A Starting Point: Understanding Governance, Good Governance and Water Governance - Climate Change and Water Governance: Adaptive Capacity in Chile and Switzerland - page 24

multi-disciplinary approach to global water issues that covered environmental, social,
political and economic issues (Solanes and Gonzalez-Villareal 1999 ) . In this context,
the principles are seen to be nested in the concept of distributed governance (Rogers
and Hall 2003 , p 14), primarily through its focus on the participative role of civil
society and non-governmental organisations.
The guiding principles define the need for concerted action to reverse present
trends of overconsumption, pollution and threats from drought and flooding. In doing
so the principles defined the need for a holistic approach to water management to
effectively take account of the linkages across land and water uses over catchment
areas; for a participatory approach that allows decisions to take place at the lowest
appropriate level and with public consultation; that women should be granted a cen-
tral role in water management and the protection of water resources and that this
should be better reflected in institutional arrangements; and finally that as water has
an economic value it should also be recognised as an economic good, as a means to
achieve efficient and equitable use, while still recognising the basic right of all human
beings to have access to clean water and sanitation at an affordable price. 3
The Dublin Principles are one of many influencing sets of guidelines which are
relevant to the management paradigm of IWRM, and both have risen to almost uni-
versal acceptance in the current environment of increasing pressures on water
resources from the nexus of population pressures, consumer patterns, management
issues, climate change, biodiversity loss, growing destruction and pollution of
aquatic ecosystems and increasing cross-sectoral competition. IWRM is one
response to the goal of managing these increasing pressures while balancing the
need to protect and conserve water resources and water based ecosystems. The
Global Water Partnership defines IWRM as 'a process which promotes the co-ordinated
development and management of water, land and related resources in order to max-
imise the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without
compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems' (GWP 2000 , p 22). In IWRM,
greater emphasis is placed on collaborative governance of the multiple values of
water, and also seen as one means of increasing the capacity of water management
in the face of climate change.
IWRM has taken on significant currency as a means of ensuring 'equitable,
economically sound and environmentally sustainable management of water
resources and provision of water services' (Rogers and Hall 2003 , p 4). As can be
seen from this statement, as well as the conceptual criteria of IWRM proposed
by the Global Water Partnership-Technical Advisory Committee (GWP-TEC)
(GWP 2000 ), the three overriding criteria IWRM reflect social, economic and
environmental conditions, namely, economic efficiency (in order to use increasingly
scarce water resources with maximum efficiency), equity (basic right of access to
adequate water quantities and quality) and environmental and ecological sustain-
ability (ensuring sustainability of water resources and riparian ecosystems that
support it for use by future generations).
3 Refer to: http://www.gwpforum.org/servlet/PSP?iNodeID=1345