Sector Manager, Environment and Water Resources Latin America and the Caribbean Region The World Bank

1. The Issue of (Good) Water
Governance in the Americas
World Water Forum
Marseille – March 15, 2012
Karin Kemper
Sector Manager, Environment and
Water Resources
Latin America and the Caribbean Region
The World Bank

2. Presentation Outline
A few Thoughts about Water Governance,
Good Water Governance and IWRM
The experience with attempts at Good
Governance - A Global Study
What do the Study Results Mean for Good
Governance globally and in the Americas?
Conclusions

3. A few Thoughts about
Water Governance,
Good Water Governance, and
Integrated Water
Resources Management

4. What is Water Governance ?
UNDP and Global Water Partnership define
water governance as a “range of political,
social, economic and administrative systems
that are in place to develop and manage
water resources and the delivery of water
services, at different levels of society”.

5. So What is Good Water Governance?
• Combined Commitment of government and various groups on civil
society, particularly at local/ community levels, together with the
private sector.
• Ethical Issues - Transparency, Equity & Fairness are fundamental
requirements
• Responsibility & Accountability - Each institution must know & take
responsibility for what it does.
• Inclusiveness, participation, predictability & responsiveness -
Decision-making & implementation must be inclusive &
communicative with governments, civil society, & the private sector
each having clear roles to play with shared responsibilities on the
basis of public-private partnerships.
• Coherence - Policies & actions must be coherent, requiring political
leadership and responsibility on the part of institutions at different
levels to ensure a consistent approach within a complex system.

6. So what’s the difference between (Good)
Water Governance and Integrated Water
Resources Management?
Governance provides the context within
which Integrated Water Resources
Management can be applied (according
to GWP)

7. IWRM encompasses the Subsidiary
Principle
The principle of Managing Water Resources
at the Lowest Appropriate Levels, i.e.
decentralization of decision making powers
=> certainly an ambition of Good
Governance in IWRM

8. What Has Been the Experience
with Attempts at Good
Governance (or the Subsidiary
Principle of IWRM)? -
Results from a Global Study

9. Global Study on the Principle of Managing
Water Resources at the Lowest Appropriate
Levels (RBM Decentralization)
When and why does it (not) work in
practice?
What can we learn from
experiences around the world to
advise countries facing reform
needs?
*World Bank with University of Indiana and support
from INBO and LANBO

10. Defining RBM Decentralization
increase in transparency in decision making, and
increase in stakeholder involvement in decision
making
Measuring decentralization by taking into
account:
The existing institutional framework
The process
The political economy and
The results

11. Three Main Study Elements
1. Extensive literature review of decentralization
experiences
2. A global survey and analysis of 83 river basin
organizations
3. In depth comparative case study analysis of 8
basins

12. Distribution of responses and data collection
efforts by continents
Continent Questionnaires Responses Eliminated Retained in the data
sent set
Africa & Middle East 18 14 2 12 (66)a
Latin America 118 37 2 35 (30)
North America 5 5 0 5 (100)
East Asia-Pacific 7 7 3 4 (57)
Europe 49 40 13 27 (26)
Total 197 103 20 83 (42)
In parentheses are percent of retained questionnaires of those that responded
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13. Location of the 8 In-Depth Case Studies
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14. Organizational Features of River Basin
Organizations Studied
Organizational features ranged from State
corporation (Indonesia) to non-governmental
organization (Canada)
Management problems included scarcity and
drought, floods, pollution, inter-sectoral conflict,
mega-city urbanization, and erosion–usually
combined
RBO responsibilities ranged from planning and
consultation only, to infrastructure O&M
responsibilities, collecting water charges,
water quality monitoring to licensing of
water uses and water allocation

15. CONCLUSIONS FROM THE
ECONOMETRIC/SURVEY AND CASE
STUDY ANALYSES
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16. Study Results
High wealth or other endowments helpful but not
essential to success
Difficult water resource problems often stimulate,
rather than deter, development of basin
organizations and stakeholder participation
Presence of water user organizations positively
associated with reform success
Adequate revenues, and financial autonomy to use
revenues within the basin, contribute to success
Consistency of central government support is vital
Reforms often take a long time.
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17. What do the Study Results Mean for Good
Governance globally and in the Americas?

18. Institutional arrangements
Decentralization/Management at the Lowest
Appropriate Level is not a panacea – it has to be done
right  don’t just copy approaches but look for the
right features that fit a certain country or basin
-> recent discussion about scale – what IS the lowest
appropriate level?
Champions are really important, but they don’t last
forever…. Early institutionalization is key!
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19. Political Economy
Political economy is important: vested interests to
keep things as they are existed in all cases
Basins with complex problems and highly political
issues may encounter difficult decentralization
processes
Good Governance is a moving target….. Example
Australia, Ceará/Brazil
Crises may help to push reform, but persistent
recurring problems such as scarcity or flooding are
also good incentives 19

20. Finances!
Predictable budget and budget decision
making is important for stakeholders to
remain interested in decentralization
Governments have little to lose with
decentralization: determined, strong
government support, including financial,
will remain important

21. Conclusion
There is a clear case for ‘Good Governance’ to
achieve better results
We need to look at scale
Consistent financing is a key issue
WRM is dynamic, and so is its Governance
-> urbanization in LAC, climate change, food crisis
and increasing energy demand are important
drivers for change

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