Institutional and policy analysis of river basin management decentralization : the principle of managing water resources at the lowest appropriate level - when and why does it (not) work in practice?

Abstract

One of the internationally accepted principles of river basin management is to decentralize decision making to the lowest appropriate level. This principle has been promulgated extensively over the past 15 years, leading to the creation of many river basin management organizations structured around a broader participation of stakeholders from different user groups and sectors in order to achieve more integrated water resources management. This study originated from empirical observations, based on experience with World Bank-financed river basin management projects all over the world. Experience from these projects suggested that while the concept of management at the lowest appropriate level could be translated into laws and regulations relatively easily, its actual application often encounters obstacles due to the varying interests of different stakeholder groups, including those having to promote decentralization. In practice, this means that projects and policies based around integrated water resources management principles may not fully achieve their potential benefits. This observation led this study to investigate the underlying reasons for (non-) achievement of decentralization in river basin management. The research was carried out over the period 2002 to 2005. The study consists of three main parts: (1) a global survey of 83 river basin organizations around the world, (2) eight in-depth case studies and (3) an extensive literature review.