Integrated Water Resources Management: From general principles to its implementation by the state. The case of Burkina Faso

In 2000, the Global Water Partnership (GWP) as the main advocate of the concept of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), proposed a definition that is now the reference, despite the ambiguity that persists in its interpretation. At the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, the State representatives committed themselves to launch "plans for integrated water resources management and water efficiency by 2005". Some states immediately honoured this commitment by adopting new national water policies inspired by IWRM principles. Do these implementation plans respond to all the challenges of the IWRM? Or have these states simply reorganized their water resource policies to give an impression of conforming to the framework? In response to these questions, we present a history of IWRM and its conflicting interpretations followed by a case study of reforms enacted in Burkina Faso, to highlight some problems which are inherent to IWRM and how IWRM was transposed on a national scale.     

Enhanced water resource base for sustainable integrated water resource management

The article states the case for greatly enhanced reliance on desalination in the provision of freshwater. It argues that the concept of integrated water resource management (IWRM), should be expanded to routinely include desalination, and that sea water and brackish water should be listed among available sources of freshwater. In recent years, the price per m3 of freshwater obtained from desalination has steadily declined, and is now within competitive range of conventional sources, especially as extracting water from surface sources (rivers, lakes) is becoming increasingly expensive as well as ecologically harmful, and groundwater in many locations is saline or depleted. With the expectation that by 2020, five billion people will reside in megacities, today's conventional water resources are likely to become insufficient. As many of these megacities are located near ocean coasts, sea water seems a logical solution.     

Applying Integrated Urban Water Management Concepts: A Review of Australian Experience

This article explores recent Australian experiences in the application of the concept of integrated urban water management (IUWM) to land development sites through the review of 15 case studies. It discusses lUWM’s emergence and comments on the success or otherwise of Australian experience in its application. The understanding of IUWM is maturing within the Australian water industry, an occurrence that has been facilitated by demonstration sites such as those reviewed. Successes include the translation of IUWM concepts into well-functioning operational urban developments, significant reductions in the impact of the urban developments on the total water cycle, and the increasing acceptance of the concept within the water and land development industries. However, there is still room for greater integration of the water supply, stormwater, and wastewater components of the urban water cycle, improved dissemination of knowledge, enhancement of skills in both public and private organisations, and monitoring the performance of systems and technologies.     

Understanding the impact of democratic logics on participatory resource decision-making in New Zealand

This paper claims that participatory approaches to water resource management in New Zealand are highly influenced by how institutional and community actors understand and practise democracy, including indigenous Māori rights under the Treaty of Waitangi. Drawing on case study analysis from a six-year research programme in which the aim was to evaluate existing and new methods for participatory decision-making, we highlight how different but co-existing democratic beliefs and practices, referred to as democratic logics can shape relationships between governance/decision-making bodies and affected communities. One particular case is examined in detail to illustrate how the various “logics” were strengthened, extended and challenged through participatory research methodologies. Our key message is that revealing and articulating existing democratic logics for participation can help promote and facilitate new participatory approaches, as well as increase robustness and community buy-in to local government decision-making.     

虚拟水在我国水资源管理领域的应用和探讨

虚拟水以其形象的表达和丰富的内涵,成为2000年以后全球水科学研究领域的热点,被广泛认为是深入研究水资源管理的重要概念,也是衡量人类对水资源系统真实占有量的有效工具。文章系统介绍了虚拟水的基本概念,并对其目前在我国水资源管理领域的应用做了系统性的阐述和探讨。