Water Governance
Good governance in the water sector helps prevent corruption. Governance systems determine who gets what water, when and in what way. Decision makers decide who has the right to water and to the related services and benefits. It is imperative that these ‘systems’ include: clearly defined, implemented and enforced laws and policies.
We often see that ‘governing water’ coincides within hydrological boundaries, i.e. in a river basin or though catchment organisations. Organisations and institutions face challenges at the heart of a complex web of basin stakeholders. Integrated water resources management (IWRM) is promoted globally as an effective way of improving the coordination of river basin management. However, such cross-sectoral cooperation may increase corruption risks, as the level of social control and administrative monitoring decreases when interactions occur outside the established systems.
