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Summary

PROGRAMME OF PRIORITY ACTIONS

III - DEFINING STRATEGIES FOR SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT AND IDENTIFYING APPROPRIATE MEANS OF FINANCING

III - F - FORMULATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF
SUB-nATIONAL, NATIONAL AND REGIONAL STRATEGIES

Countries that have not yet formulated sub-national or national strategies for the water sector should be encouraged to do so while identifying medium and long term priorities. These strategies will provide a coherent framework governing the actions of the different elements of the public and private sectors. Regional strategies should be developed as necessary.

Existing strategies should be regularly evaluated and updated.

The implementation of these strategies should meet the requirements for integrated water resources management and include the adaptation and modernisation of institutional, legislative and regulatory frameworks; the improvement of knowledge of resources and uses; and the training of executives and technicians in service management and equipment maintenance.

It is recognised that water is a key natural resource for future prosperity and stability and emphasis could be given to mechanisms and instruments to support the use of water as a catalyst for regional co-operation rather than a source of potential conflict.

III - G - MOBILISATION OF FINANCIAL AND OTHER RESOURCES

III- G - 1- mobilisation of national and local resources

Water planning and management need to be taken into account within a socio-economic development context while recognising the vital role of water in the fulfilment of basic human needs, food security, poverty alleviation and the functioning of water-related ecosystems. Specific conditions of non-monetary sectors of the economy should be taken into account.

Incentives to improve use and protection of water resources, pricing and financial, as appropriate, should be developed. Access to traditional water resources should be protected.

We also need to explore ways and means of facilitating a gradual transition towards full cost recovery to the extent possible, taking into account the essential role of water in meeting basic human needs. Subsidies, or other appropriate transparent financial mechanisms, for specific groups, in particular for people living in poverty, might be considered in some countries.

Transparency in economic and financial management of services is a precondition for effective cost recovery.

The implementation of actions to reduce costs, such as improving management, competition between operators, leakage reduction and use of appropriate technologies, could reduce overall funding requirements.

To seek that, after comprehensive public debate among all stakeholders, the various functions of sustainable water management are funded, appropriate frameworks should be established in order to:.

· III-G-1-1- enable the sustainable mobilisation of private or public funds to finance water supply and sanitation networks,

· III-G-1-2- facilitate access to credit by decentralised public and private management structures, especially local communities and NGOs, and encourage the development of micro-credits,

· III-G-1-3- provide, as needed, the public or private investors with appropriate risk guarantee schemes for the financing of investments,

· III-G-1-4 - set up to the extent possible " user-pays " pricing systems that cover direct or indirect costs of the services with the costs billed to users who can afford to pay. Prices must be justified by the quality and reliability of the services provided to the users,

· III-G-1-5 - manage, as needed, the transition towards the recovery of, as a minimum, operation, maintenance and replacement costs and watershed management costs with, as necessary, an intermediate phase in which these costs could be partly covered by public funds,

· III-G-1-6 - take the necessary measures, cross-subsidies in particular, in a transparent manner, to prevent management of services limiting access to water by low-income users,

· III-G-1-7 - apply efficiently the " polluter-pays " principle, using economic instruments for environmental purposes that are in proportion with the damage caused to the environment,

· III-G-1-8 - take into account costs related to the acquisition of knowledge, surface and ground water protection and development, the preservation and management of ecosystems, river basins, aquifers and the maintaining of wetlands and water flow in watercourses.

III - G - 2 - mobilisation of external resources

Bi- and multilateral donors should assist countries in the formulation and implementation of their integrated water resources management strategy. Their support to the sector should be consistent with the defined priorities in order to ensure efficient synergy between external assistance and national and local financial resources.

Bi- and multilateral donors should contribute to the implementation of the defined priorities by supporting both structural reforms and projects and by mobilising the financial resources necessary to implement them.

Evidence that existing resources are used optimally will help mobilise additional financial resources from national and international sources, both public and private.

The joint action and co-financing of multilateral and bilateral donors should be emphasised, in order that beneficiary countries obtain maximum effectiveness from external financing, in particular for integrated regional projects.

III - G - 3 use of innovative mechanisms

Due consideration should be given to more private sector involvement, innovative models for local water resources management such as Build Operate Transfer, and use of market mechanisms, where applicable.

III- G - 4 - mobilisation of local human resources and knowledge stemming from different cultures:

In addition to the modern water policy approaches, it is important to:

· III-G-4-1- mobilise local human resources as much as possible;

· III-G-4-2- take advantage of the population’s diversified know-how, especially in rural and pastoral areas, concerning the detection, collection, conservation, use and reuse of water.

III - H - PRIORITIES FOR OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE

Bi- and multilateral donors should first concentrate concessional financing on enabling activities and programmes intended to improve the enabling environment, in order to meet basic priority needs, building on on-going activities as far as possible.

Among these:

III - H - 1 - meeting basic needs (drinking water supply, sanitation, control of water-related diseases, etc). Rapid action is necessary to reach progressively approved international standards in order to meet quantitative and qualitative basic human needs in rural and underprivileged urban areas. Special attention should be paid to the means of achieving the eradication of water-borne diseases.

Special consideration should be given to gender and equality issues; including programmes to improve the status of women and increase their meaningful participation in decision-making.

III - H - 2 -the organization of integrated monitoring systems and databases to improve information on resources, uses and pollution. Access by professionals and users to that information and documentation, necessary for water management and financing, will be promoted.

III - H - 3 - the implementation of institutional, administrative and economic reforms to establish river basin organisations and national or regional regulating authorities; to modernise irrigation or municipal water services; and to improve usage efficiency, demand management and maintenance of facilities.

III - H - 4 - vocational and in-service training of all categories of personnel by creating or modernising specialised technical training centres and training institutes dealing with the administration and management of water services.

III - H - 5 - facilitate public-private partnerships

for the development of general interest infrastructures that are economically justified, ecologically and socially sound and that fit into master plans, at the level of large river basins in particular, and into integrated programmes for priority investment.

III - H - 6 - sustainable management of water-related ecosystems, in order to preserve biodiversity and ensure soil and water conservation, through appropriate policies for land use planning, combating desertification, erosion control, management of forestry and municipal waste.

III - H - 7 - research and training

Support for research, training and capacity building in order to facilitate the transfer of technology and increase the efficiency of the technology transferred.

III - H - 8 - natural disaster (flood and drought) preparedness

There is a need to establish or strengthen mechanisms for regional consultations on drought and flood preparedness ; early warning systems and mitigation plans at local and national levels, and regional emergency funds and/or collective insurance programmes. At the international level, there is a need to maintain support of these activities following the close of the IDNDR (1999).

III - H - 9 - efficiency of irrigation

Set up economic incentives for an efficient use of water resources, particularly for the irrigation sector with the objective of increasing the quantity and regularity of food production.

ANNEXE - PROMOTION OF PARTNERSHIP AND DIALOGUE

All public authorities, public and private companies, non-governmental organisations, whether local, national or international, responsible for or in charge of conceiving, designing, approving, implementing, managing, supervising or financing activities, programmes or services in the water sector are invited to engage in a permanent dialogue with all users and beneficiaries. This dialogue requires sharing all relevant information with stakeholders and discussions on objectives and implementation modalities.

Transfer mechanisms of know-how, knowledge, technology as well as all relevant information for improving efficiency and fostering the development of services and activities will be promoted, among others, through institutional or business partnerships.

All actors will support, as appropriate :

- sharing and dissemination of experience gained in practice (projects, programmes and activities, etc),

- information exchange on institutions, problems faced and innovative solutions adopted and on all other activities that may contribute to raising the public and the professional community’s awareness of water-related issues and solutions.