African Water Development Report 2006 - United Nations Economic ...

Enabling Institutional EnvironmentThe importance of an institutional frameworkfor rational and effective water resources developmentand management has been growing inthe last few decades following deeper perceptionsabout the physical and socio-economic variablescontrolling this vital resource and the complexinteractions between these variables. As alreadymentioned good water management depends ongood water quantification. It also depends ongood water resources planning which likewisedepends on assessment, in our case, of the hydrologicaland water cycles. From the hydrologicalpoint of view, water resources institutions canbe grouped into two: those engaged in physicalquantification of the components of the hydrologicalcycle e.g. the meteorological and hydrologicalservices, and those managing the usersystems, such as irrigation, water supply and hydropowerdevelopment.Legal Bases for PreparingWater LegislationAny water use that is not properly planned andmanaged on the bases of water law and administrativeprocedures may cause problems not onlyfor the water body itself, but also for other naturalresources and the environment. There is an increasein the complexity of the problems associatedwith water use and development, includingthe social conflicts caused by a growing imbalancebetween fixed or diminishing water supply and anever-increasing water demand. This, combinedwith the impact of water-utilizing technologieson the resource itself, call for an adequate responsefrom lawmakers. In this connection, while thedeveloped countries have concerned themselvesmore with modernizing legislation, the developingcountries are mainly at the stage of establishingthe necessary legal framework for proper administrationof water resources.GOVERNING WATER WISELYThe nature of the water resources institutions in acountry is influenced by many factors, includingclimate and the level of water resources development.As can be seen, countries with semi-aridand arid climatic water flows, such as Egypt andthe Sudan, have central irrigation bodies such asministries or authorities for the development oftheir water resources, whereas in the tropical humidregions that do not have oil resources, themain body is an authority for hydropower development.However, in any given country, manyare the institutions and agencies responsible forwater legislation and management. The result isconflicts of jurisdiction and inter-institutionalrivalries which are detrimental to the rationaldevelopment and management of water resources.A water authority may exist at the national,regional, or local level or function at the political,executive, technical, or legal level. This makes itindispensable to legally specify the functions ofand relationships between the various authoritiesresponsible for water.Two main considerations are necessary for the legaladministration of water resources. Firstly, all waterdistribution and use must reconcile quantitativeand qualitative requirements with acquired rightsand long-established practices. Secondly, the legalarrangements must take into account existing andfuture water variations, excesses and shortages, inorder to avoid conflicts and disasters.Box: 15.1Existing Legal Acts on water resources management inthe Republic of the Congo1. Law n° 05/07 of 5 July 1967 establishing the Société Nationalede Distribution d’Eau.2. Law n° 23/82 of 7 July 1982 on Mining Code.3. Law n° 52/83 of 21 April 1983 on State and Land Code.4. Law n° 003/91 of April 23 1991 on the protection of the environment.5. Law n° 021/88 of 17 September 1988 on town planning.6. Law n° 014/92 of 29 April 1992 instituting the National SanitaryDevelopment Plan (PNDS).7. Law n° 16–2000 of 20 November 2000 on the forest Code.Law n° 13-2003 of 10 April 2003, a comprehensive new waterlaw establishing a Consultative Council on WaterSource: National AWDR Report, 2003343