Transcript Multi-level Water Governance - Utrecht Centre for Water, Oceans
MULTI-LEVEL WATER GOVERNANCE: GAPS AND GUIDELINES
Aziza Akhmouch, PhD OECD Water Governance Programme Water and Oceans Law in Times of Climate Change Utrecht, 31October 2013
What we think
The “water crisis” is largely … a governance crisis
Enough water Coping with for human and nature needs … if managed wisely! future water challenges requires more than financing & hydrology How to manage water-related risks & trade-offs ? Through better governance
Interdependencies across multiple stakeholders are poorly managed
Water is a local & global issue with multiple actors at different levels All countries experience institutional & territorial fragmentation Many countries struggle to really understand (and map) of water policy who does what
No optimal level of “good water governance” nor a one-size-fits-all
Need for place-based policies & national framework , strategy and set of rules Technical, financial & institutional solutions exist , but implementation fails Pragmatic diagnosis & implementation tools / methodologies are needed Taking stock of what works well and what does not work is important 2
What we have learned
Australia Belgium Canada Chile France Greece Israel Italy Japan Korea, Mexico Netherlands, New Zealand Portugal Spain United Kingdom (England & Wales) US (Colorado) 17 OECD (2011) Argentina, Brazil Chile Costa Rica Cuba Dominican Republic El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Mexico Nicaragua Panama Peru 13 LAC (2012) 3
Water : a fragmented sector with multi-level interactions
Beyond the question of “
WHAT
” content water policies should have, there is a need to think about “
HOW
” they will be implemented and “
BY WHOM
”
this implies getting into the “black box” of water policy
=>> Three models
can summarise challenges related to water policy, based on the level of territorial and institutional
fragmentation
OECD (2011) Water Governance in OECD Countries : a Multi-level Approach
Mind and bridge multi-level governance gaps A methodological framework
OECD (2011) Water Governance in OECD Countries : a Multi-level Approach 6
LAC and OECD countries face common gaps ... but different priorities can be identified OECD countries LAC Countries
Key multi-level governance challenges in OECD countries
OECD (2011) Water Governance in OECD Countries : a Multi-level Approach
How to ensure horizontal coordination of water policy?
All countries surveyed set-up
coordination tool at central government level
None considered the as
the panacea creation of a “magic” ministry
devoted exclusively to water
Horizontal coordination across water-related policy areas
Current debate in Mexico : A water ministry? A federal regulator?
OECD (2013) Making Water Reform Happen in Mexico
A wide range of governance instruments for vertical coordination of water policy Central Government Ministerial Departments Inter Governmental Council
(COAG, Australia)
River basin organisations Contracts
(ex. France; EU, etc.)
Conditionalities
( EU programming)
Special Commission
(Delta, Netherlands)
Sub-national Governments Whatever the type of system – federal, regionalised, unitary – there is a strong need of coordination across ministries and levels of government
Vertical co-ordination across levels of government
Some OECD countries have set-up all these mechanisms (France, Mexico), while others have more centralised water systems, with limited involvement of sub national governments (e.g. Korea, Israel)
Co-ordination across local and regional authorities
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Wastewater management in the Netherlands : The need for horizontal coordination between municipalities (sewage collection) and regional water authorities (treatment) OECD (2014 forth.) Water Governance in the Netherlands : Fit for the Future?
Preliminary OECD Guidelines for effective management of multi-level governance in water policy 1. Diagnose multilevel governance gaps
in water policymaking across ministries and public agencies, between levels of government, across subnational actors
2. Involve subnational governments
beyond their roles as “implementers” in the “design” stage of water policymaking,
3. Adopt horizontal co-ordination tools
to foster coherence across water related policy areas and enhance inter-institutional cooperation across ministries and public agencies
4. Create, update and harmonise water information systems
and databases for sharing water policy needs at basin, country and international levels
5. Encourage performance measurement
water policy at all levels of government to evaluate and monitor outcomes of
6. Respond to the fragmentation
of water policy at subnational level by fostering coordination across subnational actors and between levels of government
7. Foster capacity building at all levels of government 8. Encourage public participation
in water policy design and implementation
9. Assess the effectiveness and adequacy of existing governance instruments
for coordinating water policy at horizontal and vertical levels
Lessons from OECD Water Policy Dialogues
Mexico (2013), Netherlands, Jordan, Tunisia (2014) and Brazil (2015) There is a
diversity
of water governance
tools, initiatives, programmes
at global level .. But reforms are mostly carried out at …
national Level
OECD Water Policy Dialogues can :
Assess water governance
gaps
Identify
good practices
to bridge them Engage a wide range of Support water
reform stakeholders
processes Suggest policy Provide
recommendations international comparisons
Institutional “mechanistic” reform
cannot be thought of in a vacuum => the form of institution need to
match water management functions
and target critical issues (pricing, allocation, rights/concession deeds etc.) Flexibility is needed to
match the type of governance to the level of risk =>
a one-size –fits- all (e.g. Mexico’s RBO) does not work !
Good practices
need to be scaled-up, a crescendo approach often helps.
Next step (2015) : OECD Principles on Water Governance Stakeholder engagement Basin Governance Equity Efficiency Sustainability Vertical & horizontal coordination Integrity & transparency
OECD Water Governance Initiative
A multi-stakeholder Policy Forum to scale up best practice and shape policy guidance
Global water agenda Discuss OECD water governance Reviews 2013-2015 OECD Principles on Water Governance OECD Indicators on Water Governance Policy Forum Analytical work Support 6th WWF targets