Water

Effective management of water resources is a complicated task. It requires attention not only to the wide variety of water users and uses, but also the ecosystems through which water functions and moves.

In Africa, for example, the Nile Basin encompasses more than three million square kilometres in no less than 11 countries. It is home to 238 million people. Increasing their engagement in the management of the basin is the goal of the multinational NGO, Nile Basin Discourse (NBD), one of twelve members of the AfriWater Community of Practice (CoP) which was formed in 2014 with the support of Both ENDS. In six basins in East and West Africa, members of the AfriWater CoP are actively enhancing participation of communities in IWRM processes using the Negotiated Approach. They are also using an ecosystem perspective which integrates management of water with that of land and other resources for the purposes of both sustainable use and conservation.

In 2015, AfriWater CoP members shared their perspective with policymakers, pressing for full implementation of the policy framework Africa Water Vision 2025, which outlined the coordinated development and management of water, land, and related resources geared toward equitable and sustainable use. In 2015, AfriWater CoP caught the attention of key decision-making bodies and stakeholders, including the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), which acknowledged the value of the network’s perspective on river basin management.

At the World Water Week in Stockholm, Serah Munguti, from AfriWater CoP member Nature Kenya, addressed a meeting of international donors, sharing the group’s remarkable success story in the Tana River Delta: the group’s efforts to raise awareness about the risks of proposed biofuel production in the area ultimately resulted in a comprehensive land and water use plan.

To address the Indonesian water crisis, Both ENDS and three Indonesian organisations – Yayasan Mitra Insani in the Kampar River Basin, Komunitas Peduli Ciliwung (KPC) Bogor in the Ciliwung River Basin, and ECOTON in the Brantas River Basin – teamed up to form the IndoWater Community of Practice (CoP) in 2014.

The Indonesian groups, like their counterparts in Africa, have extensive experience working with communities. By working together and sharing their learning in the CoP, they aim to develop and improve their efforts toward participatory integrated river basin management in Indonesia.

IndoWater CoP got fully underway in 2015. At a workshop in March, the groups clarified the aims and the principles of the network, and initiated an analysis of the Indonesian legal framework as it relates to IWRM. The groups also conducted an inventory of existing initiatives, evaluating their effectiveness and documenting lessons learned. The inventory included both formal governmentsponsored platforms, and informal communitydriven platforms that give communities a role in decision-making and action around management of water resources. IndoWater CoP’s findings are featured in a detailed report and short film, due out in early 2016.