In contrast to prescriptive and rather rigid master water plans, an IWRM-oriented planning process takes a more flexible and dynamic approach to planning the development and management of water resources. Planning reflects the total activity in the system, whether defined as river basin, catchment, or watershed, including for example agriculture, forestry, mining, and other land uses. IWRM plans can be used to strengthen good governance within a strategic water management framework of goals, policies, and planned actions to achieve the goals. Since participation is one of the key pillars of integrated water management, stakeholders should be involved in the planning and implementation process.
Water demand management and water supply management constitute two different ways of addressing human water use. Water is wasted and inefficiently used by many sectors, and simultaneously water demand is steadily increasing. Therefore, an obvious (and necessary) way to meet increasing demand is to increase the efficiency of use and supply, thereby making more water available within the constraints of existing supply.
