The EMPOWERS approach to water governance : background and key concepts

This booklet provides an explanation of the conceptual background to the EMPOWERS approach to water governance and is a companion volume to The EMPOWERS approach to water governance : guidelines, methods and tools.

Reference: Moriarty, P. et al. (2007) The EMPOWERS approach to water governance : background and key concepts. Amman, Jordan, INWRDAM [1 MB]. Available at http://www.irc.nl/content/download/137752/413360/file/Background%20to%20Guidelines_En.pdf

This booklet outlines how the role of the expert is changing from someone who provides solutions to someone who helps stakeholders to address their problems and to develop their own solutions.

It is divided into four sections:

1. Water governance and integrated water resources management provides an introduction to key concepts in local water governance and integrated water resources management, as well as to a number of critical issues that are dealt with in the guidelines.
2. How to achieve and maintain good water governance considers how to achieve good local water governance and outlines some of the lessons learnt during the development and testing of the approach, both in practical terms and also in terms of broader policy considerations.
3. Lessons learnt in water governance briefly sets out the key lessons learnt in using the EMPOWERS approach.
4. The way forward discusses possible avenues and approaches for using the guidelines. It includes a plea that those who adopt the EMPOWERS approach and associated methods and tools report on successes and failures, to enrich the global learning process and to deepen our understanding of these issues