Rules and Roles in Water Policy and Management

Abstract

Water policy and management are currently subject to a significant change. Water users and other stakeholders are gradually playing a much more active and also constructive role. This is no substitute for government efforts. Public sector activities and regulatory arrangements are of vital importance. Traditional functions and orientation of work need, however, to be modified, and new tasks are forcing themselves on to the national, municipal, and local agendas. Interaction between government, civil society organizations, and professionals must be based on a policy where water is made everybody's business and where the various components of management, i.e., development of the resource, provision, actual use, and disposal after use, are considered. With a policy where the relations between water, people, development, and the environment are duly recognised, it becomes imperative and natural that the rules for water management are defined that allow various stakeholders to contribute to achieve water security.