In order that measures in the water and sanitation sector can have a proper effect, sound legal, political and institutional frameworks are necessary. This section will provide backgound information on these different frameworks.
Legal and institutional frameworks
Whereas day to day management of groundwater resources takes place within the national sphere, and often at local level, domestic regulatory systems cannot be seen in isolation from international legal frameworks when transboundary aquifers are concerned. In that case international law determines states¿ rights and obligations to which domestic law has to be made compatible. The legal framework for groundwater management should provide answers to key questions such as, who can access groundwater, where, for which purposes and under which conditions? How are aquifers protected against depletion and pollution? According to which criteria are the finite resources of non-recharging aquifers to be allocated and protected? Which kind of monitoring and planning tools have to be used? How will private and public interest be balanced and how get stakeholders involved in decision making and management processes? These are some of the questions this report tries to respond.
FAO GEF IAH IHP World Bank (2012): Legal and institutional frameworks. FAO URL [Accessed: 02.04.2013]