Therefore, it is necessary to explore institutional, economic, policy and social instruments which can be applied to achieve an equitable sharing of these benefits and costs by all water users in a watershed. In order to assess costs and benefits of upstream land use on downstream water resources, it is imperative to obtain a clear picture to what extent different land use systems and practices affect hydrological regime and water quality, and at which scales and contexts the impacts are of importance. With regard to instruments which are used to develop linkages between upstream and downstream water users, only very few examples could be discerned in developing countries or countries in transition. A hypothesis developed from these findings is that in order for such upstream-downstream instruments to work, a number of prerequisites have to be met, some of which are difficult to achieve in the context of developing countries, including the existence of an adequate institutional framework.
Scale has to be taken into account when assessing land-use impacts on water resources.
Aside from providing a forum for discussion and consolidation of information, the outcome of the workshop should provide a focus for further activities of the project.