Bridging parallel discourses of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM): institutional and political challenges in developing and developed countries

Abstract

This paper provides a comparative review of the literature on the institutional challenges and politics of IWRM, in relation to the EU's Water Framework Directive (WFD). It reveals two parallel debates with little interaction. The extent to which IWRM is actually addressed in the WFD literature is questioned, as is the assumption that developing countries can learn from WFD experiences. Finally, the mutual benefits of connecting these parallel discussions are demonstrated, especially in terms of encouraging greater sensitivity to the contingencies and complexities of water management.

Keywords:

• IWRM
• water resource management
• politics
• institutions
• WFD
• developing countries
• EU

Acknowledgements

This paper is based on research funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF): “Strengthening Integrated Water Resource Management through institutional analysis: an analytical tool and operative methodology for research projects and programmes (WaRM-In)”. The authors would like to thank Timothy Moss and Peter Mollinga for their detailed comments on earlier versions of this paper, as well the reviewers and editors for their constructive criticism.

Notes

1. IWRM has also been promoted in transition countries in Eastern Europe and in Central and Eastern Asian countries, such as Uzbekistan (Wegerich 2009). Research on IWRM in transition countries is more limited, with most concentrating on links to farming and infrastructure (see Horlemann and Dombrowsky 2012). For this reason, the paper concentrates on developing countries.

2. But also, to a lesser extent, the Floods Directive.

3. Swatuk's (2008, p. 883) Botswana study suggests that implementing IWRM does not always fit with Allan's (2003) ‘Northern outsider–Southern insider’ dichotomy.

4. For examples and further references on Africa see Swatuk 2005, p. 875.

5. Useful insights might also be gained from the literature on boundary organizations (e.g. White et al. 2008) and boundary spanning (e.g. Warner et al. 2010).