Toward sustainable management of water resources

Issues of scarcity have put water at the top of the international political agenda. Water politics are not only confined to conflict areas. As populations and demand for limited supplies of water increase, interstate and international frictions over water can be expected to intensify. Failure to manage water resources properly has become increasingly apparent. This article outlines four principle failures: fragmented water management; heavy dependence on centralized administration to develop, operate and maintain water systems; waste and inefficient water use; and the failure to link water quality to health, the environment, and economic development. The article then sets out a demand-based framework for improving the management of water resources which focuses on comprehensive management, economic behaviour, policies to overcome market and government failures, incentives to provide users with better services, and technologies to increase the efficiency of water use. The cornerstone of this new framework is a long-term vision for development based on a participatory approach in which cost recovery and private sector involvement will be crucial. The article concludes that after decades of waste, pollution, and inability to provide basic water services to the poor, we must fundamentally change the way we think about and manage water and embrace a new approach that is comprehensive, market-oriented, participatory, and environmentally sustainable.