Water for people.pdf - WHO Thailand Digital Repository

3 2 8 / M A N A G E M E N T C H A L L E N G E S : S T E W A R D S H I P A N D G O V E R N A N C ERecognizing and Valuing the Many Faces of Waterdisposal. All associated externality costs of water have been ignoredand users are offered very little incentive to use water efficientlyand not waste it. Major arguments for assigning price for the use ofwater have mostly originated from these concerns. Because costs ofwater supply delivery have escalated, it has become clear thateconomic measures such as pricing in general and demandmanagement instruments have a distinct role to play in ensuringmore efficient use of water.The concept of water valuation is definitely not new.Communities and indigenous people have assigned religious andcultural values to water for generations (see box 13.2). The valuesof drinking water, domestic uses, irrigation and industrial uses havevery often been socially established. Traditional managementpractices often reflect these socially determined norms for waterallocation, demand management and sustainable practices.The issue of water valuation was widely discussed during theExpert Group Meeting on Strategic Approaches to FreshwaterManagement held in Harare in 1998. The meeting considered valuingwater within the broader context of Integrated Water ResourcesManagement (IWRM) and came up with specific recommendations fordiscussion by the sixth session of the UNCSD 6, which specificallydealt with water resources issues. The meeting agreed on majorguiding principles in valuing water, as outlined in box 13.3.The Ministerial Declaration from the Second World Water Forumalso identified the need for and the controversy surrounding thevaluation of water and established valuing water as one of theseven challenge areas. Two specific targets were identified duringthe Forum: one is that the economic value of water should berecognized and fully reflected in national policies and strategies by2005; the other that mechanisms should be established by 2015 tofacilitate full cost pricing for water services while ensuring that theneeds of the poor are guaranteed.Box 13.3: Key recommendations for an integrated approach to freshwater resourcemanagementEconomics: Water planning and management needs tobe integrated into the national economy, recognizing thevital role of water for the satisfaction of basic humanneeds, food security, poverty alleviation and ecosystemfunctioning, and taking into account the special conditionsof non-monetary sectors of the economy.Allocation: Water needs to be considered as a finite andvulnerable resource and a social and economic good, andthe costs and benefits of different allocations to social,economic and environmental needs are to be assessed.The use of various economic instruments is important inguiding allocation decisions.Accountability: It is essential to ensure efficiency,transparency and accountability in water resourcesmanagement as a precondition to sustainable financialmanagement.groups, usually the poorest, may be judged desirablewithin some countries. Wherever possible, the level ofsuch subsidies and who benefits from them should betransparent. Information on performance indicators,procurement procedures, pricing, cost estimates, revenuesand subsidies needs to be provided in order to ensuretransparency and accountability, maintain confidence andimprove investment and management capacities in thewater sector.Financial resources: Increased financial resources willneed to be mobilized for the sustainable development offreshwater resources if the broader aims of sustainableeconomic and social development are to be realized,particularly in relation to poverty alleviation. Evidence thatexisting resources are being used efficiently will help tomobilize additional finance from national and internationalsources, both public and private.Covering costs: All costs must be covered if theprovision of water is to be viable. Subsidies for specificSource: Extracts of Proceedings of the Expert Group Meeting for the United NationsCommission for Sustainable Development 6 (UNCSD 6), held in Harare, 1998. Publishedin UNDESA, 1998.