Gatineau - May 24-25, 2007
Although the conference Collaborating in Africa: New Approaches in the Water Sector was not technically a CARIWIN event, CARIWIN representatives from both the Brace Center and CIMH were present to pull from the African case lessons that could be learned and applied in the Caribbean context.
The conference highlighted the following points:
1. Water resources management is multidisciplinary:
Managing water resources needs to go beyond the water sector itself, and needs to cross over into the disciplines of microbiology, engineering, urban planning, health sciences, social sciences, as well as other domains. This was highlighted in the case of Gabon, where the relationship between water and forestry is recognized and 11% of the forests are dedicated as park space and left in their natural state. Social sciences are especially significant, as solutions will not work unless they are engrained in the sociology of the people.
2. Water resources management needs to be international and intra-national:
There exists the need for discussion and partnership between countries where water resources are transboundary in nature. Communication and dialogue needs to also exist within countries, between central governments, local governments and local communities, and even within communities so that everyone is given a voice, as various people use water differently (all stakeholders need to be incorporated within water resources management).
3. The need for less talk and more action:
As it currently stands, the technology and the know-how exist for everyone to have access to water. There is a lot of talk and documentation but no implementation of plans. We know that globally there is enough water for everyone, although it is not distributed evenly spatially and temporally. The rich in African nations have access to water, which demonstrates that the capacity does exist; however, the will needs to be instated to get water to the poor.
4. Institutional reform and capacity building:
Due to the preciousness of water as a resource, its allocation can often be politically-driven. There are political problems associated with water resources management, and politics itself is a great handicap to development. Since water is a key factor to many of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), it needs to be incorporated within a nation’s development plan. Also, there is a great need in developing countries not only for funding, but also for specialists. Poor management of water resources in many of the participating nations stems from a lack of hydrological specialists.
5. Addressing the importance of women in water resources management:
Although in most instances women are the ones who manage the water resources in and around the household and are responsible for the well-being of the family, they are seldom referred to when deciding how water should be allocated and managed. Women need to be included within water resources management, and there is a lack of awareness at the policy level of how decisions made here have differentiating effects on gender. The success of policies and programmes related to water is dependent on the participation of women.
6. A learning process:
Implementation of IWRM is cyclical – water management and water reform is not a project but a process – it takes a long time to implement and is always changing (it is a work in progress).
7. Rural water access:
The rural family especially spends a lot of their time fetching water, since rural access to water is usually much poorer than urban water availability. The rural family spends a higher proportion of their time getting water when they could be spending their time on trying to create an income for the family. Spending less time on getting water could translate into greater time being put into generating an income and breaking the cycle of poverty (as mentioned in the MDG).