Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) has been defined as "a coordinated, goal-directed process for controlling the development and use of river, lake, ocean, wetland, and other water assets. "
Operationally, IWRM approaches involve applying knowledge from various disciplines as well as the insights from diverse stakeholders to devise and implement efficient, equitable and sustainable solutions to water and development problems. As such, IWRM is a comprehensive, participatory planning and implementation tool for managing and developing water resources in a way that balances social and economic needs, and that ensures the protection of ecosystems for future generations. Water’s many different uses—for agriculture, for healthy ecosystems, for people and livelihoods—demands coordinated action. An IWRM approach is an open, flexible process, bringing together decision-makers across the various sectors that impact water resources, and bringing all stakeholders to the table to set policy and make sound, balanced decisions in response to specific water challenges faced.
In putting the IWRM principle into practice, many countries have adopted an approach where regulatory decisions such as water allocation and pollution licensing are implemented at the scale of the river basin or catchment. This has been accompanied by the emergence of institutional arrangements for water resources management that based on hydrological boundaries. While most of these institutions can be grouped as River Basin Organisations (RBOs) some are specifically mandated with managing groundwater water aquifers and lakes basins. Cap-Net, a UNDP capacity development programme for sustainable water management developed a training manual on IWRM for River Basin Organisations and works with networks of local capacity builders around the world to assist water managers with the concept of using an IWRM approach on the ground.
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