Understanding the Role of Politics in Water Management
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
W orld Water Council orld Water - Water andPolitics: - Water WWC Publication No.1 Proceedings Proceedings of the Workshop on Understanding the Role of Politics in Water Management Understanding theRoleofPoliticsinWater Water and Politics: Understanding the Role of Politics in Water Management Marseille, 26-27 February 2004 ISBN: 92-95017-09-9 Price: 10 Euros Edited by the World Water Council World Water Council 10, Place de la Joliette - Les Docks de la Joliette, Atrium 10.3 - 13002 Marseille - France Phone: +33 (0)4 91 99 41 00 - Fax: +33 (0)4 91 99 41 01 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.worldwatercouncil.org The views and opinions of workshop participants that are presented herein do not necessarily reflect those of their respective departments, agencies, or institutions nor those of the World Water Council. They may not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes. The World Water Council does not endorse or recommend any commercial products, processes or services. Copyright © World Water Council, 2004 ISBN: 92-95017-09-9 Price: 10 Euros To order: [email protected] This report can be cited as follows: World Water Council. 2004. Proceedings of the Workshop on Water and Politics: Understanding the Role of Politics in Water Management, Marseille, February 26-27, 2004. Proceedings of the Workshop on Water and Politics: Understanding the Role of Politics in Water Management Marseille, 26-27 February 2004 Edited by the World Water Council This workshop was organised by the World Water Council and the World Conservation Union with the Support of the Water Supply Group of Marseille. This programme on water and politics is part of the WWC contribution to the Dialogue on Water, Food and Environment. i Preface The way water and politics interact is critical for decisions on and implementation of water reforms. Politics, defined here as the process through which relations of power are constituted, negotiated and reproduced, is indeed in the background of all public decisions and action. Although obvious to water practitioners, this political component has not received sufficient attention so far. On the contrary, the international discourse often exerts a strong depoliticising effect by focusing on neutral concepts, which avoid controversies being developed and properly addressed. That is why the World Water Council has initiated, in partnership with IUCN, a “Water and Politics” programme that aims to raise awareness of the importance of political issues in water reforms and to identify how politics can be a tool for the water community. In the framework of this project, pilot activities have been launched in some countries or basins to identify the institutional and political power structures and to facilitate discussion between local technical and political people. Selected dialogue areas are located in Mexico (Costa de Chiapas), Tanzania/Kenya Pangani River Basin, Volta River in Ghana and Burkina Faso and the Mekong River Basin (Thailand, Cambodia, Laos). To share the outcome of these activities and to receive input on further action, a workshop was organized on 26-27 February in Marseille, in partnership with IUCN and the Water Supply Group of Marseille, which hosted the event. The objectives of the workshop were to help to further develop the project on Water and Politics by identifying priority areas to be investigated and priority action. Fifty participants from 21 countries and from a wide array of backgrounds discussed the following questions: (i) what can we learn from political science that can help our understanding of the implementation of water reforms? (ii) How could this knowledge be useful to those in charge of preparing these reforms? (iii) Which are the most critical issues that could benefit from this programme? (iv) What specific actions could be initiated by the Council in this field? Water, which is essential for life and development, is present in most sectors such as energy, health, industry, etc and does not constitute a sector in itself. This makes water highly political and consequently, only elected officers have the legitimacy to take the important decisions related to its management. It is essential to take account of national and local political processes and power structures if effective local action for improved water use and service provision is to be obtained. Therefore it is necessary to facilitate the dialogues between the water community and politicians at all levels, but especially at the local one, to enhance the understanding on the one hand of the role of politics by the water community and on the other hand of the role of water in development by decision-makers. The World Water Council included in its work programmes components on water and politics taking into account the suggestions of the workshop that there is a need for 1) enhancing mutual understanding and co-operation between water professionals and politicians and 2) for a better understanding of politics and power structures at the local level. In its programme on the strengthening and empowerment of local stakeholders, the Council has already committed itself to working on a better articulation between the water actors, the other sectors, the local authorities and the political world. The programme on water and politics is also linked to the overarching theme of the 4th World Water Forum “Local actions for a global challenge”. More information to be followed on http://www.worldwatercouncil.org. ii Acknowledgements The World Water Council would like to express its gratitude to all who contributed to the preparation, implementation and synthesis of the workshop. First of all to the Scientific Committee for their kind support in having reviewed and selected the presentations and for having supervised its content: Bernard Barraqué from the Laboratoire Technique, Territoire et Société – École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, Jerry Delli Priscoli from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and President of the Committee on Institutions and Governance of the World Water Council, Brett Orlando from the World Conservation Union and Anthony Turton from the African Water Issues Research Unit and the GIBB-SERA Chair in IWRM at the Council for Industrial and Scientific Research of the University of Pretoria. We would like to give special thanks to the Water Supply Group of Marseille in the person of its President and Chief Executive Officer, Loïc Fauchon, also Vice-President of the World Water Council, for having hosted the event and provided all the necessary equipment. Thanks to Sandrine Serres, Bénédicte Williamson and all the staff of the Water Suppy Group of Marseille who contributed to the success of the event. Many thanks to the staff and interns of the World Water Council, who helped to prepare the workshop and organised workshop logistics, presenters, venue, administration and communications or who helped in the editing of these proceedings: Sonia Briki, Frédérique Chartrand, Colin Herron, Marie Lagier, Aude De Montesquiou, Stéphanie Porro, Carine Sirou and Françoise Touchard. Many thanks also to William Cosgrove, President of the World Water Council, and Daniel Zimmer, Executive Director, and Ger Bergkamp for their support and involvement during the workshop and its preparatory work. Finally, no workshop would be a success without well-prepared, committed and knowledgeable speakers and participants. We are very grateful to them for their clear, concise and thoughtful presentations and for their interventions during the discussions. iii iv Table of Contents Preface …………………………………………………………………………………………………ii Acknowledgements.…………..………………………………………………………………………iii Table of Contents……………………………………………………………………………………...v Workshop Contributions………………………………………………………………………………1 A Few Theorical Elements on Legal Institutional and Sociological Issues in Waters & Politics, Bernard Barraqué………………………………………….....…………..3 Bridging the Gaps Between Technical and Political: Training Senior Water Managers what they need to know about Conflict Management, Consensus Building and Participation,Jerry Delli Priscoli…………………...……...……..…5 Water, Wine, Vinegar, Blood: on Politics, Participation, Violence and Conflict over the Hydrosocial Contract, Jeroen Warner…………………………….....……..7 The Emergence of Sustainable and Participatory Development in Dams. Lessons from Political Science Research, Stéphane La Branche…………………19 Packaging Polices as a Vehicle for Reforming the Water Sector: the Case of the Californian drought and the Central Valley Project Improvement Act, Itay Fischhendler and David Ziberman..………………………...………31 “Liable but not Guilty”: The Political Use of Circumstances in a River Basin Council (Mexico), Eric Mollard and Sergio Vargas Velázquez..…………………….39 An Assessment of Strategic Issues in the Policy Field Relating to Water Resource Management in Southern Africa, Anthony Turton..…………………...51 Contending Approaches to Water Disputes in Transboundary Rivers: What can International Relations Discipline Offer?, Ayşegül Kibaroğlu………….71 Dam Debates Challenging French River-Basin Participatory Planning: A “Negociated Public Action” Perspective, Sophie Allain……………………….…………..83 Political Structure and ‘Dam’ Conflicts: Comparing Cases in Southeast Asia, Ashok Swain and Ang Ming Chee……………………………………………..………..95 Governance and Water Management in Asia: What do we need to Learn?,Stephen Tyler………………………………………………..……………………..115 Forces Behind Accepting / Rejecting Water princing, Raouf F. Khouzam………………117 The Politics of Multi-Stakeholder