The overexploitation and pollution of water resources of the San Jeronimo River, together with the agricultural development and massive deforestation, have generated conflicts between bordering communities. These conflicts originated with the deterioration in the water quality and quantity. The creation of the San Jeronimo Basin Committee is aimed at contributing to this problem’s solution. This Committee is enabling both the recovery of the river basin and the creation of alternative sources of income for its inhabitants through more efficient use of the resource.
The San Jeronimo Basin Committee acts as a negotiating body between all the basin’s users. The Committee comprises main water users representing various functions, including agricultural irrigation, aquaculture, hydroelectric use, human consumption and tourism. Its mission is to implement integrated management of the sub-basin, as well as to preserve biodiversity to ensure the socioeconomic well-being of the population and of water consumers. The creation of the Committee has allowed for strengthened coordination between all the different key players involved, and the development of joint activities aimed at preserving the river basin and promoting sustainable water use.
The Goascoran River basin has a superficial extension of 2.345,5 km2 and it is shared by Honduras and El Salvador. It is conformed by 36 “sub-basins”, located in the areas of La Union and Morazan in El Salvador and La Paz, Valle, Comayagua and Francisco Morazan in Honduras. For its natural characteristic and location, this is an area of great environmental, economical and geopolitical importance.
The document is in Spanish.
This case describes the formulation and participative implementation of municipal water policies as a result of individual and collective conviction of the importance of integrated water resources management (IWRM) to attain social and environmental sustainability.
Water policy must be jointly addressed by authorities and citizens, parallel efforts have been made in order to establish the guidelines for promoting its implementation. At the citizen level, partnership originated between 2001 and 2002, with the creation of two associations, followed by the creation of another nine between 2003 - 2005. This added up to a total of eleven associations in eight municipalities. At the municipal level, the Association of Municipalities of the highlands of the Naranjo River was created in 2003.
The Spanish version.
There is a very close link between the integrated approach, good water governance and financing but, to date, there has been little discussion about this relationship. This paper (147 KB) aims to bring together these different strands so that a more coordinated, coherent approach to water financing is adopted. It focuses on the need to fund the water resources functions that are essential for security and sustainability.
The Spanish version.
This brief outlines why water is important to achieve the MDGs and how it should be managed to this end. Specifically, it explains why IWRM has been adopted by the international community and how it can contribute to meeting the MDGs. However an IWRM approach will support not just achievement of the MDGs but also the long-term economic development, poverty reduction and environmental sustainability that will be needed to sustain that achievement.
The Spanish version.
This handbook seeks to provide countries with the knowledge they need to act on the WSSD action target in the way that is most useful for them. Strategies should catalyze action, not retard it. Each country must decide the scope and timeline for change based on its goals and its resources. The important thing is to take the first steps.
The Spanish version.
An IWRM strategy can be a useful tool for addressing specific development challenges and optimizing water’s contribution to achieving social, economic and environmental goals. It is not just about water. Other sectors have a stake too, and as competition for water increases along with population, climate change and pollution of useable supplies, policymakers in other sectors should be taking an active interest in how water decisions are made, as well as how their own decision-making impacts their country’s water resources.
The Spanish version.
The goal of this paper (2,17 MB) is to present a coherent discussion of water governance, and show how it relates to water managment and development. It is aimed at water professionals who need to be familiar with issues of governance as they strive to work outside the water sector.
The Spanish version.
This paper (1.98 MB) focuses on the implications for poverty reduction of taking an IWRM approach. The paper argues that no strategy for poverty reduction can be effective unless water policies in all their dimensions are brought within it purview, and IWRM is adopted which allows competitions over access and uses to be fairly and transparently moderated. The paper (593.6 KB) is divided into two main parts. The first part puts forward a strong case for applying IWRM globally and defines the IWRM concept and process. The second part provides additional advice and guidance on how IWRM could be implemented in different conditions.
The Spanish version.
