From Policy to Practice: Institutional Arrangements for Integrated River Basin Management in Nepal

Abstract

Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is a basin-wide approach of water resources management in a sustainable and balanced way considering social equity, environmental sustainability and economic effi ciency (CDRI 2008; GWP and INBO 2009; Pollard and Toit 2011). It is increasingly seen as an important tool for sustainable use of water resources for development (CDRI 2008) acknowledging linkages in scale and across disciplines and adoption of iterative and adaptive approaches (Pollard and Toit 2008). For the successful implementation of IWRM, and sustainable water resources development and management, Global Water Partnership (GWP) has proposed “effective water governance” to be placed at different levels of society (Rogers and Hall 2003; K’Akumu 2007). It identifi es accountability, participation, predictability and transparency as key elements in good governance. The Global Water Partnership defi nes water governance broadly as “the range of political, social, economic and administrative systems that are in place to regulate the development and management of water resources and provision of water services at different levels of society” (K’Akumu 2007). Asian Development Bank (ADB) describes governance as “promoting sound development management in which power is exercised in the management of a country’s social and economic resources for development” (ADB 1995). Good governance is also considered as to comprise the rule of law, effective state institutions, transparency and accountability in the management of public affairs, respect for human rights, and the participation of all citizens in the decisions that affect their lives (CDRI 2008). According to Rogers and Hall (2003), creating an institutional and administrative framework is one of the key elements of governance within which various actors with different interests can discuss and agree to co-operate and coordinate their actions. According to Kaufmann et al. (2000), the most important and least studied aspects of institutional change is the context of governance in which water resource organizations operate. In this backdrop, this chapter looks into the role of institutions and governance structure for river basin management options, which are being implemented in Nepal.