Governance

The first WANI toolkit document that I presented in my December 21^st blog was Rule: Reforming water governance that provides guidance on understanding and developing basic principles of good water governance and necessary elements of a strong water governance program. My January 6^th blog on Negotiate: Reaching agreements over water presents practical steps on how to negotiate effective multi-stakeholder agreements on water rights and governance.

This blog discusses the WANI toolkit document Share: Managing water across boundaries that focuses on gaining the cooperation of several nations to establish water allocation and governance programs for international water bodies. As with the other WANI guidance documents, this piece stresses the benefits of engaging stakeholders with an interest in the subject water bodies throughout the process of establishing water rights, allocation and management plans.

It presents how an integrated water resource management approach - coordinating the management of water, land and related resources in the watershed basin - often leads to more sustainable, efficient and equitable agreements and programs.

Transboundary institutional and regulatory frameworks are the backbone of transboundary water management programs but national programs that work with other cooperative nations, are needed for implementation. This requires that each nation incorporate its obligations and objectives of the treaty into laws that are supported by monitoring and enforcement mechanisms. Strong governance overarching all parties is critical as is continuous knowledge sharing, monitoring and adjustments - if necessary - to ensure long-term success.

IUCN's guidance promotes focusing on benefit sharing - allocating the benefits derived from the various uses of water, rather than the water itself. While politics will often be intense during water sharing negotiations, focusing on the myriad of benefits can provide a framework for structuring costs and benefits in a flexible and fair manner. It can also provide a flexible framework that promotes the consideration of alternative use patterns and a range of possible cooperative agreements.

Share: Managing water across boundaries introduces four types of benefits from cooperative approach to negotiations:

• Type 1: Providing benefits to the river - cooperation enables better management of the watershed ecosystem.
• Type 2: Yielding benefits from the river - efficient cooperative management and development of shared rivers.
• Type 3: Reducing costs because of the river - lessens tensions between competing land owners that can have cost benefits.
• Type 4: Generating benefits from the river - greater overall cooperation among states beyond the boundaries of the water body.

Each type has its challenges and opportunities but they all focus on the positive outcomes that can lead to each party having a clear, vested interest in developing a benefit sharing agreement model and possibly avoiding unnecessary conflict.

Share: Managing water across boundaries provides case studies and discusses how best to develop a benefits sharing focus in practice. Some recommendations are to identify critical stakeholders and engage them at the right time during the process, focus on equity of beneficial outcome, and establishing of supporting mechanisms and institutions. Some benefit sharing mechanisms include knowledge sharing, developing a strong project design, revenue allocation and financial arrangements, and institution and policy development.

Share: Managing water across boundaries presents an approach to stakeholder mapping and engagement. Levels of engagement can range from information sharing, consultation, participation and development partners with agreed upon objectives, outputs and goals. It discusses the different stages of transboundary water management processes: initiating stage, institutional management, programme implementation and investment in water management works.

Share: Managing water across boundaries then discusses how to develop necessary legal frameworks and institutions and finally implementing cooperative transboundary water management programs.

To review the WANI toolkit and related documents please visit: http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/water/resources/toolkits/