Page 58 - report_A Matter of Survival

CHAPTER 5

People’s Diplomacy, Inter-Sectoral Water Management and

Decision Making

An Ethical Imperative will handle the situation within its sovereign powers. Governments
can, however, take advantage of the experience gained in other
Water management and transboundary water cooperation affect countries and of the good practices tested in real circumstances.
people’s needs and rights, giving rise to legitimate concerns that Although no two situations are exactly the same, several basic
have to be respected. Moreover, water projects require a careful features have to be taken into account in almost all cases.
consideration of the needs of different sectors of society so that
effective and sustainable policy decisions are made. The government should take an active approach and assist in
dialogues involving all stakeholders, including importantly,
The recent Budapest Water Summit (2016) declared that water is civil society organizations and the affected citizens, without a
an ethical imperative. This is an important statement of principle. priori imposing solutions. Both mechanisms and solutions have
The increasing water-related vulnerabilities that we face require to emerge as a result of genuinely participatory processes that
urgent responses. There is no doubt of the need to effectively involve all the legitimate stakeholders. It is also important that
secure the human right to safe, clean, accessible and affordable all legal requirements are respected and that all other aspects of
drinking water and sanitation. Existing water scarcity, as well legitimacy in the process, such as the representative character of
as the future likelihood for additional problems of accessibility participants, and the fair and equal treatment of all participants
and availability of safe drinking water, underscores its ethical in the process are observed. The Aarhus Convention on Access
dimension. In other words, the right to water is a human right. to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice in
This ethical imperative also includes the responsibility of policy Environmental Matters, adopted in 1998, has set important
makers to ensure the health of ecosystems and the maintenance standards that help in the conduct of such processes and should
of biological process in nature beyond immediate human needs. inspire governments in the exercise of their responsibilities.

Water Governance Technical information and environmental and social impact
assessments must be scientifically sound for the proposed
Water resources and their governance are closely intertwined solutions to be fully credible.
with other resource governance systems, especially those
related to energy, land use and food production, and often And above all, the process needs to be transparent so that
face trade-offs. These challenges to water policy making are trust is developed among the participants. The primary
recognized through the concepts of water security, the water- importance of the political aspect of the process must not be
energy-food nexus, Integrated Water Resources Management, neglected since unresolved water issues tend to crystallize
and adaptive water governance. broader dissatisfaction and revolt, which makes these situations
inherently political and to which particular attention should
It is important for States to responsibly exercise their sovereign be paid. What is most often needed is citizen diplomacy, a
rights in managing their natural resources. Governments are process that engages representatives of local communities, civil
responsible for regulation and the actual management of water. society and professional organizations, as well as businesses,
This fundamental principle of sovereignty has to be respected, in communication and negotiation with governments. Ideally,
but at the same time, it is important that best practices in water this communication and negotiation should amount to genuine
management are studied and compared internationally, and that popular participation in the policy making process, as well
international cooperation among sovereign States, including in key decisions relating to large-scale water projects. Such
their cooperation within the relevant international organizations, participation would provide a genuine link between water
is developed further. governance and human rights.
The problems of inter-sectoral water management are not new Education is a fundamental requirement of good water
and in some areas, practical experience has already generated governance. Governments should appreciate the importance
guidelines to inspire future decision making. One of the classic of water education as a key factor in the establishment and
examples is the relationship between water and mining. Both maintenance of adequate and sustainable use and consumption
historically and presently, mining operations, especially those of water. Education is discussed here in the broadest sense
undertaken by large transnational companies, have spurred – not only as information gathering, but also as responsible
social and environmental conflicts, and in several cases, pointed dissemination and conscious acquisition of knowledge and the
the way towards solutions. effort to stimulate the necessary behavioral changes.

Since most of these experiences are taking place within the All this constitutes a tall order and much depends on the nature
boundaries of a single state, it is expected that the government and quality of the country’s governance in general, as well

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