Global Water Partnership (GWP) - Toolbox and Handbook

GWP has committed itself to facilitating the sustainable management of water resources by fostering information exchange and helping to match needs for solutions to water problems with available tools, assistance and resources. In order to be able to work together towards a common objective, there is a clear need for a common understanding of what is meant by IWRM among all those involved. WRM is a complex field of water (related) issues, the biggest challenge is the consideration of all stakeholder levels in an appropriate way. It has to be ensured that IWRM plans on different action-levels are connected and adapted to each other, taking care of issues and problems on each level. Therefore, an instrument (or policy mix) will need to be developed, not only to meet different policy goals, but also to ensure that local or sectoral actors do not operate in narrowly self interested ways (Rees 2006).

The GWP Toolbox comprises an organised collection of case studies, reference documents, external web sites and other supporting materials in water resources management, which have been submitted by various contributors and have been peer reviewed. The GWP Toolbox is intended to be an information exchange – experiences shared help to develop the body of knowledge which can enable all those engaged in water issues to work together to build water security and sustainable water for all. GWP has developed the Toolbox as a free access source of knowledge.
The Toolbox allows water related professionals to discuss and analyse the various elements of the IWRM process, and facilitates the prioritization of actions aimed at improving water governance and management. It aims to facilitate those professionals and specialists engage with a broader community for the solution of water related problems.

Altogether 54 different tools are presented in the GWP Toolbox. The tools are organised into three sections:
Firstly, those tools which create an “enabling environment” are presented; these are tools on water policies and their development, tools for the use in the development of water law; and finally tools which deal with financial resources to meet water needs.
The first section also constitutes the framework for other tools classified in the following section “institutional roles”. Here, tools regarding the form and function of institutions are presented, including the building of appropriate institutions and building capacity within these institutions.
Finally, the section “management instruments” presents several tools regarding the process of water management and planning. This section includes various tools: some for balancing water supply and demand, furthermore instruments for encouraging social change, tools for conflict management, instruments regarding the regulation of water, economic, market based instruments and finally tools in respect to information and knowledge management in IWRM.

The Toolbox is organised in a hierarchical manner with each tool embedded in the wider perspective of IWRM. The characteristics of each tool are described in the Toolbox such as to allow the user to select a suitable mix and sequence of tools that would work in a given country, context and situation. The problems faced by water managers are many and diverse, as are the political, social and economic conditions, so no blueprint for the application of IWRM can be given.

In an effort to encourage a move towards more sustainable approaches to water development and management, the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in 2002 called for all countries to craft IWRM and water efficiency strategies by the end of 2005. In 2003, the GWP conducted an informal survey to see how countries were progressing towards the action targets of the WSSD. The findings has shown that some countries are having difficulty seeing how an IWRM strategy helps them to further their social and economic development, while others are struggling in their efforts to get the process off the ground. Therefore, the GWP published this handbook for IWRM. The recommendations and lessons offered in the handbook, it is hoped, will address both types of obstacles.
Thus, the handbook is intended to support countries in their greater efforts to:

• Meet development goals, such as reducing poverty, increasing food security, fostering economic growth, protecting ecosystems.
• Tackle specific water challenges, such as controlling flooding, mitigating the effects of drought, expanding access to water and sanitation, and addressing increasing competition for water and water scarcity.

The document does not provide strict guidelines for crafting a strategy, rather, it seeks to provide countries with the knowledge they need to act on the WSSD action target in the way that is most useful for them.
The idea is not to create a traditional water plan covering water development and management actions to be taken over the course of a limited time span, but to develop a dynamic framework that will encourage better planning and decision making on an on-going basis.
The content of the handbook is structured into the following parts:
At first, the “concept” of IWRM is explained to ensure a deeper understanding of sustainable and integrated water management. In a second part, the “contents” of IWRM and its action fields are explained in more detail. The “process” and “action” parts encourage actors in the field of water management how to manage the ongoing process of an IWRM process and how to strategise a plan on the long run.