UNDERSTANDING CONFLICT AND COOPERATION IN LOCAL WATER GOVERNANCE
a collaborative and comparative research program

INTRODUCTION

Water is vital to local livelihoods and a key prerequisite for development. In recognition of this, recent years have seen an increasing focus on efforts to ensure effective water management in developing countries, reflected most clearly in the widespread water reforms taking place, often supported through associated donor funded programmers. Alongside these developments, there is an increasing focus on water as a source of conflict. This has included growing attention to transboundary water conflicts and collaboration, and more recently also a spreading perception that the number and intensity of local water conflicts are growing (Carius et al., undated; Thomasson, 2005). However, while transboundary water conflicts are quite well documented (Wolf et al., 2003), the perception of growing local conflicts is based mostly on sporadic accounts of local water conflicts rather than on systematic empirical evidence. Even less is known with respect to how the poor, women and otherwise disadvantaged groups fare in such local conflict and cooperation, and, in general, how they are affected by increasing competition for water (United Nations, 2006). The lack of better insight into these issues limits the ability of Governments and donors to ensure that water policies are consistent with Poverty Reduction Strategies and with the overall objectives of poverty reduction and equal access to resources for men and women as well as for different ethnic groups.

OBJECTIVES

The proposed research program aims to contribute to sustainable local water governance in support of the rural poor and otherwise disadvantaged groups in developing countries by improving the knowledge among researchers and practitioners of the nature, extent and intensity of local water conflict and cooperation and their social, economic and political impacts, and how this may change with increased competition for water. Beyond its cognitive importance, such empirically based understanding has significant implications for the water policy, legal and administrative reform currently taking place in many developing countries, which – if poorly informed on the relationship between competition for water, conflict and poor people’s access to water – may cause such reform to be ineffective and exacerbate rather than reduce rural poverty.

EXPECTED RESULTS

Based on comparative research conducted from April 2007 to March 2010 in seven countries (Mali, Tanzania and Zambia in sub-Saharan Africa; Vietnam in south-east Asia; and Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua in Latin America), the proposed research program will provide the following main results:
• Quantitative inventories and qualitative case studies of the origin, nature, extent and intensity of local water conflicts and cooperation in seven countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and of their social, economic and political impacts
• Cross-cutting analysis and synthesis of findings from national studies, including typologies of water conflicts and cooperation and contributions to the theoretical understanding of the impact of economic and political inequality on the nature and outcomes of water-related conflict and cooperation
• Recommendations for ongoing water policy, legal and administrative reform developed and disseminated to national decision-makers, practitioners, researchers and relevant Danida sector support and Danida support provided through multilateral organizations
• Enhanced capacity and experience in the partner institutions within poverty-oriented analysis of water conflicts and cooperation

PROGRAM PARTNERS

The research will be conducted jointly in the seven sites by three Danish partners (Danish Institute for International Studies (lead), Nordeco and DHI Water and Environment); and seven national and two international partners (Centro Agua – Valle Alto de Cochabamba, Bolivia; Provincial Government of Tungurahua (PGT) and the Ambato Water Agency (AWA) – Tungurahua province, Ecuador; University of Bamako (UB) and International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) – Duentza district, Mali; Nitlapán – Estelí district, Nicaragua; Institute of Resource Assessment (IRA) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI-South Africa) – Upper Ruaha catchment, Tanzania; Centre for Agro-Ecological Research and Environmental Studies (CARES) – Nghe An province, Vietnam; and Centre for Integrated Water Resources Management (CIWRM) and IWMI – Itezhi-Tezhi and Namwala districts, Zambia.

Combined this group of partners comprises social scientists, geographers, lawyers, economists, hydrologists, environmental scientists, and agronomists and thus provides a good platform for conducting the cross-disciplinary research envisaged in the present program description. National government agencies, civil society organizations and practitioners will be involved through national working groups.

The above information is partly taken from the description of the project. Please refer to http://www.diis.dk for more information.

RESEARH RESULTS (click here)