Public Participation in the Governance of International Freshwater Resources

Clean water is essential to human survival, yet it is increasingly scarce. Despite pressures on this crucial resource, people often have little or no opportunity to participate in watershed decision that affect them, particularly when they live along international watercourses. The United Nations has identifies the rising demand for water as one of four major factors that will threaten human and ecological health for at least a generation. Over the coming decade, governments throughout the world will struggle to manage water in ways that are efficient equitable and environmentally sound. Whether these efforts succeed may turn, in large part, on providing the public with a voice in watershed management decisions that directly affect them. Public involvement holds the promise of improving the management international watercourses and reducing the potential for conflict over water issues. This volume examines the experiences in many watercourses around the world, lessons learned and areas for further development. Drawing upon papers presented at a symposium on "Improving Public Participation and Governance in International Watershed Management" co-sponsored by the Environmental Law Institute, United Nations University, and other institutions, the chapters identify innovative approaches, as well as some of the considerations–linguistic, political, legal, traditional and cultural, geographic and institutional–that should be considered when extending and adapting the approaches to other watersheds.