222893e

WATER COOPERATION, SUSTAINABILITY AND POVERTY ERADICATIONBetter late than neverDr Claudine Brelet, HDRThe Oxford English Dictionary defines the word ‘cooperation’as “working or acting together to the same end” fora common purpose or benefit. Unfortunately, this processdoes not always take into account all the cultures involvedor what it means for them, whatever virtuous intentions areproclaimed. Who can say that most international cooperationprojects to ensure sustainability and poverty eradication respectlocal cultural practices and values?Polyomyelitis and cholera are among the pathogens caused by inappropriatesanitation measuresImage: C. BreletIn the water sector, the approach is still too often based only onhydrological and climatological data, on modelling and engineering,all relying on the application of scientific and mathematicalprinciples to practical ends such as the design, manufacture andoperation of efficient and economical structures, machines,processes and systems. Economy, too, is not sufficient to understandcultural practices linked to water. Howeverbrilliantly designed international cooperation waterprojects are, too many have eventually failed to meetthe tangible and intangible needs of local communitieson a long-term basis because they did not integratecultural practices linked to water.Integration means the participation and involvementof all individuals, especially the poor, from thebeginning of a project’s planning process to its management,monitoring and maintenance. Achieving trueintegration entails valuing the experiences, knowledgeand narratives of women and men who live with andbecause of water. Integration also means transparency:access to clear information is necessary to ensure thatlocal communities can understand the changes theymay have to face in their traditional lifestyles. It canalso ensure that one interested party will not disadvantageothers. It is easy to publish figures and numbers,but these fail to ensure that a project is successfullyintegrated because they do not take into account livinghuman reality, especially its intangible dimensions. Acommon challenge for experts is to translate scientificterms and concepts in a way that is understandable tocivil society, especially when communities have a lifestylethat relies on beliefs that largely differ from thoseof modern science.The modern scientific paradigm does not take intoaccount the way populations view themselves, theirown paradigm or ‘cosmovision’ that gives a meaningto their place in the universe and in nature – inshort, their culture. Too often, international expertsforget that the term ‘culture’ does not mean the literaryand artistic achievements of ‘cultured’ elites only.Culture involves the social, spiritual and technologicaldimensions of human life, learned patterns ofbehaviour, thought, normative values, knowledge– namely a way of life – which for generations havebeen shared by the members of a society to meetits basic tangible and intangible needs. The WorldConference on Cultural Policies 1 adopted the celebratedanthropological definition of culture that linksit so irrevocably to development. According to thisdefinition, culture is “the whole complex of distinctivespiritual, material, intellectual and emotionalfeatures that characterize a society or social group.It includes not only arts and letters, but also modesof life, the fundamental rights of the human being,value systems, traditions and beliefs.”[ 252 ]