Annex 2
ESRC-funded Seminar Series
OCTOBER 2004—FEBRUARY 2006
WATER GOVERNANCE—CHALLENGING
THE CONSENSUS
Water governance represents the systems and
processes which society sets in place to manage its water resources
and deliver water services. It comprises a range of dimensions—social,
institutional, ecological, and economic—whose relative importance
will vary in different contexts. This series of five seminars
has brought together academics, practitioners and professionals
from development agencies to debate current aspects to water governance,
and to identify an agenda for further research, policy-making
and action.
1. Beyond checklists—expanding the definition
of governance
Water governance is more that just good government.
It works through networks and relationships between government,
the public private and voluntary sectors, community groups and
citizens themselves. The contribution of different partners is
essential if the water targets of the MDGs are to be met.
— Papers in the seminar series considered
the architecture of partnerships—how to build stakeholder
platforms, how to deal with inequalities of power in partnerships,
who to support as champions of the poor and how to support negotiations
over different values for water. Embracing polycentric governance
may expand channels of access for the poor.
2. The messy middle of water governance—support
at the interface
Water governance works out through dynamic political
processes of power and negotiation; particularly at the interface
between service providers and users. General principles must be
balanced with context-specific initiatives and there is a particular
need to work at the messy middle between policy-making and local
level practices.
— If rights are to be made real for
the poor there is a need to work with plural systems of governance
(eg customary and modern). Welfare support to meet basic needs
may be a pre-condition for the effective exercise of rights by
poor people. Additionally there is need for bureaucratic reform
of service providers (local authorities etc) to become more pro-poor
and responsive.
3. Democratising the local: making water governance
work for the poor
Local water governance is not necessarily pro-poor.
There is a continuing need to understand how to improve the water
access of the poor. The complex nature of chronic poverty means
that inter-related interventions are required to increase the
voice and influence of poor people in water governance. Single
solutions are unlikely to be effective.
— Examples of pro-poor interventions
from the seminar series included increasing citizens' voices through
reporting cards, supporting their participation in democratic
and "invited" spaces, and providing welfare support
as a pre-condition for effective participation.
Professor Tom Franks and Dr Frances Cleaver
October 2006
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