Hydrology 2020 – International water policy – Social andGovernance issues
Input Paper for discussion“One role of the sciences should be to provide information to better enable formulation and selection ofenvironment and development policies in the decision-making process. In order to fulfil thisrequirement, it will be essential to enhance scientific understanding, improve long-term scientificassessments, strengthen scientific capacities in all countries and ensure that the sciences are
responsive to emerging needs”

Chapter 35 of Agenda 21

Water experts and professionals have so far not been enough successful in their efforts to placewater issues high enough on the political agenda. Despite the fact that there is a common
knowledge about the role of water as the central resource for human development and prosperity,
something often reiterated at the increasing number of international conferences being organised
during the last decade, water management issues continue to be marginalized in key discussions
on future development, trade and other central development themes.
A critical aspect of this is that the water sector in itself remains fragmented – at all levels. So isscience dealing with water, mainly because water issues span over many scientific disciplines andit has too often proven to be difficult to overcome scientific barriers. However, global water
issues will not be solved by hydrologist in isolation from social and behavioural scientist,
biologists, political scientist etc. At the Second World Water Forum in the Hague, it was clearlystated as a key recommendation that water is everybody’s business.
But there is still a long way to go. There is a water crisis emerging, partly because of thecommunicational and co-operative gaps that still exist among those who together would have acapacity to address the problems. We have to understand the problems, identify the possible
solutions and seek a way to overcome implementation barriers, be it lack of financial and/or
human resources or a pure will to act due to hydroegoism, thus preventing others from gaining
benefits from a common resource. This will probably remains one of the key challenges for
future scientific generations – to overcome fragmentation, to establish a language that all
involved stakeholders understand – all in the sake of meeting the challenges and needs facing
humanity today and in the future, as defined in for instance the United Nations Millennium
Development Goals.

Water and development
The pressure on the water resources will continue to increase in the foreseeable future in many
regions of the world. This is an undisputed fact, and can be said to be linked to driving forces
associated with population growth and distribution, and in particular the need to provide foodfor this growing population, and changes in consumption and production patterns. It is also
linked to technological development, trade policies, and socio-economic development in general.

The latter have a major influence on societies ability to address emerging water stress andscarcity.
In 1992, both the International Conference on Water and the Environment (Dublin, Ireland) andthe United nations Conference on Environment and Development (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)emphasized that urgent action was needed to redirect the development and use of freshwater in amore sustainable manner. The need for a more holistic and integrated approach to water
management was made clear in chapter 18 of Agenda 21: “The holistic management of freshwater as afinite and vulnerable resource, and the integration of sectoral water plans and programmes within a framework ofnational economic and social policy, are of paramount importance for actions in the 1990s and beyond”. The
same messages has since been reiterated at numerous international conferences – but there has
been a lack of real progress on the ground, causing frustration.
For the people of the world the water situation is perhaps the most acute matter to be addressed.
Over a billion people lack access to safe drinking water and close to 3 billion lack adequate
sanitation. Every year 12 million people die as a result of diseases that are a result of how we treat
our waters. The lack of clean water, infrastructure and efficient water management strategies
represents lost opportunities for economic and social development.
On the international arena the water question is continuing to receive increased attention. For
example Kofi Annan identified water as one of ten crucial issues to be addressed at the
Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in September 2002. In
addition, water was a vital component in many of the other nine areas. And echoing theMillennium declaration, the states participating in the Summit decided to halve the number ofpeople that lack access to safe drinking water and to halve the number of people that lackadequate sanitation. This should be achieved by the year 2015. Despite that, water issues are notpresent in other, maybe even more important, policy- and political processes linked to, forinstance, trade, subsidies, economic development etc. It is within these processes that decisions
are made that have far grater influence on the future of water than those made at meetings suchas the WSSD or World Water Forums.
It is estimated that in order to achieve the goals of universal access to drinking water andsanitation, about 30 billion dollars are needed every year over the next 20 years. This is of course
peanuts compared to resources spent on arms in both developed and developing countries, junkfood or perfumes in developed countries. Despite that, only around one third of the neededamount is being invested. In addition to financial capital, needed both in the form of aid as wellas private investments, good and effective projects are prerequisites in order to build sustainable
sanitary infrastructure, develop human capacity to deal with the issues at a local level, education
about the need of good hygiene etc.
However, there is a big question mark regarding if there exists a real willingness to provide aid
and investment in the poor parts of the world where the bulk of the problem exists. For example,
while the EU and the US provide subsidies to their own agricultural sector in the order of 250
billion USD every year, they provide less a fifth of that amount in development aid each year.
Increased coherence will be crucial in management policies linked to water, agriculture andinternational trade.
Furthermore, within the international system water issues are treated in a largely un-coordinatedmanner in a wide range of international bodies. This can be seen to be quite natural since water iseverywhere and is everybody’s business. While it might not be desirable to establish anintergovernmental World Water Organisation to deal with the worlds waters in a comprehensivemanner, increased co-ordination is, arguably, needed. A possibility, which might be tested, is if
some sort of international secretariat with the responsibility for such co-ordination could be asolution to this problem, similar to the secretariat of the International Decade on Natural
Disasters Reduction, thus building on resources available in existing organizations.
In addition, from a development perspective it is acknowledged that quite often there are overlapping areas that aid agencies are active in. If an increased co-ordination could be achieved overlapping of projects could be avoided and better use of the capital invested would be achieved.

The key policy issues
Achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goal. The international
community is setting clear targets.

• Are they realistic or not?
• What will happen to the other 50%?
• Are there conflicts between the goals?
• Is it possible to better measure the benefits of water for development (not only social
development – African ministers asks for a better link to economic development as well)• The role of science – is there any role? We know the problem, maybe it is now only a matterof innovative technical solutions, institutional capacity, financial and human resources?

The calls for Integrated Water Resources Management
The calls for Integrated River Basin Management

Science as part of capacity building and governance
The lack of financial resources in the water sector is only one aspect of the problem. There areother aspects that are equally important. Referring to Chapter 18 of Agenda 21 again, it is stated
that: ”In creating the enabling environment”….”the role of governments includes mobilization of financial andhuman resources, legislation, standard setting and other regulatory functions, monitoring and assessment of the useof water and land resources and creating the opportunities for public participation”.
The role of science is implicitly a part of this. To have a fundamental knowledge base is crucial.
This can be to strengthen international co-operation in studying processes related to the Earth’s
atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and geosphere as a way to strengthen our understanding ofwater resources and the movement of water through the systems. But it is also essential todevelop viable and scientifically based solutions to current and potential future problems.
Although understanding the interconnections between the different systems of the Earth isrecognized as being essential, it remains a sad fact that they are often dealt with independently ofeach other, not least in the scientific community. Promoting exchange of knowledge and ideas
through improved communication among experts belonging to the various disciplines concerned
will be a continuous challenge ahead. Scientists must dare to leave their compartmentalized
thinking and policymakers must encourage and promote such dialogues.
Science also has a role in the development of new technologies, such as remote sensing and
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and demonstrate the applications of such technologies
to managers. They can offer the potential of increasing the capacity for monitoring of therelevant elements at a moderate price. Information must then be made available. It must berecognized, however, that such technologies are often associated with initial training andtechnology needs, especially in developing countries. Many international organizations will haveto play a more pro-active and supporting role in the endeavour to promote the use of suchtechnologies, and support the necessary technological exchange and training associated with them.

Strong partnerships between academic institutions in developed and developing countries are an
important aspect, and should be promoted by governments and international organizations.

Bridging the communication gap - Science and policy
making processes
The water management sector is one arena where socio-economic factors interact closely withphysical and environmental factors, and thus need to be clearly reflected within scientificmodelling and political planning. As expressed above, dialogue among various experts is a key
factor for successful management strategies. However, apart from the exchange of scientific ideas,
water-related issues must be brought forward to the level of political action. The knowledge
gathered by various scientific and technical disciplines need to be presented in a way that it istaken seriously and can be properly used by decision makers, at all levels of society.
Scientific projects need increasingly try to respond to, or at least be linked to, issues relevant tosocio-economic development. This is important, as there are signs of declining respect forscience and scientists over recent years from policy and decision-makers. More than two
thousand years ago, Socrates stated that “There is only one evil for humanity - ignorance”.
Political ignorance is indeed dangerous, but probably some of this declining respect could partly
be attributed to the inability of scientists to present relevant information and guidance in
response to emerging issues, as well as in a form appropriate for policy and decision making in
broader terms. To provide “yes or no” answers is difficult, but the precautionary principle, one of
the Rio Principles, provide a tool where the “best guess” approach can be applicable.
Hydrological sciences are no exception, and it can even be argued that other scientific disciplines
are more active in providing policy guidance in this field, which is sometimes a matter of serious
concern. A problem, which often arises, is that policy-makers within water management are
frequently asking long-term questions, while many scientific programmes are restrained by shortterm funding. Despite such limitations, scientist involved in such programmes can intensify theirefforts to enhance the visibility and applicability of scientific results by using pro-active ways ofcommunicating them and by better addressing issues and provide guidance in response to
specific societal needs.
In the international scientific debate (on water as well as on other issues) there is a tendency
among scientists (including those dealing with water) to give to much weight to their own area ofexpertise. It is assumed that if we only are able to do this or that research-project the world
would be in better shape. Still, the improvements are forthcoming. While many scientists thinkthat good research results almost automatically permeate into policy this is seldom (if ever!) thecase. Rather, if we are to understand why certain issues are highlighted and others are not weshould analyse the actual policy process and what is decisive in that process. Communication
strategies need to be formulated that would allow scientists to identify better communications
routes to “market” their results. Otherwise our understanding will remain limited with regards to
why certain aspects or research, which are highlighted by international water scientists, areincorporated in the policy of states and international organisations and why others are not.
It seems imperative for the water specialists of the world to incorporate issues such politicalfeasibility, ideology and cultural aspects into their analysis. The politics of water is not only about
politicians, but also deals with how water specialists interact with government agencies,
international organisations and NGOs.

Develop a scientifically based policy language
There are certain concepts that can be developed to respond to the need of policymakers while
being firmly based on scientific understanding and knowledge. Such innovative concepts can help
to progress thinking and act as catalyst for more progressive policy making – responding to theneeds of people while recognizing the boundaries set by the hydrological situation at each given
point. Some examples are presented here:
The concept of ‘sanctioned discourse’ essentially refers a normative paradigm within which
certain hypothesis might be raised why others may not. Thus, the sanctioned discourse sets the“boundaries” for what is politically feasible to do. For example, if water scientists in a water
scarce region have agreed that the rational way to allocate the water would be to decrease theamounts of water being allocated to irrigated agriculture. Still, this is not being done, in spite ofscientists preaching it. Why? It is argued that this is so since politicians have to act within alimited arena in which they, in this case might be heavily influenced by a strong farming lobby
that pressure them to maintain existing allocations to agriculture. Thus, the sanctioned discourse
sets the boundaries for action and thereby deter the politicians to act on the advise of thescientists.
The Stockholm International Water Institute has developed a concept called “Hydrosolidarity”.
Hydrosolidarity could be developed into a commonly accepted framework and thus provide
guidelines for stakeholder interactions and problem solving in a river basin. Rather than offeringa universally agreed set of principles, the hydrosolidarity concept should be based upon what
could be called commonly accepted thinking in relation to basic needs of different stakeholders withina basin, where the joint water resource has to be shared between both societal activities and vital
ecosystem functions. Besides that, it should offer a set of recommendations linked not only toprinciples and norms but also to legislative and enforcement aspects of water management recommendations that could be used as a fundamental base for stakeholder discussions,interactions and conflict reconciliation.

Recommendations for future actions – filling the gaps
The future will present us with many challenges that we, the next generation of scientist andpolicy makers, must handle. Some of them are already known, others will emerge. What will be
the issues 1, 5, 10 years into the future?
Strong leadership is essential, based on both a positive vision on what can be achieved, but also
equally important on long term persistence, not least within science. This leadership must be wellinformed. Only if the scientific communities work together with policy and decision-makers canwater issues be successfully addressed. An integrated approach to freshwater management is theway forward as it offers the means of reconciling competing demands with dwindling supplies
and a framework in which hard choices, and priorities, can be made, and effective responsive
action taken.
We would like, in this paper, to present some points that we feel need to be considered tofacilitate further progress:•

Knowledge and understanding of water issues is essential and must be further encouraged.
National and international information networks, using modern technologies, must be
strengthened. This is especially crucial in many developing countries, where international
assistance needs to be enhanced;

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Efforts should be directed at facilitating the international exchange of hydrological andrelated data and products, so that global studies of freshwater resources and its links to socioeconomic and environmental issues can be conducted and useful results produced of benefit
to humankind;
Scientific results must be translated into action-oriented recommendations so that they can beused in national and international policy evaluation, formulation, and planning. These should
be formulated as clear, specific and measurable goals. This is crucial if the scientificcommunity is to strengthen their credibility and further enhance the possibility of receiving
financial support for what are sometimes costly long term projects;
The scientific community has to find innovative ways of improving collaboration amongscientific disciplines, and with new important actors such as the private sector;
International, regional and national organizations should be encouraged to find innovative
ways to strengthen co-operation among countries which share river basins or aquifers, inparticular through bilateral or other intergovernmental mechanisms. This includes thedevelopment of agreements to share data and other information, and joint scientific studiesof shared resources;
International organizations, including within the scientific community, must, within theirmandate, continue to be well focussed and action oriented and, in particular, enhance theirefforts to strengthen the capacity of many developing countries to deal with complex
environmental and socio-economic issues.
ETC