Water for people.pdf - WHO Thailand Digital Repository

3 3 6 / 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 WaterBox 13.7: African Development Bank – policy statements on social issues■ Water is a social good and therefore a universal right andshould be made available to all at an affordable cost.■ Gender issues should be taken into account in IWRM.The Bank will strongly support water resourcesdevelopment projects that show good prospects ofreducing the time spent by women and girls in fetchingand storing water.■ The Bank will bring up issues on Core Labour Standardsin the process of discussions with Regional MemberCountries and appraise programmes and projects in thewater sector to ensure that they are in conformity withestablished criteria on labour.Role in cost recoveryThe need to move towards ‘cost recovery’ in providing water-relatedservices is stated in the Ministerial Declaration of The Hague (2000).Most OECD countries have already adopted (or are in the process ofadopting) ‘full cost recovery’ as an operating principle in themanagement of water resources. Definitions of exactly which costsshould be included under this principle vary. The adoption of full costrecovery principles has been accompanied by significant reductions intotal subsidies and in cross-subsidies between user groups.The programme adopted by the Special Session of the GeneralAssembly (UN, 1997) includes, with respect to water values, thateconomic valuation of water should be seen within thecontext of its social and economic implications, reflectingthe importance of meeting basic needs. Considerationshould be given to the gradual implementation of pricingpolicies that are geared towards cost recovery.Many governments have taken action to put IWRM principles intoaction. While there is a consensus on broad principles, theirimplementation has been slow. A general conclusion on globalprogress is that water pricing has increasingly become an integralpart of water sector management, but value of water is stillinsufficiently applied in the context of IWRM.Agriculture is the largest water consumer worldwide. It isrecognized that water pricing creates conditions for a more prudentuse of the resource. Moreover, cost recovery has made water serviceproviders more responsive to the demands of their users, resulting in■ Where involved, the Bank will ensure that stakeholdersare effective participants in all decision-makingprocesses likely to affect them. Their willingness andcapacity to pay for water resources developmentshould be sought and not just assumed.■ The Bank will ensure that control and prevention measureson water-related diseases are integrated as part of thewater management practices control and that preventionmeasures are based on proper health impact assessmentand through effective stakeholder participation.Source: AFDB, 2000.improved management of irrigation systems. In Chile, a water marketallows for water rights to be freely transferred within the irrigationsubsector. Many countries have resisted liberalizing the water market,keeping a regulated form of allocation of water rights in order tosecure the production of staple commodities. In such cases, waterfees are established to recover costs. As in the drinking water supplysubsector, many cases of cost recovery do not take into accountinvestments in infrastructure, nor replacement costs. Table 13.4 showsTable 13.4: Situation of cost recovery in irrigation for selected countriesCountryChileChinaIndiaIndonesiaMexicoPhilippinesInvestments in irrigationMinimal development of large capital projects. Self-financing,supported by capital subsidies (to 45%) for improved technology.In principle, beneficiaries pay. In practice, fee collection is erratic.Complex local financing and cross-subsidizing. Targeted statesubsidies for major and special works.Strong policy of construction in irrigation on equity grounds.Limited tariff-based cost recovery. Low recovery rates.Continued high levels of expenditure in capital works(groundwater and rehabilitation). Costrecovery programme in rapid expansion phase.Continued development of large capital projects by state.Cost recovery of O&M.Major projects state-funded. Farmer funding for communal andsmall-scale projects. Cost recovery of O&M and some depreciation.This table shows that many governments continue to invest in irrigation capital works, andthat the payment received from water services is generally limited to the recovery of the costsfor O&M.Source: WWAP/Iwaco, 2002. Prepared for the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP).