Presents a framework for institutional analysis, focusing on the three main pillars of institutions - laws, policies and administration. The report provides a brief set of guidelines, supported by an outline of some issues, constraints and prospects for institutional change.

Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) has in recent years captured the attention of policy makers and policy analysts. A lot has been written on this topic, most often disparately, about institutions for IWRM. However, there has been limited success in bridging disciplinaryboundaries (social versus physical sciences) with the result that conceptual inconsistencies persist with regard to our understanding of institutions for IWRM. This paper outlines key features of an analytical framework for the institutional analysis of IWRM in river basins. Thenovelties of the analytical approach include emphasis on transparent policy processes of state parastatals, modes of water-service provisioning and conditions for collective action in the management of common pool resources in river basins and its implications for sustainable rurallivelihoods. The paper then discusses certain methodological concerns with regard to the operationalizing of various elements of the analytical framework. In particular, the paper discusses issues related to defining the scope of analysis, scale of water use and management and collective action for the management of common pool resources in a river basin. The paper also discusses the process by which the comparative analysis of IWRM may be undertaken by highlighting the importance of problem specification, hypothesis generation and methods of data collection.

In recent years, Integrated Water-Resources Management (IWRM) has captured the attention of policymakers and policy analysts. A lot has been written, most often in a disparate way about institutions for IWRM. However, there has been limited success in bridging disciplinary boundaries (social versus physical sciences) with the result that conceptual inconsistencies persist with regard to our understanding of institutions for IWRM. This paper reviews IWMI research on IWRM in Asia and highlights drawbacks in contemporary approaches to the study of institutions for IWRM in river basins. The paper then outlines key features of an alternative analytical framework. In doing so, it discusses certain novel features of the alternative approach: emphasis on transparent policy processes of State parastatals, modes of water-service provisioning and conditions for collective action in the management of common-pool resources in river basins and its implications for sustainable rural livelihoods.

This book reviews the concept, contemporary research efforts and the implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). The IWRM concept was established as an international guiding water management paradigm in the early 1990ies and has become a vital approach to solving the problems associated with the topic of water. The book summarizes fourteen comprehensive IWRM research projects with worldwide coverage and analyses their motivations, settings, approaches and implementation of results. Aiming to be an up-to-date interdisciplinary scientific reference, this book provides a comprehensive theoretical and empirical analysis of contemporary IWRM research, examples of science based implementations and a synthesis of the lessons learnt. It concludes with some major future challenges, the solving of which will further strengthen the IWRM concept.

Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) has become a global paradigm for the governance of surface, coastal and groundwaters. This Special Issue contains twelve articles related to the transfer of IWRM policy principles. The articles explore three dimensions of transfer—causes, processes, outcomes—and offer a theoretically inspiring, methodologically rich and geographically diverse engagement with IWRM policy transfer around the globe. As such, they can also productively inform a future research agenda on the ‘dimensional’ aspects of IWRM governance. Regarding the causes, the contributions apply, criticise, extend or revise existing approaches to policy transfer in a water governance context, asking why countries adopt IWRM principles and what mechanisms are in place to understand the adoption of these principles in regional or national contexts. When it comes to processes, articles in this Special Issue unpack the process of policy transfer and implementation and explore how IWRM principles travel across borders, levels and scales. Finally, this set of papers looks into the outcomes of IWRM policy transfer and asks what impact IWRM principles, once implemented, gave on domestic water governance, water quality and water supply, and how effective IWRM is at addressing critical water issues in specific countries.

As water scarcities increase, nations throughout the world are in search of better institutions to manage water resources. India has been making substantial efforts to develop its water management systems since independence and significant increases in irrigated agriculture have taken place through both public and private initiatives. However, scarcities are increasing and major problems presently confront the management of water resources and irrigated agriculture. Resolving these problems is crucial for the future. The main purpose of this book is to provide a new approach for the analysis and design of water institutions that govern the use and development of water resources, particularly for agriculture which is the largest user. Drawing on the theory of New Institutional Economics and comparisons with Australia (as a developed country) and other less developed nations in Africa and Asia, the authors present original empirical data from three Indian states. Detailed analysis of these data is used to identify and recommend attributes and features of water management institutions that are conducive to effective resource management, its long-term success, and its best contribution to development.

The complexity of current water resource management poses many challenges. Water managers need to solve a range of interrelated water dilemmas, such as balancing water quantity and quality, flooding, drought, maintaining biodiversity and ecological functions and services, in a context where human beliefs, actions and values play a central role. Furthermore, the growing uncertainties of global climate change and the long term implications of management actions make the problems even more difficult. This book explains the benefits, outcomes and lessons learned from adaptive water management (AWM). In essence AWM is a way of responding to uncertainty by designing policy measures which are provisional and incremental, subject to subsequent modification in response to environmental change and other variables. Included are illustrative case studies from seven river basins from across Europe, West Asia and Africa: the Elbe, Rhine, Guadiana, Tisza, Orange, Nile and Amudarya. These exemplify the key challenges of adaptive water management, especially when rivers cross national boundaries, creating additional problems of governance.

This thesis presents analysis of the status of IWRM implementation along with the challenges with regards to policy and institutional measures as well as the required basin information and management instruments. The research entailed a detailed analysis of water resources systems based on a case study from the Awash River Basin in Ethiopia, covering the historical and present state of the challenges and gaps in policies, institutional arrangements and management instruments. The status quo of practical water management, implications of plausible management alternatives in terms of their impact to future water availability, demand fulfilment, patterns of use, and sustainability of the environment were examined. Moreover, the interlinkages and dynamics between key water dependent resources sectors, broadly categorized into water, energy, food, and ecosystems (WEFE) was explored to identify key tradeoffs and synergies. This was deliberated as to improving the synchronization of sectoral plans and resources management programs, thereby fast-tracking the coordination process in IWRM. Overall, the research provides a clearer understanding of the system-wide problems, structural challenges and possible future consequences regarding the management and sustainability of the entire water resource system. Ultimately the purpose is to set in motion new strategies and mechanisms to improve the implementation of the currently applied IWRM framework in the context of the SDGs.