The Term Non Governmental Organization (NGO) Describes a Large and Broadly Focused Group

Non-Governmental Organizations And Their Relation to Transboundary Water Resources

CE397 Transboundary Water Resources – Fall, 2005 Tyler Jantzen 10-20-05

Introduction The term Non Governmental Organization (NGO) describes a large and broadly focused group of national and international organizations. These organizations are unique in that they are not affiliated directly with any particular government, which gives them certain advantages and disadvantages over governmental organizations In 2002, some lists of international NGOs were more than 6000 names long. Some NGO’s are very large, with such recognizable names as the Red Cross, GreenPeace and Amnesty international. But for each large international NGO there exist dozens of smaller more specific organizations. NGOs target all sorts of problems and issues for a variety of reasons. Some popular targeted issues are the environment, poverty, hunger, disease, homelessness and gender issues. In general NGOs are organizations that target specific issues and problems to advocate or attempt to solve. Many of these issues are closely tied to international and transboundary water resources. Common themes that have been addressed in each of the case studies presented in class have been: agriculture’s disproportionate use of water; environmental, ecological and sociological effects of dams; water scarcity; water quality; infrastructure issues; desalinization; water related conflict; and poverty related to water resource scarcity. Internationally, there are multiple NGOs targeting each of these issues.

Advantages NGOs have certain advantages over similar governmental organizations and programs. NGOs are not as susceptible to political pressures as governmental organizations. On the national level, when the federal administration changes, so do many of the national and international services provided. Likewise, foreign aid and U.S. administered national programs change significantly with events in Washington. Because NGOs are not directly connected to national governments, they are more stable than many governmental organizations. However, many NGOs depend on governmental funding for substantial portions of their budgets, making them accountable to national governments and politics in general. Another advantage of NGOs is that they can work on a much smaller and more personal level than large bureaucratic governmental organizations. While large projects or issues do need the advocacy of large institutional organizations, it has been realized over the past few decades that any successful development project needs also to be accompanied by small scale and personalized education and attention. NGOs typically are better equipped to address these “software” issues. Many small-scale local water projects are sponsored and actually implemented by NGOs. They often involve decentralized development programs and cooperation with local communities and result in capacity building within the community. Finally, NGOs have the ability to address a very narrow or a very broad scope. Some focus on the survival of a specific species within a specific watershed, while others look at general environmental well being.

Disadvantages A main disadvantage NGOs have in relation to government organizations is funding. Most NGO’s spend a large amount of time and energy to obtain sufficient and sustainable funding for their operations and projects. NGOs receive funding from a variety of sources, including private foundations, government grants, individual contributions and fees for services delivered. Most NGOs do not have nearly the level of spending power of governmental organizations or of projects funded by the international financial organizations. However, NGOs often have a say in how those large monies are spent though lobbying and other political measures.

Types of NGOs The water resource related NGOs perform a variety of functions and come with a variety of motivations. Some, such as the World Wide Fund for Nature, the Natural Resources Defense Council International, and the River Network look at the issue of international water resources from a primarily environmental point of view. Others, such as Global Water, Water for People and WaterAid look at water resources as an essential human right. Others, such as Green Cross and the International Network of Basin Organizations look at water resources as transboundary bodies and attempt to alleviate potential conflict. Still others look at water resources from a research, technical, or professional point of view. Within these more narrow subdivisions of water resource NGOs, each organization can be characterized by what kind of services and programs it provides. Some NGOs are networking agencies that facilitate the communication and collaboration of other NGOs. The International Network of Basin Organizations, International Water Association and World Conservation Union are examples of such organizations. Other NGOs provide local services such as drilling wells, building and distributing water filtration systems, educational seminars in a local language and more. Others choose to work at the policy level and assist governments in writing legislation. As you might be able to tell, the subject “NGOs” is too broad to cover in a single session, or even a single semester course. Most NGOs fall under multiple of the above categories, and work on multiple levels. The remainder of this topic paper will discuss NGOs specifically in their relationship to transboundary water issues, and even more specifically their role in conflict prevention. To get a taste for the extent of the various water resource NGOs, browse through their various websites. I have included a list linked under Supplemental Readings. This list is by no means exhaustive, but gives a small taste of some of the organizations that exist.

Conflict Mediation A number of NGOs are involved in transboundary water conflict prevention and mediation. Green Cross International is one of the organizations leading the quest for peaceful solutions to water related conflict. GCI is led by a board of current and former international politicians and diplomats, with former Soviet president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mikhail Gorbachev as chairman of the board. With a skilled team of engineers, lawyers, and diplomats, GCI works to provide assistance to individual countries and regions in preventing and solving conflict over natural resources, including water as a third party mediator. Their Water for Peace program works with the governments in the Prana La Plata, Jordan, Volga, Okavango, Volta, and Danube river basins to assist their cooperative management of their water resources. GCI has affiliate offices in over 30 countries. They organize conferences, publish monthly and quarterly newsletters and magazines, and fund specific projects and initiatives in volatile regions. Because many of the water resources NGOs overlap, they often unite to complete a specific project or achieve a specific goal. One reason the transboundary water resource NGOs unite is to lobby a specific government on a specific issue. An example of such an effort can been seen in a collaborative letter to the leaders of the G8 countries.

Questions for Discussion How does the overlap of the many international water resources NGOs hinder or help their ultimate goals? How can these organizations collaborate and better share information and resources beyond creating just another NGO networking website and organization?

How does the involvement of NGOs in transboundary water negotiations and agreements complement the work of the various governments involved?

Considering the UN Millennium Development goals and the limited international development funds available, is it better to spend these funds through NGOs or Governmental Organizations and International Financial Institutions?

Required Readings:

International Network of Basin Organizations, “International organizations urge G8 world leaders to allocate funds to promote cooperation over transboundary waters for development, security and peace.” May 30, 2003 (available online)

Green Cross International homepage www.gci.ch (available online)

Supplemental Readings:

List of Water Resources NGOs. This is a list of some of the water resources related NGOs. This list is by no means exhaustive, but gives a good look at the NGO community. Browse around for yourself. (see next page)

Chitale, Madhav A. “The Narmada Project.” Water Resources Development. 13.2 pp 167-179. 1997. (See section at end about NGO involvement) Water Resources NGO List

Safe Drinking Water Supply NGOs These organizations operate primarily to improve the access to and supply of safe drinking water around the world. Most relate their mission to reaching the UN Millennium Development Goal #7, halving by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water. Global Water http://www.globalwater.org/ Water Treaty http://www.watertreaty.org/ Water for People http://www.water4people.org/ Water Partners International http://www.water.org WaterAid http://www.wateraid.org.uk

Transboundary Water Resource NGOs These organizations primarily focus on the issues surrounding the transboundary nature of many water resources. Green Cross International http://www.gci.ch/index.htm International Network of Basin Organizations http://www.riob.org/ Mekong River Commission http://www.mrcmekong.org/ World Water http://www.worldwater.org/

Other Water Resource NGOs These organizations focus on one or more related issues related to water resources. Some may overlap with the above two categories. American Water Resources Association http://www.awra.org/ Amigos Bravos: Friends of the Wild Rivers http://www.amigosbravos.org/ British Hydrological Society (UK) http://www.hydrology.org.uk/ Canadian Water Resources Association http://www.cwra.org/ Centre for Ecology and Hydrology http://www.nwl.ac.uk/ih/ European Desalination Society http://www.edsoc.com/ European Rivers Network http://www.rivernet.org/ Freshwater Society http://www.freshwater.org/ Global Water Partnership http://www.gwpforum.org International Association of Hydrogeologists http://www.iah.org/ International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage http://www.icid.org/ International Desalination Association http://www.idadesal.org/ International Rivers Network http://www.irn.org International Water and Sanitation Centre http://www.irc.nl/ International Water Association http://www.iwahq.org.uk International Water Management Institute http://www.cgiar.org/iwmi/ International Water Resources Association http://www.iwra.siu.edu/ Middle East Desalination Research Center http://www.medrc.org.om/ National Wildlife Federation http://www.nwf.org Natural Resources Defense Council International http://www.nrdc.org/international/ Sierra Club http://www.sierraclub.org/cleanwater/ The Africa Water Page http://www.africanwater.org/ The International Secretariat for Water http://www.i-s-w.org/en/ The River Network http://www.rivernetwork.org/ Water Environment Federation http://www.wef.org/ World Commission on Dams http://www.dams.org/ World Conservation Union (IUCN) http://www.iucn.org/ World Lakes Network http://www.monitorinternational.org/ World Water Council (WWC) http://www.worldwatercouncil.org/ World Water Forum, organized by WWC http://www.worldwaterforum.org World Wildlife Fund: Living Waters Campaign http://www.panda.org/livingwaters/