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Invitation
Water Governance refers to the various levels of political, social and
administrative mechanisms that must be in place to develop and manage
water resources including the delivery of water services.
Making water governance effective was a key chapter in the Framework for
Action and the World Water Vision presented in the 2nd World
Water Forum (The Hague, 2000) and attracted considerable debate. It also
featured in the Ministerial Declaration under the heading “Governing Water
Wisely”.
As
referred in the document Towards Water Security: A Framework for Action (GWP
2000), “the water crisis is often a crisis of governance: a failure to
integrate policies and practices related to the management of water
resources. Good water governance exists where government bodies
responsible for water establish an effective policy and legal framework to
allocate and manage water resources in ways responsive to national, social
and economic needs and to the long-term sustainability of the resource
base”. The same is valid for international, sub-national and local
levels.
To
achieve good governance for water it is necessary to create an enabling
environment which facilitates the following: efficient private and public
sector initiatives; a regulatory regime which allows clear transactions
between stakeholders in a climate of trust; and shared responsibility for
safeguarding river and aquifer resources whose management affects many
people but at present is frequently the responsibility of none.
Among others, actions to make
water governance effective include: putting integrated water resources
management (IWRM) into practice, reform and development of institutions
and reconsidering financial and economic practices.
Effective water governance
should help to avoid the frequent mismatch between central government
policies and priorities on one hand and people’s concerns and aspirations,
on the other. More transparency and accountability, active public
participation and better social, environmental and economic links are
needed to make governance more effective.
A
Mediterranean Dialogue on Effective Water Governance (DEWG) will
assist in addressing these issues. The Mediterranean DEWG, facilitated by
the Global Water Partnership – Mediterranean (GWP-Med),
will be based in a series of Workshops and Roundtables at the regional,
sub-regional, national and local level, with the participation of key
persons from involved sectors and stakeholders. This is the first time to
discuss the issue in the Mediterranean in a structured and coordinated
way. It is important to stress that the Dialogue process, itself, is
considered as important as the outcomes of the consultation. The
Mediterranean DEWG will provide input to the global Dialogue towards
Kyoto, 2003.
Among the priority issues to be
addressed in the Mediterranean DEWG are legislation and regulation,
participation and finances.
The process
was initiated with the GWP-Med Sub-Regional Workshop on ‘Effective Water
Governance in North Africa and Middle East’, 20-21 December 2001, Cairo,
Egypt, organized by MIO-ECSDE and CEDARE. The Workshop was attended by 160
participants from 24 countries. The Report of the Cairo Workshop is under
preparation.
The GWP-Med
Conference on “Effective Water Governance”, 19-20 March 2002,
Athens, Greece,
which is organized by MIO-ECSDE and GWP-Med, will continue and advance the
regional dialogue, aiming to:
·
provide a platform for exchange of ideas and experiences on the issue
among politicians, opinion leaders and stakeholders at the regional level,
·
identify gaps and problems, as well as, possible solutions and practical
ways to overcome the obstacles in the Mediterranean countries
·
demonstrate IWRM as a practical process for successful resource management
A number
of prominent speakers and representatives of Governments, Members of
Parliaments, the Commission of the European Union, Intergovernmental
Organisations, Local Authorities, Non-Governmental Organisations, the
private sector and Academia are invited to take part. You are kindly
invited to participate and contribute in the GWP-Med Conference in Athens
and the Mediterranean Dialogue. For the draft agenda of the Conference
click here.
Looking forward to your positive reply
and active involvement
Prof. Michael Scoullos
MIO-ECSDE, Chairman
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