications.

 	 (ii)  HYDRO - GEOLOGICAL MAPPING OF NIGERIA
This project is aimed at producing internationally acceptable
standard planimetric and hydrogeological map of Nigeria, which would
lead to a better understanding of the occurrence, movement,
availability and quality of groundwater in the country. By 1999, only
11 out of the 100 sheets expected to cover the entire country had
been mapped, additional sheets are yet to be mapped.

.  (iii)  GROUNDWATER MONITORING NETWORK
The project aims at providing 50 observation wells for monitoring and
charting the trend of groundwater fluctuation in order to predict
variation in storage on long and short term basis, serve as an early
warning system in case of saline water intrusion, and also used for
the continuous monitoring of the quality of groundwater. The Nigerian
Federal Government recently  commenced work on  three monitoring
wells which will be equipped with solid state loggers for monitoring
the ground water behaviour.

(iv)  IAEA - SPONSORED ISOTOPE HYDROLOGY TECHNIQUE IN WATER
RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT
This project aims at using nuclear energy (isotope techniques) to
determine the interplay of recharge to groundwater and its quality
for the purpose of sustainable water supply and irrigation
development nation-wide. The Sokoto hydrological basin has been
successfully studied at Wurno, Sokoto State (1997-2000). The Chad
Basin hydrological area is currently being investigated (2001 -
2002). Establishment of an Isotope Hydrology Laboratory in Nigeria to
facilitate similar isotope based investigation of all aquifers in the
three different ecological zone in the country is being planned by
the Government.

Conclusion
Commendable as these various initiatives in the field of water
management are, the practical effects of these projects are yet to be
felt at the grassroots, as portable  water still remains a scarce
and expensive commodity particularly for domestic use. It is however
hoped that the fruits of these policies will be reaped in the years
ahead.

By
BABATOPE BABALOBI
WaterWatch Nigeria.
www.groups.yahoo.com/group/waterwatch_nigeria
babalobi@...

if you are not interested in this mailing list you can leave by
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Moderator

NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT ANNOUCES MAJOR WATER POLICY REFORMS
The Federal Government of Nigeria gave announced several long and
short term programmes to use water resources development as a
catalyst for industrialization and the rapid integrated development
of the rural areas.

Speaking in Abuja, the nations capital recently, Minister of Water
resources Alhaji9 Muktar Shagari said its Ministry has ` embarked on
the drawing up of a WATER Vision for Nigeria as art of the review and
updating of the National Water Resources Master Plan prepared in 1995.

"We are also carrying out a water resources reform studies with the
assistance of the World Bank in order to evolve a new integrated
National water resources policy and the Management strategy. In March
2000 we embarked on the National Access to Water supply programme,
under which we drilled at least 25 boreholes in each of the 774 Local
Governments in the country. Similarly water to urban areas to boost
industrial development will be improved with the completion of the
National Water Supply rehabilitation project and the construction and
rehabilitation of dams and water conveyance schemes much as the
Guerra BASIN WATER TRANSFER SCHEMS to improve water supply to the
Nation's capital"

Alhaji Shagari said these and other programmes are being implemented
to:
v Meet the basic water need of Nigerians, by recognizing that
access to safe water and sanitation are essential to health and well
being of the people;
v To ensure adequate food production and food security
particularly for the poor through the more efficient allocation of
water for food production and increase irrigation activities; and
v To manage risks by providing security from floods, drought,
soil and gully erosion, desertification, pollution and other water
hazards

VOICES FROM NIGERIA
Voices from Nigeria are collection of Water Voices for the 3rd World
Water Forum holding in Japan next March.  Water voice messengers'
with nos. 01519 and 01584 collect these voices, which will be posted
in this egroup from time to time.

Both Water Messengers are members of Waterwatch Nigeria.


For details on the 3rd world water forum water voice project:
www.worldwaterforum.org/voice

EDUCATION AND AWARENESS
Proper awareness on the need for clean and adequate water supply and
the predisposition to agitate for it is directly related to the level
of education of the people involved. A society characterized by
widespread illiteracy, can only be expected to be bedeviled by the
scarcity of this essential commodity.

That is why in a system like ours, people have to pay a substantial
part of their earning or move long distances to source fairly good
water.

Educate the people and equip them for better living.

Respondent from Southern Nigeria.



POLLUTION
I come from the Niger Delta basin of my country. As a result of this,
the major means of survival is fishing. A lot of crude oil is mines
in this region too because it brings foreign exchange earnings to the
country. In the bid to mine this crude oil, our environment, our
rivers, are polluted with Oil. This kills the fishes and water
organisms by which we keep ourselves alive. Thereby leaving our
people without work to do and no food to eat. We need the government
to remember these are people's lives they are dealing with and save
us from the predicament of ours.

Respondent from Niger Delta area, in Southern Nigeria.



FLOODS
In my area, there are no drainage systems, so whenever rain falls, it
always hard coming in or going out. On my street especially, when
rain falls, the flood is always so much that you can't even pass
through. This has affected some houses and cars. The streets and
roads have become so bad because of these folds.

It is our cry to the government to help do drainage systems for
better living.

Female Respondent from Abule Egba, a rural area in Lagos State,
Nigeria.


WATER SCARCITY
There is scarcity of water in this community. There is no public
water supply. We are dependent on the few individuals who dig wells
in their compounds, put a pumping machine and mount a reservoir tank.
We now have to pay to them for our supply. This means a lot of money
is spent on water supply monthly.  For an already impoverished
people, this is surely an additional financial burden.

Dr B.S.Onewo,
Evangel Hospital,
Lagos.





FLOODS
In my town, we have been having the problem of flood for the past two
months. Motor vehicles are unable to pass in the area, talk less of
motorcycle or the trekkers. I personally wonder how this can happen
to my area, mostly at towns.  The Water has caused so many damages
like entering houses, and also wearing away blocks. In the area where
there is Government, I think this should not be so.

Akure, Ondo State, in Western Nigeria.



WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS
There is abundant supply of fresh water from rainfall, rivers,
streams and underground water form boreholes.  However, the problem
with water supply in this part of Nigeria and most parts is the
delivery of portable water for domestic and industrial proposes.
These problems have led to evolution of sachet water and perhaps
bottled water factories in recent years to compensate for inadequate
portable water delivery from public water corporations. Enforcement
of standards and control of these mushrooming factories for water
processing and conditioning has been a major problem for Government
regulatory agencies like the National Agency for Food and Drugs
Administration, in Nigeria.

Mr. Lai Abiola, Calabar, Cross Rive Sate, Southern Nigeria.




FLOODS, POLLUTION, WATER SYSTEMS, WATER SCARCITY, WATER AND POVERTY.

In this part of Nigeria, floods occur very often because people dump
their refuse inside water or big drainage systems. The public waste
management does little or nothing to dispose public refuse. The
refuse causes the water to be polluted. It also cause blockage of the
drainage resulting in some dirt entering people's houses. Hence
Typhoid and Malaria is endemic here.

The taps are always dry and people fetch water from flooded rivers to
drink. Tap water when present is inadequately treated.

Dr (Mrs.) Dupe Obiora,
Calabar, Southern Nigeria.



POLLUTION
Water is very important in every human life. It is essential thing of
life. We use water in our day-to-day affair and without water is dead.
Water pollution is hazardous to life. Imagine a pool or dam that gets
polluted, all the living things would be affected and take for
instance, if any one eats/feeds on any of such things, it would have
a negative effect on that person's life.

Female respondent from Lagos.



WATERAND HEALTH
I heard of the recent break of Cholera in some African countries.
What will be the possible remedy?
Lagos


  WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS
The water supply system in this part of Nigeria is quite deficient.
  Government and government related authorities responsible for the
implementation of policies relating to provision and operation of a
sound, effective, and continual water supply system are much involved
and concerned in making theoretical policies that often times are not
implemented or implement able.

Water channels are created everywhere, but the resources to harness
water from the source (dams or lakes) are not made available. So what
obtains is a good water supply network without water running through.

Mr. Sanmi Falobi, Ibadan, Nigeria. Nigeria, Western Nigeria.

DELTA STATE SPENDS $3M ON WATER SUPPLY


Delta state in South –South Nigeria has spent N3.6billion (about $3m)
on water supply projects in the last three years.

Speaking at the opening of the 16th meeting of the National Council
on Water Resources, held in Asaba, the state capital, last week, the
State Governor, Chief James Ibori said "over N733m was spent on the
provision of portable water through the State's Rural water supply
agency; N192.3m was spent on operations materials, equipments,
vehicles and drilling; and N2.7b was committed to provide water in
the urban areas of the state.'

The Governor said a total of 300 water projects were executed in the
state benefiting 250 communities in both rural and urban areas.
Following the success of the pilot solar powered water scheme, 56
solar powered water supply schemes were installed in the state. Other
projects embarked upon by the State's rural water supply agency
included the construction of 10 new motorized water schemes, and
rehabilitation of 10 motorized water schemes.

Nigeria's Minister of Water Resources, Alhaji Muhtar Shagari at the
occasion said the country's River Basin Development Authorities are
harnessing water from various dams to maintain irrigated cropping, to
fulfill the objectives of increased water coverage to the people.

JAPAN DONATES $5.8M FOR WATER SUPPLY
	 The Japanese Government, through the Japanese International
Development Agency (JIDA), is to provide aid worth $5.8m for rural
water supply and sanitation projects in Oyo State, Western Nigeria.
	 An agreement signed last week, between JIDA and the Oyo State
Government shows that 100 boreholes with hand pumps would be
constructed in villages in Oyo State; while a capacity training
programme for the appropriate management and maintenance of the
boreholes would be conducted with the support of the UNICEF.

	 STRUCTEC ORGANISES WATER EXHIBITION
	 Sructec, a Nigeria's leading water engineering company
organized a water exhibition tilted "Real technology, Real expertise"
in Lagos, last Friday. About 20 water firms participated in the one
day exhibition which show cased water related equipments such as
Pumps, drilling equipments,  compacting machines, air tools, and Site
equipments.
	 An official of Structec, Mr Mathew Ogbemudia told Waterwatch,
that the exbibition was organized to `create awareness to our various
to our various customers on the range of products"

REPORT OF THE 7TH SUMMIT MEETING OF THE HEADS OF STATES AND
GOVERNMENTS OF THE NIGER BASIN AUTHORITIES, FEBRUARY 11-15, 2002

According   to the World Water vision, a document produced by the
World Water Commission. "Every human being should have access to safe
water for drinking, appropriate sanitation and enough food and energy
at reasonable cost". Water resources and the ecosystems are under
severe threat from pollution, unsustainable use, land use changes,
climate change, and many other factors.

Conscious of the challenges poised by the World Water vision, nine
West African Head of States and Governments recently gathered in
Abuja, Nigeria `s capital city for the 7th summit of the Niger Basin
Authority (NBA) Created in 1964, the NBA is an inter-governmental
organization in the African region, with a mandate to promote
cooperation among its members to ensure integrated development in the
fields of energy, water resources, pollution, and other natural
hazards.

River Niger, Africa's seasoned longest river, has basins and
tributaries that run across the nine states that constitute the NBA.
The states are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d'ivoire, Mali,
Guinea, Niger, Nigeria, and Chad.

In a welcome address, Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo reminded
his colleagues of the need to  "judiciously manage the River Niger
for the benefit of our national economic and the prosperity of our
peoples". He also reiterated the need to keep the Niger and its
Basin "healthy, ecologically balanced as well as productive".

President Obasanjo tabled various tasks before the summit. First is
the need to evolve, harmonize and coordinate all projects initiated
by member states on the River Niger in order to ensure the viability
such projects, and avoid the hostility such projects may generate
among member states.

  "I would like to challenge our national experts to come up with
effective ideas for trans-boundary projects that will help our
peoples to up optimally and equitably utilize and share the resources
of the River Niger… we need to and we must integrate and coordinate
our      projects be it the Fom dam, the Tossaye Dam, the kandadji
dam, the Lokoja dam or the Gouthio dam… I propose that all planned
capital projects be suspended so as to allow studies be conducted on
how they can be integrated and harmonized with the interest of all
the nine members state of the NBA"

President Obasanjo also urged member states to embrace the HYDRO
NIGER project. Initiated in 1990, the Hydro Niger project is a hydro
fore casting system on the flow pattern of the river, and had helped
member's states on their drought and flood control activities. It
also provides valuable data for agricultural, hydro electrical,
navigational, and other essential developmental activities. Out of
the nine members of the NBA, only Cameroon has modernized its the
hydro Niger network.

The President urged all the members to modernize the HYDRO NIGER
network in their countries as `data collection is the foundation for
any meaningful development"


An address by Nigeria's Minister for Water resources, Alhaji Muktar
Shagari's, read at the Council of Ministers of the NBA preparatory to
the summit of the Head of states, became a reference point as it
captured in more vivid terms the travails of the Niger Basin and its
authority.

Shagari stated in his address that "unless our water resources are
well managed, the riparian states pf the Niger basin might face
serious water shortage that could cause an obstacle to socioeconomic
development, especially in the area of food production, inland
navigation and hydropower generation".

At the end of their deliberations, far-reaching decisions were
reached which will hopefully move the NBA forward. The summit
endorsed an action programme for the control of water siltation,
erosion `and aquatic plants. It set up a steering committee to
monitor the technical activities of the NBA and explore avenues for
increased cooperation between the NBA and development partners. The
committee is also expected to review the revised convention on the
creation of the NBA and ways of accelerating exchange of information
between the NBA; find ways of accelerating exchange of information
between the NBA and its member states; and work out ways of
registering new wetlands of international importance in the upper
Guinea.

In the spirit of African brotherliness and the need to network and
share experiences, a delegation of the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA)
attended the summit

The governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe own the ZRA in equal shares.
It manages the Kariba Dam, which it operates for hydropower
generation amongst other uses. In doing so, it has the responsibility
for the hydrological and environmental data collection, analysis and
information dissemination of the major part of the Zambezi River,
approximately 60% of the basin's total catchments area.

According to its Chief executive, Dr M. J. Tumbare, the ZRA
delegation was in Abuja to understand how the NBA discuss matters,
issues and resolve them; and how the NBA share its benefits and
liabilities; and indeed the natural and water resources of the Niger
River.

Babatope Babalobi with reports from Abdul Ganiyu

ABUJA,

The Federal government of Nigeria, has awarded two contracts totaling
N1.1b (about $10m) for the rehabilitation of two dams in Northern
Nigeria. The contracts are in the sum of N958m (about  $8.5m) for the
rehabilitation of Alau Dam Anxilliary Spillway in Maiduguri Borno
state, and a contract in the sum of N160m  ($1.5m) for the
rehabilitation of Tsahuwar Gwaram earth dam in Jigawa State.

The contracts   awarded to Sterling Civil Engineering Construction
Company and R.G. Construction Company, respectively, will be
completed within six months.

Nigeria's Minister of state for Water resources, Chief Precious
Ngelale said the contracts were awarded to "rehabilitate broken dams
so as to make water available for domestic, irrigation and power
generation in the country"

A separate contract worth   N215m about ($2m) has been awarded for
the siltation of Kano River,

The award of the contracts, according Chief Ngelale is to make more
land available for irrigated agriculture in Kano State, " saying that
the Federal government of Nigeria is poised to give irrigated
agriculture the needed boost so as to increase food production as
well as provide employment opportunities for teeming youths"



LAGOS.

A sum of $200m will soon be injected into the Lagos State Water
Corporation (LSWC) under the state's Private Sector Participation
(PSP) programme

Chief executive officer of the LSWC, Chief Olumuyiwa Coker said last
Thursday, that about $1.8b would be spent over the next 25 years to
refurbish, expand and provide new infrastructure to meet the demands
of the 12.5million people in the State.

-     A N N O U N C E M E N T ?
>
> The Water Media Network and 3rd World Water Forum
>
> Launch a Competition for Journalists
>
> Journalists are invited to participate in a contest to win a trip
to
Kyoto,
>
> Japan to attend the 3rd World Water Forum from March 9-16, 2003.
>
> The Forum, held every three years in different countries, was
created
to
>
> address Earth's growing water crisis, which is leading to immense
>
> problems in agriculture, industry, the environment and urban living.
>
>
>
> The contest was launched to recognize top-notch journalists from
around the
>
> world who report on global, regional and local issues, with
>
> particular focus on the management of water resources and the
provision of
>
> water and sanitation services.  Winners will receive an
>
> all-expenses-paid trip to Kyoto, Japan to report on the Forum,
attend
field
>
> visits and exhibitions and meet with government officials,
>
> water specialists and representatives from NGOs. Radio, television,
film,
>
> and internet journalists are eligible to compete.
>
>
>
> The Water Media Network is an initiative designed to help
journalists
>
> examine the social, environmental, regulatory and financial issues
>
> relating to water, and experience the difference that water can
make
to the
>
> economy in their regions. The two-year program features
>
> workshops, field visits, distance-learning courses and more. This
>
> initiative is a program of the World Water Council's 3rd World
Water
Forum
>
> and is funded by the governments of The Netherlands and Japan and
the
World
>
> Bank Institute.
>
>
>
> Journalists can compete in several open or theme-based categories,
>
> including:
>
> "A Day in the Life" -  This theme-based category will complement
the
3rd
>
> World Water Forum's Water Voice project program which
>
> seeks to gather opinions on water problems and solutions from
ordinary
>
> citizens around the world and compile them in a database.
>
> Stories should represent the citizens' "voices" about how lack of
access to
>
> water affects their daily lives.  Journalists are also invited to
>
> develop a story based on one of the more than 5,000 "water voices"
in
the
>
> database. Journalists can access stories on-line at
>
> www.worldwaterforum.org/voice or for more information contact:
>
> voice@...
>
>
>
> The other categories are "open" with a broad theme of water.
Articles
>
> should focus on either the environmental, social, financial or
>
> economic aspects of water resources management or delivery of water
and
>
> sanitation services.    The open categories are:
>
> · Print and Internet ? reporters must submit a published article
from
> newspapers, magazines, or internet sites;
> · Photo Journalism  - photo journalists must submit a printed
photographic
> essay;
> · Documentaries - filmmakers must submit one documentary or film
covering
> regional, global footage on water issues;
> · Radio Programs -  journalists must submit a radio programs,
including
> news, feature and drama programming;
> · Television News/Features ? Five minutes to 60 minute feature or
news
> stories are eligible. The story must be submitted
> either on tape, or script format.
>
>
> Entries will be judged by a panel consisting of journalists and
water
>
> specialists.   Forty winners will receive an all expenses paid trip
to
>
> Kyoto, including airfare, hotel and a daily per diem.   Journalists
will be
>
> recognized at a special ceremony at the Forum.  The deadline
>
> for application is December 15th. No late entries will be accepted.
>
> Stories can be submitted in English, French, Japanese,
>
> Portuguese and Spanish.
>
>
>
> Winners will be announced on January 15th, 2003.  For more
information and
>
> contest rules, please visit the Water Media Network
>
> web site at www.worldbank.org/wmn or contact Tracey Osborne in
Washington,
>
> DC at 1-202-473-4033, or at tosborne@....
>

• P R E S S R E L E A S E •

Secretariat of the 3rd World Water Forum 5th FL. 2-2-4 Kojimachi
Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 102-0083

Global Water Meeting Initiates Unique Online Process
to Get Public Input
10,000 Volunteers Sought to Gather Opinions Around World
(Telephone interviews are available March 5th and 6th with William
Cosgrove, Vice President of the
World Water Council, and Liliana Hisas, president of Universal
Ecological Foundation. Please call
703-820-2244 to schedule an appointment.)

In a unique program of global democracy called Water Voice Messenger,
volunteers around the world
are gathering opinions on water problems and solutions from any
citizens who lack access to water, all
of which will be sent via the Internet, fax or mail to the 3rd World
Water Forum.
"The Water Voice Messenger program gives people all over the world
the opportunity to have a direct
impact on upcoming global decisions on local, national and
international water issues," says Hideaki
Oda, Secretary General of the 3rd World Water Forum, to be held in
Kyoto, Japan, March, 2003.


  "The
website (http://www.worldwaterforum.org/voice/en/) for Water Voice
Messenger provides a gateway
to a truly democratic process. We are empowering any interested
person to gather information on water
problems and water solutions and address them directly to the policy
makers who will formulate
solutions for the Forum."


The World Water Forum, held every three years in different countries,
was created to address Earth's
growing water crisis, which is leading to immense problems in
agriculture, industry, the environment
and urban living. Some 1.2 billion people around the world lack
access to safe water. Unless action is
stepped up, the number of people without access to safe water will
increase to 2.3 billion by 2025.


2 – Water Voice Messenger press release
"We want to collect voices from not only people in small villages and
other isolated regions but also
from people who do not access the Internet," Mr. Oda says. "The
voices will be collected to be used at
our Virtual Water Forum (online discussion groups) and various
regional and international meetings,
and then the voices will reflect to the ministerial declaration at
the 3rd World Water Forum."


The Forum is seeking at least 10,000 volunteers (" Water Voice"
Messengers), each of whom is asked
to conduct interviews with different people about water issues that
directly affect their lives, make a
record of those interviews, then send them via the Internet, by fax
and by post to Forum tabulators.


Organizers of the Forum expect at least 100,000 direct observations
and fresh ideas on water problems
and water successes as seen by consumers. "People who sign up as
volunteers can make a pro-active
positive contribution for a better world," says William Cosgrove,
Vice President of the World Water
Council, which is the sponsor of the World Water Forums, contrasting
this attitude to some of the
protestors who have been disrupting international meetings in recent
years.
"I have been surprised at how powerful some of the submissions have
been," says Mr. Cosgrove. "The
entries demonstrate that many people have strong opinions about water
problems that directly affect
their lives, and on solutions that can fix those problems. They will
form a valuable base for the decisionmakers
at the 3rd World Water Forum."


Liliana Hisas, president of Fundación Ecológica Universal (Universal
Ecological Foundation), a nongovernmental
organization (NGO) based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, says the Forum
should be very
important as a way to find concrete solutions from and for
people. "We are seeing a lot of enthusiasm by
NGOs globally to participate in this Forum," Ms. Hisas says. "We
communicate with many of them, and
they feel that the Forum can make a real difference and that they
will have input into the process."

The 3rd World Water Forum is awarding monthly prizes such as tape
recorders to the best submissions
received each month. The winner in the month of January was Ms.
Adalet Budak, from WWC Thematic
Center, Ankara, Turkey. One of Ms. Budak's submissions
was: "Vegetable fields irrigated by sewage."



Water Voice Messengers who submit the best over-all entries,
according to an independent 3rd World
Water Forum panel, will be invited to Japan in 2003 to present their
findings to the Forum. People can
go to the Messenger website and read all of the submissions.
3 – Water Voice Messenger press release


Nearly 700 people have already filed submissions they have gathered
to the web page. Some answers
demonstrate detailed technical knowledge of the problems facing
villagers and city residents.
"Water is crippling the people in my village of Orissa," an Indian
man told one volunteer. "This comes
from many years of the high fluoride content in the water." The
volunteer reported that data collected
from water tanks and tube wells showed that groundwater contains 8 to
13 milligrams of fluoride per
liter (mg/l) of water, versus the World Health Organization (WHO)
limit of 1.5 mg/l.
"Since the high content of fluoride in water adversely affects the
blood and bone joints, most of the
villagers of this region are suffering from floursis disease (which
disrupts the synthesis of collagen and
leads to the breakdown of collagen in bone, tendon, muscle, skin,
cartilage, lungs, kidney and trachea)
and are being crippled by muscular atrophy of the limbs. Others are
struggling with head myalgia
(generalized muscle pain often accompanied by influenza or other
viral illness)," the volunteer reports.

"I feel uneasy giving a child tap water, because it is polluted with
a chemical substance," says a
Japanese housewife who lives in Hyogo Prefecture. "Once you have a
child, contamination of tap water
is a worry. It is not only the chlorine smell. It is because I have
heard that neither residual agricultural
chemicals nor the fluorescence agent of synthetic detergent could be
removed completely in a water
purification plant. When I had my baby, in order to make milk, I
purchased bottled water. Although my
child now eats the same thing as his parents, and he also now drinks
tap water, I don't know if it is
harmless, and it is a concern."


A government inspector in the Eastern European country of Belarus
expressed concern over what a pig
farm was doing to the environment: "I know of a pig complex that
consists of 80,000 pigs. It discharges
100 tons of solid manure and 700 tons of polluted water daily into
the environment. That polluted water
flows to sewage tanks, but the tanks are regularly overloaded and
discharges into the Berezina River."
"These messages are extremely valuable in demonstrating how aware
people are about water, from
college professors to rural villagers," says Mr. Cosgrove. "They also
personalize problems that water
experts may not be aware of, whether in villages or in big cities."
"This is how both the volunteers and the people who speak to them can
have a major effect," Mr. Oda
adds. "For example, 'water voices' that focus on pollution issues,
both their problems and solutions, will
be collated and directed to sessions that deal with pollution, while
those opinions that center on city
water issues will be channeled to urban sessions, and so on. In this
way, the water voices will have a
4 – Water Voice Messenger press release
direct line of communication to the various planning process that
create proposals for the 3rd World
Water Forum."


The 3rd World Water Forum will highlight actions being taken to
implement solutions to global water
problems. Some 8,000 government officials, representatives of
international organizations such as the
World Bank, and UN organizations such as UNESCO and UNEP along with
water experts, nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) and the media are expected to attend the 2003
meeting.


The initial "water voices" returned to the Forum have demonstrated
high levels of desperation on water
issues in both cities and villages in developing countries, and in
some developed countries as well.
"The most devastating truth is that arsenic poisoning in our water
supply [in Bangladesh] has no
effective treatment. Each day, several arsenic-poisoned people are
dying in rural areas," said a professor
in Bangladesh. "In the early days [after independence], the
Bangladesh Government and the UNICEF
launched a program to install thousands of tube wells throughout the
country to procure safe drinking
water.At that time, the ground water was not tested systematicallY for arsenic
and for the last 20-30
years water from shallow aquifers was extensively used for drinking
water in rural areas," the professor
explained. "By 1993, it was found that, the ground water in the
northern districts of Bangladesh is highly
contaminated by highly soluble arsenic It is estimated that about 36
million people are consuming water
with high arsenic content (above .05 mg/l)."

The professor called on the Water Forum to aid his country. "This
problem needs international help to
save millions of lives and hence I think World Water Forum should get
focused in this problem."
"At the present time, water problems occurring around the world
constitute a global issue, threatening
the very existence of human beings and, in fact, the entire
ecosystem," the Forum's website says. "We,
the present generation, should shoulder the responsibility for
addressing these issues and finding
sustainable solutions. We cannot pass the burden on to the next
generation."



Another professor, this time in Indonesia, wanted the Forum to know
that the construction of three large
dams has led to severe pollution of the local river: "There are three
major dams along the Citarum River
(in West Java, Indonesia), namely the Saguling (finished in 1986),
Cirata (1988) and Jatiluhur (1966).
However, since 1980, especially during the dry season, this river has
them heavily polluted by domestic
and industrial wastewater, and this condition has gradually hampered
the function of the Saguling as a
source of energy, domestic, and fishery water."



5 – Water Voice Messenger press release
Some respondents are happy enough just to have water piped into their
homes, not expecting it to be
safe to drink without treatment.
"The water situation in our area is good," reports a woman in Dar es
Salaam, capital of Tanzania. "We
get enough tap water for domestic and gardening purposes. I usually
boil drinking water in order to be
safe from various diseases such as typhoid and diarrhea. I do this
because the water quality is not
guaranteed. Apart from the quality aspect, there is not any other
problem."
In one rural area of the same African country of Tanzania, a male
farmer reports that less than half the
people even have access to water, safe or not.


"The water supply is adequate only for about 45 percent of the total
population living in the rural areas
of Magu District, in Mwanza, Tanzania," the farmer says. "The
situation during the dry season becomes
very difficult where the people are forced to travel about 8 to10
kilometers (4.5-to-6 miles) to look for
drinking water. The water supply in urban areas is a little better
where at least 54 percent of the
population is accessible to piped water supply. All the water supply
to the population is not safe for
drinking. You need to boil it before drinking it. The major
constraint is capital to finance
improvements."
Yet a young woman from Dar es Salaam, from a middle class family,
reports that no water problems
exist for her: "I usually get water anytime I want because there is
water full time and my family can
afford to pay the bills. There are no water problems here because the
tap water which we use is clean
and safe."
"These three examples from Tanzania reflect a pattern of water
problems that exist in many developing
countries," says Mr. Cosgrove. "In cities, the wealthy and middle
class have access to a good water
system that supplies safe water, while many urban poor are not
connected, having to pay 10 times or
even 100 times more for water that is not treated in any way. Rural
people have even more trouble,
reflected in the need to walk many miles to reach a water supply."
Some responses demonstrate acute awareness by young people that they
are inheriting a damaged world.
"The way in which we treated our beautiful waters is not very
pleasant and is destroying Mother
Nature," says a male student in Speighstown, Barbados. "Have you ever
seen the river channel of
Speighstown? You'll see it is full of sweepings and it's green and
putrid. We must do something,
6 – Water Voice Messenger press release
because we are damaging our island and ourselves. This does not show
anything well of us. It means
that we did not worry about us, about our families, about our country
or about people who live in
Barbados."
A professor from another Caribbean island nation, Trinidad and
Tobago, warns about pollution from the
oil industry: "We can find polluting agents related to the activities
of oil industry in the mud and the
water, which comes from the transport ships or the oil storage
tanks," the professor says. "They are toxic
for the fish, plankton and the mangrove forest."
An Indian man laments the unplanned urbanization that has destroyed
two rivers he once drank from:
"Shillong, a picturesque hill resort and the capital city of
Meghalaya state in northeastern India, is
drained by two rivers, namely, Umkhrah and Umshirpi. They once had
sparkling clear water that could
be drunk straight from the stream without any treatment. Sadly
enough, unplanned urbanization
accompanied by the cropping up of slums along the stream banks have
now degraded their water quality
so much that in most places, their water is unfit for human use. The
water has high chemical content,
and is contaminated with fecal coli bacteria. Thus, a lack of human
concern has poisoned and strangled
these once beautiful 'songs of nature.'"
Forum staff members are cataloguing all entries and will direct
submissions towards the appropriate
working groups that are preparing sessions for the World Water Forum.
As a Brazilian student says: "A
global effort dealing with water issues is necessary. Water is a very
critical subject. People in general are
very irresponsible when dealing with water matters. The way to solve
water problems is education and
awareness.

  Many important measures are being taken by the government
and private companies together
with the population in order to reduce devastation in the southeast
of Brazil. This kind of action is very
helpful and it would be great if it can be duplicated around the
world. The Water would give us thanks."
* * *




For the 3rd World Water Forum, go to http://www.worldwaterforum.org.
For World Water Council, visit
http://www.worldwatercouncil.org The Forum's e-mail address:
office@...)

EFFECTIVE WATER GOVERNANCE


Peter Rogers and Alan W Hall
Revised August 20, 2002

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preamble


I What is Governance?

II Governance of Water

III Achieving Effective Water Governance

IV Some Concluding Remarks



TABLES
REFERENCES



PREAMBLE
Water has to be allocated, and allocating scarce water is intensely
political.  Governance is about effectively implementing politically
achieved allocations.  Governance generally involves mediating
behaviour via values, norms, and where possible by laws.  The goal of
this paper is to present a coherent discussion of water governance,
and show how it relates to water management and development.  The
concept of governance of course encompasses laws, regulations, and
institutions but it also relates to government policies and actions,
to domestic and international market forces and private sector and to
civil society.  These in turn are affected by the political systems
within which they function.   National sovereignty or political
ideology may have a strong impact on attempts to change governance
arrangements, as is the case for land and water rights or corruption.
Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) demands a new framework
within which there may be a need for significant changes in existing
interactions between politics, laws, regulations, institutions, civil
society, and the consumer-voter. The capacity to make these changes
depends therefore on changes in governance.


This paper is aimed at water professionals who increasingly need to
be familiar with issues of governance as they strive to work outside
the water box. Governance is much debated but is probably not
familiar to the water community, the paper thus sets out in Section I
the present thinking on governance. It does not profess to be an
exhaustive analysis and does not address the wider areas of `good
governance' such as democracy, electoral systems and sovereignty.  In
Section II the particular aspects of water governance are addressed
and this covers both the management of water as a natural resource
and the use of water for social or productive purposes. Part II gives
some ideas on how to achieve effective water governance and does not
pretend to be exhaustive. Indeed, the purpose of this paper is to
stimulate more practical ideas.  The Section III provides examples of
actions underway and suggestions for future action.


This paper has been developed  by the GWP as part of the Dialogue on
Effective Water Governance. It draws on work carried out with the
Inter-American Development Bank and the United Nations Development
Programme. Help for drafting this paper came from many quarters, in
particular Margaret Catley-Carlson, Miguel Solanes, Ivan Cheret and
Laura Piriz provided valuable guidance. We would also like to
acknowledge contributions and comments from Tony Allan, Sonia Davila,
Luis Garcia, Nighisty Ghezae, Meike van Ginneken, Fernando Gonzalez,
Torkil Jonch-Clausen, Ben Lamoree, Peter Lydon, Jerry Priscolli,
Diego Rodriguez, Chiranjeevi Shrestha and Hakan Tropp among others.
The responsibility for the contents of the paper remains, however,
with the authors.
I.     What is Governance?

Governance is the exercise of economic, political and administrative
authority to manage a country's affairs at all levels...it comprises
the mechanisms, processes and institutions through which citizens and
groups articulate their interests, exercise their legal rights, meet
their obligations and mediate their differences. (UNDP)

Water governance refers to the range of political, social, economic
and administrative systems that are in place to develop and manage
water resources, and the delivery of water services, at different
levels of society. (GWP, January 2002)

To achieve more effective water governance it is necessary to create
an enabling environment which facilitates efficient private and
public sector initiatives.  Governance relates to the broad social
system of governing, which includes, but is not restricted to, the
narrower perspective of government as the main decision-making
political entity. There is no single definition of governance and
different approaches may be followed. Some may see governance as
essentially preoccupied with questions of financial accountability
and administrative efficiency. Others may focus on broader political
concerns related to democracy, human rights and participatory
processes. There are also those who look at governance with a focus
on the match and mismatch between the politico-administrative system
and the ecological system or in terms of operation and management of
services.

Governance covers the manner in which allocative politics are
exercised in the management of resources (natural, economic, and
social) and broadly embraces the formal and informal institutions  by
which authority is exercised.  The new term for discussing this
combination of formal and informal institutions is distributed
governance, which is discussed later.  As stated above there is a
profoundly political element to governance, which involves balancing
various interests, and political realities that must be taken into
account.

Although politics may set the agenda, the priorities and the vision,
people need governance systems that give the political vision
credibility and ownership. Finally, management structures must be
established to run things and carry out the day-to-day tasks.


Governance as an enforcement mechanism
The need for collective action, and hence the organisation of
government, stems from the realisation that without collective
enforcement of institutions, such as property rights, the anarchy
which is likely to result would only serve to consign human life to
one of nastiness, brutishness and, ultimately, short-termism.  In a
world inhabited by imperfect people, collective organisation is
required to balance the positive and negative aspects and
prevent `bad' people from doing harm as much as enabling `good'
people to do good (noting, of course, that the `good' and `bad'
people may be at different times the same people).

The existence of government, however, is itself not sufficient to
assure the delivery and maintenance of the public good. If it is
assumed that the players of the `game of politics' are the same as
their fellow human beings, in terms of being self-seeking and
opportunistic, thus constraints are required (either electoral,
constitutional, legal or other) to ensure that the political process
is not used for exploitative purposes.

Who is really in charge: models of Government systems
Governance can take many different forms depending on the cultural
and traditional political norms of a country and the behaviour of
legislatures and legislators.  In some countries politicians and the
bureaucracy bargain over legislation and the focus is typically at
the executive branch, with the elected legislature hardly in the
picture.  In other countries the behaviour of parliamentarians is
critical with the focus on the elected assembly. To understand
democratic political behaviour is to understand that parliamentarians
are "single-minded seekers of re-election".  Their goals are to
improve the welfare of their constituents in the shortest possible
time frame in order to ensure their re-election. This emphasises the
need for robust governance systems to capture the benefits and avoid
the dangers of such short-term interests.  Legislators can only deal
with limited information and they deal with this by specialising in a
particular and limited area; in other domains they take their cues
from other sources of information (agencies, colleagues, networks,
committee reports, etc) that they have learned to trust.

One of the key elements of governance is to create a framework
(institutional and administrative) within which strangers or people
with different interests can peacefully discuss and agree to co-
operate and co-ordinate their actions.  Some form of binding
arbitration is needed to break irreconcilable differences and this
would ultimately reside in government and the judicial system or
within the UN and multi-lateral agreements at the international level.

Good Governance matters
Governance matters a great deal for economic, social and
environmental outcomes. Some necessary conditions for good governance
are inclusiveness, accountability, participation, transparency,
predictability and responsiveness. When the governing system does not
fulfil these conditions we talk in terms of poor governance. Poor
governance leads to increased political and social risk,
institutional failure and rigidity and a deterioration in the
capacity to cope with shared problems. Of course, governance systems
should facilitate action and not create an obstacle to development.
Getting the right balance is a source of constant debate and an
ongoing process that will be continually changing over time.

Social analysts have shown that there is a strong causal relationship
between better governance and better development outcomes such as
higher per capita incomes, lower infant mortality and higher
literacy. Poverty reduction is enhanced by a stable and just social
order founded on clear institutional rules and effective and
equitable markets. Effective governance is thus essential to poverty
reduction and can help the poor to help themselves.  Poor governance
is a barrier to development and hurts the poor through both economic
and non-economic channels, making them more vulnerable and unable to
adapt to changes. As a result, markets will be weak and distorted
thus holding back growth and employment opportunities. Structural and
institutional reforms are needed to turn poor governance into more
effective governance; including measures such as creating
accountability in the use of public funds, building national capacity
for better policy formulation, implementation, and enforcement
mechanisms. It includes making decision-making and implementation
more inclusive processes where civil society and the private sector
have clear roles to play with shared responsibilities on the basis of
public-private partnerships. The division of labour between the
different actors and the sharing of responsibilities are all part of
the same process, that of defining the governing system.


The state and society

For many years the question has been "can the state steer society?"
Governance in the past dealt with how the state steered society and
the economy through political brokerage, defining goals, fiscal
measures, making priorities etc.  In most developing countries,
however, which typically have a strong society and a weak state, this
remains the dominant model, increasing the risk of resource
mismanagement and financial bad practice.

The question currently posed is "can society co-ordinate and manage
itself?" This is the essence of distributed governance.  It looks at
co-ordination and the various forms of formal and informal types of
state/society interactions and the role of civil society  and policy
networks. This is more society-centred and less `statist', with
governance systems providing the power balance. Today, in many
developed countries, government no longer exercises a monopoly on the
orchestration of governance.

At the beginning of the 21st century, we are thus searching for
coherence and accountability in the maze of organisations within
national (and international) political systems. However, many of
today's institutions and government systems were developed in the
19th century to supervise states with much more limited functions
than today.  The developing countries face particular problems as
they often have layers of systems – some indigenous and others
imported. It is not expected that developing countries can or even
should adopt the same systems as industrialised countries but there
are basic principles for effective governance that they need to adopt
in their own way. The state may need to act quickly to develop the
essential infrastructure for development and cannot wait for
the `ideal' governance systems to be established. Nevertheless, any
development should be done hand in hand with governance reforms that
will help to make the development sustainable. Care should be taken,
however, not to further weaken the weak state.

The real reins of power – from hierarchies to devolution
The historical context of governance varies in time and space. In
Europe and North America, for example, industry and capital
investment backed by a strong state have been the dominant background
forces that have shaped governance systems. However, the traditional
bases of political power have been eroded in the last 20 years or so
and the institutional strength of the State is being challenged. Some
recent changes in society have facilitated this weakening of the
central state. Some of these changes (there are others) include:
· fiscal crises within the state (limitations on raising
taxes),
· the globalisation process, including deregulation of
financial markets and volatility of capital that weakens the state's
ability to govern/control the economy,
· technological advances that facilitate networking and
subsidiarity,
· a more assertive sub-national democracy in cities or semi-
autonomous regions,
· excessive workload and responsibilities on smaller government
bureaucracies, and
· large concentrations of people and political power in urban
areas.

Hierarchical governance: Part of modernisation is generally seen as
the evolution of political systems from top-down, hierarchical
government systems with centralised institutional settings, to more
decentralised administrative forms. There is no evidence that more
decentralised systems are necessarily more effective than centralised
ones.  The real test here is, "what works in the particular setting."
There is, however, a perceived ever-widening gap between those
countries that have managed to move toward subsidiarity – or the
performance of functions at the lowest effective level - and those
that remain centralised and stagnant. The forces for change listed
above have an even greater impact in poorer countries as expectations
rise for a better quality of life. There is a growing dissatisfaction
with ineffective but costly state machinery, lack of vision or
leadership, weak financial discipline and political dictates
crippling administrative functions. With respect to distributed
governance rich and poor countries are generally growing apart. More
mechanisms exist in developed countries to establish the required new
governance systems than is the case in most of the less developed
countries.  There is a great urgency for countries to establish their
own governance systems learning from, but not imitating,
inappropriate models from the richer countries with their different
historical and cultural backgrounds.

Market-led governance: With the end of the cold war in the closing
decades of the 20th Century, the market was proposed by many in the
western countries as the solution to economic growth, social equity
and environmental problems. This led to deregulation and more
involvement of the private sector and a changed role for the civil
service and civil society. This institutional restructuring of the
State aimed to reduce government command and control functions with
more individualism (fewer collective solutions) and private
enterprise and the market as the superior resource allocation
mechanisms. This market-led governance model is the immediate
background in which we now examine governance with respect to water
resources management and the delivery of water services.

Today the honeymoon with the laissez-faire market-led model is over
and questions are being asked. It is considered by many to be too
simplistic (hierarchies may not work well but markets do not
necessarily work well either in all situations) and not
representative of wider societal values. More people are examining
what new instruments and new forms of exchange between State and
society can be developed to ensure political control and societal
support. From this examination, propositions for management in
partnership, co-management and co-governance, and distributed
governance, have developed.

Distributed governance: As discussed above, at the beginning of the
new millennium the State's role of "directing" or "steering" society
is being challenged by cohesive local networks (civil society,
private sector) and global networks (international organisations and
NGOs) with these same entities also supporting the State in its aims
to develop society. This gives a dynamic relationship between
different social forces. Many politicians (mainly in the West) see
the State increasingly as part of the problem rather than the
solution. There are more calls for a return to smaller government,
reversing the post second world war ideology of a strong and
hierarchical central state caring for its citizens. The State no
longer believes it can solve societal problems acting alone,
particularly socio-environmental ones and the private sector alone
cannot address the problems of the poor and the environment. The
command and control or hierarchical model and the market-led
governance models are both thus much weakened.

Clearly modern governance sees formal authority being supplemented by
an increasing reliance on informal authority; for example, through
genuine public-private co-ordination and co-operation to the benefit
of both of these as well as the customer/citizen. (Organisations such
as the GWP and international NGOs such as Transparency International
are examples of such co-operative networks). The state thus needs to
adapt to a new situation and distributed governance is an
institutional response to the changed environment. Distributed
governance is thus the empirical manifestations of state adaptation
to its external environment. It is the conceptual representation of
the co-ordination of social systems and specifically the role of the
State in that process.

Establishing modern governance systems
Modern governance can be about how to maintain some "steering"
capacity in a world full of external (and internal) societal
independence.  Establishing national legal regulations (the rules of
the game) becomes increasingly complex as society becomes full of
informal institutions. This leads to a proliferation of rules that
can undermine the rule of law as a result of the scale, complexity
and cost of the legal system itself and its inability to enforce
laws. In many developing countries extra-legal informal activities
flourish as the only alternative to the stultifying state
bureaucracies.
Overcoming corruption is clearly an important aspect of governance.
Until recently it has not been possible to openly discuss this
problem which is rife throughout the world and applies equally to the
public and private sector.  The law can, for example, address the
problem of corruption but it is a heavy and expensive instrument, a
measure of last resort, as it is difficult and costly to bring people
to court. With distributed governance, more open competition, more
accountable public administrations and more transparent processes may
address the problems of corruption.  There are many measures that can
be used without recourse to law, including, reduced public sector
intervention in the economy, reform of public administrations,
liberalisation and reduced bureaucracy and fair pay for workers can
help to reduce the temptation for corruption. Regulators and
watchdogs, such as some NGOs, a strong independent media, and self
governance (for example, corporate social responsibility, codes of
conduct etc) can produce social sanctions that will deter all but the
most unscrupulous from corruption.

Similarly, there has been a proliferation of non-accountable civil
society and non-governmental organisations that call for action from
a narrow platform but have no responsibility for the consequences of
the actions they propose.  The governance vacuum left by the weakness
of legitimate local government has been filled by often well-meaning
but non-accountable organisations.

Governments are too often caught up in contradictory roles, being at
once provider of services and the guaranteed source of accountability
for those services.  Local government is often absent or weak and
civil society organisations have no legal base.  A key element of
effective governance is thus institutional reform (affecting both
state and social institutions) in order to devolve as many functions
of the state as possible to society and democratising as many as
possible of the organisations in civil society. This means could mean
a move towards a society with limited government and a politicised
(and voluntary) civil society; thus moving from top-down
bureaucracies to constitutionally ordered democratically self-
governing associations.  The Dublin principles  manifestly reflect
this concept of distributed governance.

Governance systems must be established that overcome the legitimacy
and accountability problems of marketisation.  This can be through
the establishment of self-governing rules and networks so there are
independent checks and balances.  However, western governance is
often founded on a social fabric of equitable sharing and strong
public watchdogs that may not be readily transferred to developing
countries. Governance systems balance power and priorities.
Government may "decide" how to structure society with incentives
(e.g. budgets using money as a motivation). But they need to take
into account internal and external pressures including civil society
aspirations and priorities, internationally agreed conventions or
declarations, decentralisation and regional co-operation as well as
donor priorities (for poorer countries), macro policy (finance and
planning) and short-term political priorities.

Establishing effective governance systems has been a key aspect of
development co-operation for many years and all major donors and
development banks as well as private investors increasingly take
account of governance when assessing the efficiency and effectiveness
of their investments. The fact that private investors are prepared to
pay companies (for example, the Economist Intelligence Unit) for
governance information illustrates the importance of governance to
their decisions.  The process is, however, slow and can lead to
resentment to the interference in national sovereignty as it is
usually centred on the highest political level.  Focusing governance
issues at the sectoral level may be more practical and manageable and
could lead to wider governance advantages.


II.  The Governance of Water

Since the Dublin conference in 1992, significant international goals
have been set that relate to water governance.  At the 2000 World
Water Forum in The Hague, the GWP Framework for Action stated that
the water crisis is often a crisis of governance, and identified
making water governance effective as one of the highest priorities
for action.  The 2000 Hague Ministerial Declaration reinforced this
view and called for governing water wisely to ensure good governance,
so that the involvement of the public and the interests of all
stakeholders are included in the management of water resources. At
the UN 2000 Millennium Assembly, Heads of State emphasised
conservation and stewardship in protecting our common environment and
especially to stop the unsustainable exploitation of water resources,
by developing water management strategies at the regional, national
and local levels, which promote both equitable access and adequate
supplies.  Finally, at the Bonn 2001 Freshwater Conference the
ministers recommended action in three areas, with water governance as
the most important. They proposed that each country should have in
place applicable arrangements for the governance of water affairs at
all levels and, where appropriate, accelerate water sector reforms.

What is water governance about?

The term "water governance" needs to be carefully defined as it may
not be readily understood and may be used in different ways. It is
also important to identify the attributes that make water
governance "effective".   The Global Water Partnership defines water
governance as follows:

Water governance refers to the range of political, social, economic
and administrative systems that are in place to develop and manage
water resources, and the delivery of water services, at different
levels of society.

The notion of governance for water includes the ability to design
public policies which are socially accepted and mobilize social
resources in support of them.  Water policy and the process for its
formulation must have as its goal the sustainable development of
water resources, and to make its implementation effective, the key
actors/stakeholders must be involved in the process.   Governance
aspects overlap with technical and economic aspects of water, but
governance points us to the political and administrative elements of
solving a problem or exploiting an opportunity.  Governance of water
is a subset of the more general issue of the creation of physical and
institutional infrastructure and of the still more general issue of
social co-operation. Governance is a more inclusive concept than
government per se; it embraces the relationship between a society and
its government.

Water governance is concerned with those political, social and
economic organisations and institutions (and their relationships),
which are important for water development and management. Given the
complexities of water use within society, developing, allocating and
managing it equitably and efficiently and ensuring environmental
sustainability requires that the disparate voices are heard and
respected in decisions over common waters. Water governance is
concerned with the functions, balances and structures internal to the
water sector  (internal governance).  It includes the framing of
social agreements on property rights and the structure to administer
and enforce them known as the law.  Influences also come from civil
society and from the "current" government and these latter are all
considered parts of the external governance of water, which will be
discussed later.  Although issues can arise for water governance from
the economic and technical spheres, in most countries the driving
force is politics. Effective governance of water resources and water
service delivery will require the combined commitment of governments
and various groups in civil society, particularly at local/community
levels, as well as the private sector.

Water governance principles and legal bases

The Dublin Water Principles (1992) bring water resources firmly under
the state's function of clarifying and maintaining a system of
property rights, and through the principle of management at the
lowest feasible level asserts the relevance of meaningful
decentralisation.  There is increasing pressure to recognise and
formalise water rights and this is happening in many countries.
Formalising rights raises complex questions about the plurality of
claims and the balancing of the distribution of benefits among the
social groups.  The process of formalisation is often biased in
favour of the rich and powerful who may abuse the system and capture
rights.  Informal `rights', as defined locally with their historical
rules and principles, are equally important and improper
formalisation may lead to conflict between the formal and
traditional. The formalisation of rights may therefore be neither
necessary nor sufficient to secure access to water resources.  The
capacity to defend rights against competing claimants is essential
for the rights to be meaningful, whether they are formal or informal.
An important matter is to what extent the processes of devolving
water rights serve segments of a population, or its entirety.


Water law varies widely
The theoretical bases of governance with regard to water are a subset
of theories of collective behaviour.  Unfortunately, no one simple
theory explains every situation.   There is often a marked difference
between the philosophical Continental European and Latin American
approaches and the pragmatic US-Anglo Saxon schools of thought.  A
relatively clear original demarcation of property rights and
experimentation with these rights over time has led the US to
flexible approaches to water governance.  This approach allows for
adjustments when economic and social conditions change, because it
does not aspire to build institutions that cover all possible
eventualities.  There are also systems which are hybrids of the Civil
law (philosophical, descended from Roman law) and Common law
(pragmatic, from Britain) approaches, as well as systems with other
ancient roots, such as those of the pre-Colombian Americas, India and
Islamic countries.

There are also systems of social rights and responsibilities which
remain traditional and uncodified, and are not necessarily less
strong because they are manifested in cultural expectations rather
than written rules. A social perception of equitable sharing is
important to governance. The notion of flexibility and equitable
sharing is, however, alien to many countries whose governance systems
are rigid and do not allow for `reasonableness'.  Adaptive capability
is often not present and without enforceable sanctions, poor
governance systems favour the strong. This makes it very difficult
and even dangerous to translate practices based on flexibility and
pragmatism into many developing country governance environments,
unless the prevailing social system can provide adequate sanction
against miscreants.

Water Law is about property rights
The state has an important role to play through its core function of
defining property and use rights and responsibilities.  In modern
pluralistic democratic societies, the foundation of the state rests
upon the publicisation  (the term for the shift from the private to
the public sphere) of the costly monitoring and policing needed to
protect productive assets from being redistributed to intruding
claimants.  Without this policing, called the law, systems of
property would never have advanced beyond appropriative behaviour
backed by force.  Discussions of water rights usually focus upon the
rights of the property right holder and ignore the contingent
responsibilities which that holder has with regard to others in
society who do not share the rights. These obligations need to be
stressed in any discussion of governance.
Examples of different property rights regimes, with their associated
rights and obligations, include:
• Open Access Property
There is no defined group of users or owners and the benefits are
available to anyone.  Individuals have both privilege (the ability to
act without regard to the interests of others) and no right (the
incapacity to affect the actions of others) with respect to use rates
and maintenance of the asset.  This applies particularly where the
common resource is plentiful, and the distributive and management
issues of scarcity have not arisen.
• Common Pool Property
The management group (the owners) has a right to exclude non-members
and non-members have a duty to abide by the exclusion.  Individual
members of the management group have both rights and duties with
respect to use rates and maintenance of the property
· Private Property
Individuals have the right to undertake socially acceptable uses and
a duty to refrain from socially unacceptable uses.  Other (non-
owners) have a duty to allow socially acceptable uses and a right to
expect that only socially acceptable uses will occur.
• State Property
Individuals have a duty to observe use and access rules determined by
the controlling agency of the state.

In most countries water is state property. However, water property
rights often  start out as an open access property which is initially
appropriated by a group and becomes a common pool property resource.
Ultimately the state tends to appropriate these rights from the
common pool resource ownership group to create state property.   The
State is then faced with the problem of how to deploy the resource to
the national advantage. The key to water governance at the beginning
of the 21st century is how, through politics, states can achieve this
fairly and equitably, without reducing incentives for efficient use
of the resource.

Water information networks consultation, and policy reform
As mentioned earlier, one of the key tasks of governance is to create
a framework (institutional and administrative) within which strangers
or people with different interests can peacefully discuss and agree
to co-operate and co-ordinate their actions. This framework should
also reduce the transaction costs of pursuing effective water
management.  Therefore, information networks (or partnerships) are
important and may function in conditions where other governing
structures do not. Information networks work best when the following
conditions apply and combine .

· Actors need reliable information
· Quality is difficult to define and measure
· Commodity is difficult to price
· Professional discretion and expertise are core values
· Flexibility to meet localised and varied service demands is
needed
· Cross-sector multi-agency co-operation and production is
required
· Co-operation confronts disparate organisational cultures
· Actors perceive the value of co-operative strategies
· Long-term relationships are needed to reduce uncertainty
· Monitoring and evaluation incur high political and
administrative costs
· Implementation involves haggling


Water fits almost all of these conditions and provides a good example
of where human networks of concerned groups (e.g. government, private
sector and civil society) may work better than either hierarchies or
markets alone.

When proposing changes to water governance systems, it is important
to understand and distinguish between the different functional levels
in water management: operational, organisational and constitutional.
The first focuses on the use or control of water for specific
purposes to fulfil specific needs. There are always a plethora of
operational enterprises covering domestic water supply, hydropower,
tourism, irrigation etc and they can be in public or private hands.
The organisational level co-ordinates and reduces conflict between
these competing enterprises, administers the rules and polices water
use and the users in a water system. This function resides within the
public sector – and includes for example river basin authorities and
regulatory bodies – the latter should be autonomous if they are  to
act impartially. Finally, the constitutional function creates the
enabling environment within which the other functions operate. It
sets the policies and legislation, taking into account external
governance and political imperatives. In many countries such
functions are unclear and often governments may be unable or
unwilling to exercise their responsibilities.  In this case ad hoc
arrangements at local government or community level are often
established. These are vulnerable as they may lack any formal basis
and can be adversely affected by vested interests or by central
government policies and laws. A participatory and consultative
approach when reforming water governance systems can help to
strengthen local government and bring the positive aspects of such
arrangements into the formal system and reduce vulnerability.

New forms of water governance
Hydro-geographical boundaries – the river basin – often provide
opportunities for modern governance networks. A basin is a closed
region where there are incentives for people to come to an agreement
on governance systems with water as the focus. Although basins cut
across formal jurisdictional boundaries and thus local government and
other government entities do not necessarily work together, the basin
society (a river basin agency or commission) could require them to do
so. The basin society may thus have specific governing capacities and
needs. National governments acting alone cannot allocate water in a
basin properly, as they are unlikely to appreciate local interests or
priorities. Government should, however, provide the rules and
regulations and establish a framework for local people to meet. (For
example, the basin community has a "footprint" such as in the
Catchment Management Agencies in South Africa and the River Basin
Agencies in France etc).

Individuals or groups of individuals usually share water resources as
a common pool resource. When that water is used, people are connected
in a socio-political, economic and ecological sense. For example,
when a user appropriates the resource (e.g. extracts water from a
well) and when he provides for the resource (e.g. restores a wetland
or recycles water) his or her action can lead to poorer or better
outcomes, for himself and others. In a common pool, actions of this
type influence those sharing the resource regardless of the property
regime under which the resource is held. From this perspective the
outcome of water as a system is the result of a combination of
actions taken under mixed property regimes, in other words its
governance is distributed.

Water laws and regulation of water utilities are key instruments that
have been discussed at length and provide many examples of weak
governance.  The introduction of laws is a political process.
Similarly, the implementation of laws has many implications that
relate to political polarisation of society.  Often good legal and
institutional instruments have not worked, as a result of a weak or
inappropriate external governance system. For example, the flexible,
pragmatic approach common to the USA does not suit the cultural
environment in most developing countries.  A common problem is that
of weak regulation of utility providers. For example, when strong
private water utility owners negotiate provisions (such as guaranteed
returns, fixed exchange rates and interest rates, etc) which could
easily wipe out the benefits of private sector involvement to the
public, they dampen incentives to manage efficiently. This leads to
disillusion and suspicion of private sector involvement in service
deliveries.  Similarly, public utility owners are often manipulated
by governments and can be cash cows leaving them weak and under
funded. Strong regulation is thus essential for both public and
private utilities with a clear definition of the respective duties of
the regulator and operator.

Lower water use, lower conflict levels
Demand for water can be reduced voluntarily by using many different
technical, social, and economic tools.  Essentially, this means that
the consumer will change his or her consumption preferences.
Regulatory instruments involving permits, restrictions, and
allocations to various users and uses can also reduce water demand.

It is obvious that the water crises are due to an increase in demand
and reducing that demand would help greatly even though there would
still be problems of existing levels of resource conflicts and
environmental degradation.   For example, total water demand in the
USA has declined from a high in 1980, despite large increases in
wealth and population.  This means that maintaining aquatic
environmental quality is getting progressively easier.  In this case
direct water pricing policies have not brought about this decline.
It appears to be largely due to external factors such as  higher
energy costs and mandated energy efficiency improvements to domestic
and commercial water appliances and decline in the value of irrigated
crops. Specific water policy measures such as effluent limitations on
wastewater discharges and enforcement of federal in-stream water
requirements for ecosystem maintenance have also had a significant
impact.  It is worth noting how public pressure, followed by policy
change, acted as a driver for technological innovation to achieve
water savings.  Each person reduced their water use, and overall,
this has made a big difference in water use in USA.

An important matter is to what extent the processes of  publicisation
and devolution of water rights serve segments of a population, or its
entirety.  The issue of Private Sector Participation (PSP) for water
services has recently become a contentious issue. From a governance
point of view, however, the nature of the supplier is less relevant
than the nature of the protection of poor consumers.  Both public and
private suppliers by their pricing policies can either include or
exclude the poorer section of the population.

Many questions can be posed about the viability of any of the
property rights regimes based upon the collective endowment of
individual players. Conceptually it should be a short step from
successful collective action at the group level on common pool or
common property resources (CPR) to being able to achieve consensus on
public policies to govern state property at a national or state
level.  Unfortunately, achieving this in any society leads to winners
and losers.  The mechanisms to compensate the losers are quite
difficult to implement in a pluralistic society, particularly when
the losers are already disadvantaged groups, or not numerically or
politically strong.  This is a juncture where political action in
favour of the poor must be undertaken.

The politics of water governance are typically the sociological
factors (structures, institutions, etc) that lie outside the
provision of water and reflect the more general political make up of
the country; the water institution's setting.  For a water resources
manager or water service provider politics is certainly part of his
or her governance domain, but is usually not considered directly
relevant to their actions.

Governance failures
An underlying theme of social science literature is that all
governing structures `fail' and all markets and hierarchies have
their limitations and also `fail'. More effective governance regimes
or systems need to be designed/created to overcome government
failure, market failure and system failure or a combination of these.
For example, water is not a simple economic good, it is sometimes a
public good sometimes a private good and often lies somewhere in
between.  Its development can lead to natural monopolies, and it
presents major economic and physical externalities, etc.

These failures are listed in Table 1. They are inherent in most
countries and have to be addressed.  The Global Water Partnership
(GWP) has prepared a ToolBox for IWRM (2001) that includes a range of
instruments that can be used to address governance failures.
Institutional and communication gaps are likely to be the most
difficult. An empirical examination of how to overcome the problems
caused by market, government and system failures is essential for
each specific setting if effective water governance is to be
achieved.  There are failures that cannot be easily addressed by
water sector professionals as they lay outside the water domain: for
example, national institutional structures that impede political
vision, poor mechanisms for inter-sectoral dialogue, coping with
unpriced assets and public goods such as flood control and drought
management.  The water community nevertheless needs to understand
such external governance constraints and engage with non-water
organisations to seek solutions.

Governance external to the water sector
Water governance can draw strength from the governance structures
obtaining in other sectors in the country, for example through the
stabilisation of property rights, broad rules and laws.   Certain
more general Californian state laws for example aided the creation of
Californian groundwater basins.  The political changes in South
Africa facilitated significant changes to water laws and the
accession of Eastern European countries to the European Union has
acted as a spur to improved water governance.  Conversely, if the
service provider succeeds, it can also validate and strengthen the
politics that made it possible. There are several examples of water
governance influencing external governance. The best known of these
is perhaps the co-operative water development in Holland in the early
part of the 20th century which was an important part of nation
building for the modern Dutch welfare state.

It is not surprising that water service providers feel the impact of
external governance on their own internal governance.  It is not
uncommon for services to be paralysed by political interference and
conflict.  Indeed, external governance may prevent new forms of
service provision coming into existence, either through ignorance or
vested interests.  In extreme circumstances this has even extended to
the involvement of organised crime in undermining public water supply
providers.  Many interventions from the external governance sphere
could be constraining, but others could be supportive, integrative
and helpful in the longer run. A nested view of governance tells us
that authority, or political capital developed entirely outside the
water sector, can be brought to bear within water affairs, for the
good or for the ill of the service provider or resource manager.
Therefore, a favourable or at least neutral external setting is
critical for the success of a water service provider.

A useful development of interest group theory is the use of regime
theory and public choices about outcomes as the criterion for
analysing the probable regimes under which type of political regime
may flourish. Table 2 shows schematically how this can work.  The
distribution of both the benefits and the costs of a particular
action by the state, depending upon whether the benefits (and the
costs) are concentrated on a few recipients or widely disbursed
throughout the economy, can predict what type of political regime is
likely to dominate. For example, when Garcia (1999) stated that the
problem with water governance in Latin America was the "tendency to
privatise the benefits and socialise the costs," he was referring to
the upper right hand box in Table 2.  Under this distribution of
benefits and costs, one would expect Client Politics to dominate the
outcomes.  This may be a reasonable outcome given the fact that more
acceptable regimes when both the benefits and the costs are widely
diffused, then Majoritarian Politics will hold sway which could lead
to inertia. When the benefits and the costs are highly concentrated
Interest Group Politics will be at its most intense.  Depending upon
the relative strengths of the impacted and benefited groups the may
be a deadlock in action or a political see-saw going back and forth
between the parties.



III. Achieving effective water governance

Judith Tendler  noted that we know a lot more about what constitutes
bad government than we do about achieving good government.  Her case
studies tend to question some conventional nostrums and
preconceptions of how governance should be and drive us back to a
close functional analysis of each individual case.  Maass and
Anderson (1978) provide in-depth analyses of the development of the
governance of irrigation since the 15th century in Valencia, Murcia,
and Alicante in Spain.  In all of these empirical studies the authors
found strong evidence to support the notion that, despite a wide
range of property rights regimes, user groups could develop into
sustainable institutions over many years (centuries in the case of
the Spanish irrigation property rights sharing systems).
Essentially, there is a possibility of identifying a level of
centralisation and decentralisation and regulation to produce
effective water governance. Whilst empirical evidence suggests there
can be no dogmatic solutions it would be helpful to establish some
universal attributes that make water governance effective in
practice.

New ideas about water governance
There is a growing perception that the governance of water resources
and water services functions more effectively with an open social
structure which enable broader participation by civil society,
private enterprises and the media, all networking to support and
influence government. Moreover, examining the role of networks or
distributed governance helps to overcome the sterile debate about
private versus public water service delivery and the role of the
community. The goal of creating a proper governance system gives the
debate a more practical focus. The role of civil society and NGOs in
water management and service delivery also becomes clearer as
government regulation facilitates local self-governance.

It is important that in designing effective governance system
transaction costs are not unduly increased and action is not stifled.
There will always be trade-offs and it is important to get the right
balance for each situation rather then seeking the ideal system.  In
the developed north governance systems are often unwieldy and can
frustrate development but the mature nature of society demands this
level of governance.  In poorer countries governance systems must not
impose too many restrictions on action otherwise the provision of
basic needs for the poor will be impeded. Too often well meaning
demands to improve governance can be a brake on development. The
economic and social transactions costs of governance may be quite
large and care should be taken to ensure that they are within reason
and they should be carefully monitored.

In seeking to apply water governance it is preferable to avoid the
terms "good" or "poor" governance, as they are value-laden and imply
a universal standard.  There is no single model of effective water
governance, indeed to be effective governance systems must fit the
social, economic and cultural particularities of each country.
Nevertheless, there are some basic principles or attributes that are
considered essential for effective water governance:

Principles for Effective Governance

Approaches

· Open and Transparent: Institutions should work in an open
manner. They should use language that is accessible and
understandable for the general public. This is of particular
importance in order to improve their confidence in complex
institutions.  In addition to being open, good governance requires
that all policy decisions are transparent so that both insiders and
outsiders can easily follow the steps taken in the policy
formulation.  This is particularly important with regard to financial
transactions, which should discourage suspicious or illegal
transactions.

· Inclusive and Communicative: The quality, relevance and
effectiveness of government policies depend on ensuring wide
participation throughout the policy chain - from conception to
implementation. Improved participation is likely to create more
confidence in the end result and in the Institutions which deliver
policies. Participation crucially depends on all levels of government
following an inclusive approach when developing and implementing
policies. All men and women should have a voice, either directly or
through legitimate intermediate institutions that represent their
interests. Such broad participation is built on freedom of
association and speech, as well as capacities to participate
constructively. Transparency and accountability is built on the free
flow of information. Governance institutions and systems need to
communicate among the actors and stakeholders in very direct ways.
Correctly done, this will lead civil society to be socialised into
governance over a wide range of issues.  Governance in the water
sector can be used as an education model for all other sectors and
vice-versa.

· Coherent and Integrative: Policies and action must be
coherent. The need for coherence in governance is increasing as the
range of tasks has grown; and so has diversity; challenges such as
climate and demographic change cross the boundaries of the sectoral
policies on which the government has been built; regional and local
authorities are increasingly involved in water policies. Coherence
requires political leadership and a strong responsibility on the part
of the institutions to ensure a consistent approach within a complex
system. Water governance should enhance the effectiveness of
Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).  The institutions will
have to consider all uses and users within the traditional water
sector and also their interconnections with and impacts upon all
other potential users and sectors. Effective water governance
mediates differing interests to reach a broad consensus on what is in
the group's best interests.

· Equitable and Ethical: All men and women should have
opportunities to improve or maintain their well-being. Equity between
and among the various interest groups, stakeholders, and consumer-
voters needs to carefully monitored throughout the process of policy
development and implementation.  It is essential that the penalties
for malfeasance be, and be seen to be, equitably applied. Above all,
water governance has to be strongly based upon the ethical principles
of the society in which it functions and based on the rule of law.
This manifests itself most strongly in the issue of justice, property
rights for use, access, and ownership of water. Legal frameworks
should be fair and enforced impartially.

Performance and Operation

· Accountable: Roles in the legislative and executive processes
need to be clear. Each of the institutions must explain and take
responsibility for what it does. But there is also a need for greater
clarity and responsibility from all those involved in developing and
implementing policy at any level. The "rules of the game" need to be
clearly spelled out, as should the consequences for violation of the
rules, and have built-in arbitration enforcing mechanisms to ensure
that satisfactory solutions can still be reached when seemingly
irreconcilable conflicts arise among the stakeholders. Decision-
makers in government, the private sector and civil society
organizations are accountable to the public, as well as to
institutional stakeholders. This accountability differs depending on
the organization and whether the decision is internal or external to
an organization.

· Efficient:  Classical economic theory demands efficiency in
terms of economic efficiency, but there are also concepts of
political, social, and environmental efficiency which need to be
balanced against simple economic efficiency.  It is also essential
that governance systems do not impede action, for example, minimising
transaction costs will go along way toward political efficiency.

· Responsive and Sustainable: Policies must deliver what is
needed on the basis of demand, clear objectives, an evaluation of
future impact and, where available, of past experience.
Responsiveness also requires policies to be implemented in a
proportionate manner and on taking decisions at the most appropriate
level.  Most importantly, the policies should be incentive-based.
This will ensure that there is a clear social or economic gain
achievable by following the policy. The institutions should also be
built with an eye toward long-term sustainability. Water governance
must serve future as well as present users of water services.

Using Integrated Water Resources Management tools
Integrated water resources management (IWRM) is defined by GWP as
a process which promotes the co-ordinated development and management
of water, land and related resources, in order to maximise the
resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without
compromising the sustainability of vital eco-systems (GWP, 2000).
The IWRM approach eschews politics and the traditional fragmented and
sectoral approach to water and makes a clear distinction between
resource management and the water service delivery functions. It
should be borne in mind, however, that IWRM is itself a political
process because it deals with re-allocating water, the allocation of
financial resources, and the implementation of environmental goals.
There is a general agreement in the water community that IWRM
provides the only viable way forward for sustainable water use and
management – although there are no universal solutions or blueprints
and there is much debate on how to put the process into practice.
Moreover, IWRM is not applied in a vacuum and the broader picture, as
described by governance, provides the context in which the IWRM
approach can be applied.  As for every other development process, the
internal governance and external political will must exist and the
broader system must be in place for conducive economic, legal or
other instruments to be effective.  The political context, however,
affects political will and also political feasibility. Much more work
remains to be done to establish effective water governance regimes
that will enable IWRM to be applied. This applies equally to the
management of water resources and the delivery of water services.

To establish effective water governance systems and put IWRM into
practice there is a range of tools available to policy makers and
practitioners as described in a large range of literature. As
mentioned earlier, the GWP ToolBox for Integrated Water Resources
Management (GWP, 2001)  brings together an array of over 50 tools and
references that can be used by practitioners and is supported by
experiences from around the world.

Different countries will need to identify which tools or instruments
are most important and appropriate given their specific
circumstances. The instruments that have been receiving the most
attention in Latin America, for example, are those addressed to
market failure.  A major emphasis in the Chilean water reforms (see
Box 1 below) has been on the correct pricing of the water resource to
reflect opportunity costs over and above the tariff. Similar attempts
are underway in Costa Rica and Ecuador where downstream users pay the
watershed owners and managers for watershed services.

Some Case Studies
The case studies presented carry some important governance messages.
Chile (Box 1) has been a world leader in water governance, and as
such has had few examples to follow.  The external governance of the
Chilean experience is instructive since there was a major commitment
to development based on an export-oriented open economy.  Water just
had to follow suit.  Many mistakes with openness, transparency,
participation, and ecosystem concerns were made in the hurry to get
effective water markets established.  However, the system is adaptive
and now these concerns are being addressed 20 years after the initial
laws were passed.  20 years is a very small time span with respect to
water policy and governance; it took the US almost 200 years to
finally build in participation and ecosystem concerns into its water
governance.

Agriculture remains the highest water user in many countries and
there have been few attempts at reform to make water use more
efficient because so many farmers (in civil society) make their
social/livelihood needs very evident. Governments typically have
neither the will nor the resources to oppose the rural political
imperatives.  The consequences of this for the water sector are
major.  This is perhaps the least advanced sub-sector. In both
developed and developing countries the sub-sector has strong vested
interests and weak governance systems. A determined attempt to
address the many governance issues in the south is well overdue. The
Mexican case (Box 2) shows how a formerly strictly hierarchical
government irrigation agency can decentralise decision-making and
devolve power down to the level of farmer's groups with water rights
and management of publicly owned irrigation systems transferred to
Water Users Organisations (WUO) on almost 3 million ha. Although this
covers only a part of the irrigated area – and the most sophisticated
areas - it is an important step towards decentralisation. By taking a
purely sectoral approach, some opportunities for more efficient water
uses have been overlooked.  However, this has been an important step
towards decentralisation and provides a stepping stone to greater
reform. As we have stated developing effective governance systems is
a long-term iterative process.

The case of Lake Peipsi (Box 3) is a good example of using IWRM tools
in managing transboundary waters and shows how political will and co-
operative approaches can lead to sustainable water resources
management.  It also demonstrates the difficulty of involving local
civil society in sensitive political discourse. The first and
clearest lesson is that States and governments are likely to get into
serious political and social difficulties if they ignore the ideas of
participation and openness.  The value of distributed governance is
demonstrated, although the barriers to change in many countries
indicate that this will evolve slowly over many years.

The Lake Peipsi case also highlights the specific issue of water
governance related to the use of  shared waters between nation
states.  This raises special governance problems that cannot be
adequately covered here and too often it is force that dictates
decisions and actions.  However, increasingly there are international
laws and bilateral treaties that refer to water use and resource
management.  Most of the international treaties refer to river
navigation between two countries, but there are some bilateral and
multilateral treaties dealing with water quantities and quality in
transboundary rivers.   However, the UN Convention on the Law of the
Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses is the only
comprehensive international legal framework for guiding transboundary
water conflicts.  The Convention consists of a set of guidelines to
encourage bilateral and multilateral co-ordination without
sanctions.  To date it has been ratified by only 11 countries.
Although the pace of negotiation is slow, there are many more
countries in the world that are seeking to solve transboundary water
conflicts in their regions. The recent progress with the Nile Waters
Initiative is an example of a patient governance dialogue.

The introduction of private utility companies to provide domestic
water services has raised considerable concern with some NGOs, public
sector unions and others.  Too often the debate is ideological and
misses the point.  Private sector companies have taken on
responsibility for management (but not ownership) of services from
weak, poorly funded public utilities in several large cities in
developed and developing countries.  The results have been mixed,
usually showing good economic outcomes and improved distribution to a
wider group of citizens. However, one lesson is clear. Without the
necessary governance framework any transfer of management of
utilities to the private sector will be fraught with problems and
even the successes can be easily destroyed.  Too often the
performance of the private sector operator is overshadowed by the
poor governance structures that exist in society.  Moreover, the
process for appointing private operators has to be transparent and
governments need to get the support of the user-consumer.  In
Cochabamba, Bolivia , for example corrupt officials, poor contracts
and the lack of transparency resulted in a fiasco that has put back
the introduction of private utility providing services and probably
condemned the local people to a continuing saga of inadequate water
services possibly for decades.   This was a governance failure and
similar failures are common throughout the developing world whether
the service provider is public or private.  The introduction of
private operators needs to be carried out by taking account of the
attributes for effective water governance (as given above).


IV Some Concluding Remarks
Water management experiences in developed countries evolved over many
years, even centuries, with a sequence of actions to meet specific
pressures.  Developing countries are facing, simultaneously, the same
pressing development issues but without the luxury of a gradual
sequencing of actions.

We started with a review of the conceptual and empirical foundations
of effective water governance before developing some principles and
examining some cases.  What we have found is that while there are
many different schools of thought concerning theory, the practice
will vary depending on the external environment, developed countries
moving towards flexibility and distributed governance systems whilst
developing countries are characterised by rigidity and hierarchical
and light governance systems. We have noted that both internal and
external governance is critical to water resources development and
management and IWRM cannot be applied effectively if the political
and external governance systems are not conducive.

The water crisis requires nations to act now and they cannot afford
to postpone sustainability goals or follow the sequencing of concerns
seen in earlier historical cases.  Under present conditions
sustainability and development are not separable.  Apart from the
severity of the crisis that many countries face, the most efficient
moment to build sustainability into a water system is in the early
stages of its planning and design.

Governments face considerable stress from the weight of critical
water problems. It is important that governments appreciate that they
cannot solve these problems working alone. Working with civil society
and NGOs where relevant, and with the market (especially the local
private sector), although less orderly and structured, is the only
way forward. Governance systems must permit all stakeholders actively
to engage and solve the growing water problems. Simultaneity of
problems does not allow governments to remain entrenched in the old
hierarchical governance systems. Moreover, it is incumbent on the
international circle of experienced water managers to provide
practical help to those facing intensely stressful situations by
shaping and espousing the principles of IWRM, so that they make long
term prudence actually achievable in present real-world circumstances.

Some general observations about effective water governance based upon
this paper are:
• External environment: Governance depends to a large extent on
the underlying political and cultural conditions as well as economic
factors and there is no one prescribed approach to governance that
will work in all cases. The role of governance mechanisms outside of
the water sector is critical to the success of water governance
within the sector.
• Partnerships: Whilst distributed governance and the need to
involve civil society and the private sector is promoted, the key
role of government  and public sector workers is recognised as
critical for the proper stewardship of water as a common pool
resource. The role of government in sponsoring civil society can be
pivotal in good outcomes.
• Stress: The development of water governance in the developed
world was typically driven by internal forces (economy, population,
declining resources, political pressures).  The developing world is
experiencing external pressures from donors, and international NGOs
in addition to the same internal pressures as the developed
countries.
• Sequencing:  Institutions, laws, and management systems
develop slowly and adapt to often rapidly changing environmental
conditions.
• Simultaneity:  The current rapid pace of economic, social,
and environmental change threatens to overwhelm the capacity of
developing countries to develop laws, institutions, etc. at a more
measured pace.
• Sustainability: Because of the simultaneity of pressing
development issues, nations must resist the temptation to follow the
sequencing of concerns as happened historically in the North.  Under
present conditions sustainability and economic development cannot be
seen as separable.
The question remains how water governance can continue to address the
age-old problems of access to water given the present water crisis
and the complex nature of the water sector.

Actions for improving water governance
To achieve more effective water governance it is necessary to create
an enabling environment which facilitates efficient private and
public sector initiatives.  This requires a strong and autonomous
regulatory regime which allows clear transactions between
stakeholders in a climate of trust in addition to shared
responsibility for safeguarding water resources whose management
affects many people but at present is the responsibility of none. GWP
actions  to make water governance effective include:
§ Raising political will to overcome obstacles to change
§ Putting integrated water resources management (IWRM) into
practice
§ Reforming and developing water institutions
§ Realigning financial and economic practices

Even with sufficient political will many officials are unsure how to
react to the water crisis and there is a need to build trust between
different stakeholders and politicians at different levels of
authority. Effective water governance is about encouraging the
politics of inclusion, the participation of society in management and
meeting demands on high standards and consensus and functioning water
institutions. National and local level dialogue is needed to build
such distributed governance systems.

During 2002 the GWP, in partnership with the United Nations
Development (UNDP) and the International Council for Environmental
Initiatives (ICLEI) and others, is running a series of dialogues on
water governance all over the world.  It is the intention that
this "Dialogue on Effective Water Governance" be adopted by the UN
World Summit on Sustainable Development as a Type II implementation
partnership.  The World Bank and Netherlands government are
investigating means to improve governance of the water utility
sector.  A specific initiative that addresses many water governance
issues is the Business Partners for Development. This programme
brings together public, private and civil society actors to help
communities implement their own development activities and have
examined for example regulatory issues for each partner.  The GWP
Central American partnership have discussed water governance with the
National Legislative Assembly in Costa Rica that has led to a process
for multi-stakeholder involvement in the drafting of new water laws.

More decentralisation is needed in water governance along with a
stronger central role in IWRM.  This should lead to a clear
demarcation of roles and responsibilities at different levels agreed
and understood by all parties inside and outside of government. This
should include community level involvement (especially important for
local environment/development conflicts, property rights, equity and
literacy issues): Local government and municipal levels often have
deep knowledge of local affairs but are often weak and can be by-
passed by central authorities. Clear priorities are the involvement
of the non-traditional players - strengthening local water
associations, efficient and effective public water resource
management and building capacity of stakeholders - and ensuring
attractive working conditions that keep them in the sector and in the
country.

Encouraging a water-oriented civil society is one way to encourage
voluntary water conservation and intelligent responses to classical
regulatory and economic instruments.  Creating such "basin societies"
also creates local watchdogs that can both monitor and support
government actions and policies or help to regulate public-private
arrangements to overcome some of the institutional weaknesses
mentioned in this paper. Involving civil society in a constructive
manner also makes the resolution of water conflicts more amenable to
arbitration and final settlement.

Finally, it is acknowledged that development in poorer countries is
dependent on infrastructure and innovative technological development.
Establishing effective water governance systems is complementary to,
not instead of, this and provides the environment that ensures the
investment in physical works is appropriate, long lasting and
effective. It is also recognised that governance requires change,
which is often resisted, and by its nature it involves political
debate.  Achieving effective water governance cannot be undertaken
hastily using blueprints imported from overseas it needs to be
developed to suit local conditions with the benefit of lessons
learned from all over the world.


Table 1: IWRM TOOLS ADDRESSING GOVERNANCE FAILURES
Governance failures IWRM tools
· Failure to correct market distortions· Inappropriate price
regulation· Perverse subsidies to resource users and polluters·
	 Inappropriate tax incentives and credits· The existence
of upstream downstream externalities (environmental, economic and
social) C7 Economic instruments, A3 financial regimes
· Over-regulation or under-regulation · Conflicting
regulatory regimes· No independence and impartiality of the
organisms of regulation· Provision of water services are
natural monopolies C6 Regulation, B2 capacity in institutions
· Short-sightedness· Voter ignorance and imperfect
information· Special interest effects, including political
weaknesses and vested interests C8 Information, C4 awareness raising
· Little entrepreneurial incentives for internal efficiency
	 A3 role of the private sector
· Imprecise reflection of consumer preferences
· The inability of the government to control and regulate the
sustainable use of water· The non-payment of services linked to
water· Bureaucratic obstacles or inertia· Lack of an overall
responsible authority B1 Institutional framework
· The lack of effective knowledge of the resource, the demands
imposed on the it and the current uses that are made of it C1
Water resource assessment, planning
· Ill defined property rights, unclear ownership· Absence of or
inappropriate legislation · Unclear ownership of property rights
	 A2 Law
· Ignorance and uncertainty about water markets, droughts,
floods, etc, leading to inability to set prices correctly C2
Water resource assessment, risk assessment
Note: The IWRM tools and references are from the GWP ToolBox for
IWRM, 2001.



Table 2: FRAMING REGIMES THROUGH PUBLIC CHOICE THEORY


	 Distribution of Costs of State Intervention
		 Concentrated Diffused
Distribution of Benefits of State Intervention Concentrated
	 INTEREST GROUP POLITICS CLIENT POLITICS
		 Organised lobby activity: high but contradictory
	 Organised lobby activity: high but one-sided
		 Expected outcome: deadlock, compromise, policy see-saw
	 Expected outcome: stable capture
	 Diffused ENTREPRENEURIAL POLITICS MAJORITARIAN
POLITICS
		 Organised lobby activity: low unless `policy
entrepreneur' intervenes Organised lobby activity: low
		 Expected outcome: Inertia bias, may be offset by
entrepreneur activity Expected outcome: Inertia bias except after
calamity





Water Resource Management Reforms in Chile

The Chilean approach to water resources development and management
and the basis for much of the well-known Chilean reform programme is
outlined in the Water Code of 1981. This acknowledges that water is a
factor of production in many sectors and must be transferable like
any other economic input; It acknowledges the inappropriateness of
linking a mobile, flow resource (water) to an immobile, stock
resource (land) and the importance of separating water rights from
land rights. It treats water rights as any other property rights,
allowing for leases and sales between willing buyers and sellers.
The Directorates of Water, of irrigation and of planning of the
Ministry of Public Works define water management policies, assign
water rights, perform hydrological studies and monitoring, and
construct the major irrigation infrastructure.
The reforms were carried out in the context of the successful export-
oriented, market-based approach to economic development that Chile
has followed since the 1970s.  The role of the private sector in
hydropower development also had a large impact on water policies.
The reform programme is generally considered a success, but there are
significant resource management problems which the Government of
Chile recognises and has started addressing. Conflicts have included
consumptive uses and non-consumptive uses not anticipated in the
initial assignment of rights, concerns for environment are not
adequately addressed in the current system.  As scarcity becomes more
widespread, there is a need to regularise and formalise traditional
water rights, greater attention to the economic management of
groundwater and management of the conjunctive use of ground and
surface waters, and improve the administrative and judicial system
for dealing with water disputes. The Chile experience demonstrates
that IWRM is a dynamic and iterative process and needs to be
constantly refined.

This was prompted by policies set out in the National Development
Plan (1989-94). The National Water Plan (1975) provided the legal
basis for water resources management and development and a new
National Water Law was established in 1992 to supersede the Federal
Water Law of 1972.  A National Water Commission (CAN) was created in
1989 as an Apex body responsible for the administration of water
within watersheds and for providing technical support to 32 state
offices. "Hydro-social" units were created, called módulos, and
farmers willing to organise themselves to operate, maintain and
manage the módulo have to form a non-profit organisation (Asociación
Civil). The modulos are thus legally established Water User
Organisations and are entitled to collect and administer the water
fees received from users. At a district level, the WUOs may form an
organisation (Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada de Interés Público
(SRL)) to operate and maintain main canals, large drains, roads,
etc.
The reforms were driven by external governance factors including the
membership of  NAFTA that forced efficiency improvements in irrigated
agriculture to compete with US and Canadian agro-products. This also
coincided with a period of rapid economic and social change in Mexico
with major political upheavals in the traditional governing party.
To date the outcomes have been positive with water fees paid by water
users up from 18% (in 1988) to 80% of O&M. Water distribution
efficiency rose by 8% to 65%. There has been a general reduction in
O&M costs with transfer due to better use of equipment and machinery,
and a reduction in personnel of more than 50%. Some 80% of farmers
surveyed in four irrigation districts stated that transfer had
improved water management. 45% claimed that the fees were high, but
most users believed that communication between stakeholders was
acceptable. Although some WUOs endure financial difficulties in times
of water shortages or heavy rainfall most have achieved financial
self-sufficiency. Although it is too soon to make a definite
evaluation of the reforms and there are still many difficulties, it
does demonstrate that even a complex transfer within a formerly
highly centralised government-owned system can be achieved in a
relatively short time of about 10 years.


Managing Transboundary Waters in the Lake Peipsi/Chudskoe Basin
Following the break-up of the Soviet Union Lake Peipsi became a
shared water body and new mechanisms were needed for its management.
The environmental quality of Lake Peipsi has been deteriorating for
the past fifty years. Political changes and the need for economic co-
operation of the lake (for fishing, transport, etc) has stimulated
transboundary co-operation following IWRM principles. Lake
Peipsi/Chudskoe is situated on the border between Estonia and Russia.
The catchment is shared by Russia, Estonia and Latvia.  Lake Peipsi
has unique natural characteristics – it is shallow, eutrophic and
biologically productive, with substantial fish resources and wetlands
of international importance (Ramsar site).  About 1 million people
live in the catchment.  In 1997, five years after the border between
Estonia and Russia was re-established, the riparian governments
signed an Agreement on the Protection and Sustainable Use of
Transboundary Water Bodies.  An intergovernmental commission was
established to co-ordinate the implementation of this agreement.
Along with the existing formal framework for co-operation in the Lake
Peipsi region, a network of regional and local authorities,
universities, NGOs and businesses is emerging, providing a good basis
for implementing IWRM principles in this region. The Lake
Peipsi/Chudskoe experience illustrates the importance of riparian
countries having the political will to implement changes; the
importance of the development of formal frameworks for co-operation
to implement policies relating to water resources;
The importance of international financial and technical assistance to
implement national policies dealing with water resources as well as
intergovernmental transboundary water agreements; the role of
research and educational projects in generating a water knowledge
base and developing capacity;
In practice, the effective involvement of civil society was found to
be difficult. Even though formal mechanisms for developing co-
operation between stakeholders were set up, only a few regional NGOs
are actually involved in the work of the Transboundary Water
Commission. The capacity of most local NGOs and stakeholder groups is
low and external financial support is necessary to improve this
situation. . Practical issues (different working languages, different
norms) hindered co-operative activities Co-operation over Lake Peipsi
demonstrates how integrated water resource management tools can be
applied to transboundary waters shared by countries in transition. It
illustrates how a range of tools need to be used together to
incorporate IWRM principles into managing the transboundary waters of
the Lake Peipsi Basin. In addition, it demonstrates that developing
co-operative approaches to water management enables the ecologically
sustainable use of natural resources while improving the social and
economic conditions and quality of life of people in the region. A
distributive governance system is emerging that is a good basis for
implementing integrated water resource management principles in the
lake basin.



Bibliography



Finnegan, William, Letter from Bolivia : Leasing the Rain, New
Yorker, April 8, 2002, pp. 43-53.

	 Garcia, Luis E. Institutional Framework for Integrated Water
Resources Management in Latin America: Some Experiences from the
Inter-American Development Bank, International Water Resources
Association, Proceedings of the IWRA Policy and Institutions
Workshop, Salvador Bahía, Brazil, September 3-7, 2000.

Global Water Partnership, Toolbox for IWRM, GWP, 2001.

Maass, Arthur, and Raymond L. Anderson, …and the Desert Shall
Rejoice, MIT Press, 1978.

Tendler, Judith, Good Government in the Tropics, Johns Hopkins Press,
1997.

WATER FACTS

Source: www.waterdome.net


70-90% the amount of fresh water used to grow crops in developing
countries

50 liters the water needed per person to meet daily needs

3000 liters the amount of water traditionally needed to grow one kilo
of rice

58 kilos the average amount of rice eaten by each person every year

50% the reduction in water use targeted by Future Harvest researchers

550 liters the amount of water needed produce enough flour for one
loaf of bread [400grams]

1500 liters the approximate amount of water used to produce
100grams of beef in a developing country

7000 liters the approximate amount of water used to produce
100 grams of beef in a developed country

25% the portion of India's harvest threatened by unsustainable
groundwater use

WSSD: Scramble for Africa's 'water mines'

By Kingsley Obom-Egbulem
Johannesburg, South Africa

Attention at the ongoing World Summit on Sustainable
Development in South Africa on Wednesday shifted to the
Water Dome, a forum for discussion of water and sanitation
related issues as integral factors in sustainable
development.

The water summit is holding at the Dome, a massive
all-steel engineering wonder situated at Northgate, some 40
kilometres outside Johannesburg. Described as the largest
free-standing structure in Africa, the Dome is where a
coalition of NGOs, unions, government departments and
academic institutions are holding a parallel summit on
water and sanitation issues that could well qualify as a
mini-summit itself.

On Wednesday, the 7-day long water summit kicked off with
an opening ceremony witnessed by former South African
President Nelson Mandela; the Crown Prince of Netherlands
William Alexander (who's also the UN special envoy on
water); and former secretary-general of the defunct
Organisation for African Unity (now Africa's water
ambassador) Mr. Salim Ahmed  Salim.

Not a few attendants at the ceremony wished the spirit of
conviviality and common commitment, which seemed to
dominate proceedings at the water summit, could translate
to the WSSD itself. "No water, No future", the slogan for
the WSSD   campaign for safe, clean water were
conspicuously displayed around the Dome. About 50
corporate, non-governmental, national, international   and
multi-lateral organisations are currently exhibiting and
deliberating on ways of finding solutions to water problem
in the world.

Already there are proposals by countries in the developed
nations for poor countries to adopt privatisation of water
as a way to ensure regular supply of safe water for their
citizens. This expectedly has not received much welcome
from many concerned and informed leaders and activists who
see the option as another classic IMF pill.

"Water is too fundamental and precious to be left in the
hands of private corporations", said David Boys, a South
African anti-privatisation activist.

Mandela had earlier expressed a similar opinion: ``amongst
the many things I learnt as president of our country was
the centrality of water in the social, political and
economic affairs of the country, continent and indeed the
world. I'm, therefore, a totally committed "water person".
South Africa is home to about 7 million of the estimated
one billion people who lack access to clean water in the
world.

The picture is equally unpleasant in other parts of the
continent. Nigeria, a country with abundant water resources
still ranks among countries where the majority lack clean
water. Last October 2001, about 50,000 residents of Baruwa
Village, a slum in the suburbs of Lagos had their only
source of water suddenly contaminated by petrol
leakage from oil pipes which passed through the village.
The effect of is evident in the growing number of sick
people without proper sanitation.

"You can not talk about sanitation without talking about
access to clean water. No clean water, no proper
sanitation", said Ronie Kasrils, South African Minister for
Water Affairs.

No less than 6,000 children are said to die daily from
diarrhoea and related diseases. "This is equivalent to six
jumbo jets crashing daily, a situation which can be
prevented or reduced with the  provision of clean water",
Kasrils said.

South Africa is bracing up to the challenge. "We are
working hard and we hope that by 2015 we would have reduced
the number of people who lack clean water in our country by
half", Kasrils stated.

It is not clear how the country hopes to achieve this
target. Obviously activists, including Kasrils himself are
not unmindful of the role of Western nations in proving
"solutions" for Africa's water problems – solutions which
sometimes appear detrimental for the continent.

The European Union is already pressing developing
countries, as World Trade Organisation member-states, to
open up their water sector, including water collection,
purification, distribution and waste water treatment for
international competition.

Last year at the Monterrey Conference in Mexico, the EU as
part of its millennium development goals announced in
principle, the release of additional nine billion Euros per
annum increment in aid for projects in poor countries. The
move is part of its goal to reduce the number of people
without access to clean water in the world.

David Jones, Outreach and Research Officer with the
Business Partners for
  Development-Water and Sanitation Cluster – one of the
exhibiting organisations at the Dome – insisted that the EU
move is "sincere", but added, "what I am not sure of is
whether water firms in African countries will be able to
compete with French companies for water projects or whether
this would translate to clean water becoming available but
unaffordable to people in poor countries".

In the next five days, these issues will form the trust of
discussions at the Dome; the hard-line stand of
anti-privatisation campaigners will meet with the suave and
persuasive diplomacy of corporations interested in the
"water mine" in poor countries.

Kingsley Obom-Egbulem
Email:kingsley257@...