Integrating 'livelihoods' into integrated water resources management: taking the integration paradigm to its logical next step for developing countries

This paper examines the weaknesses in the current understanding of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) from the perspective of livelihoods. Empowering poor people, reducing poverty, improving livelihoods, and promoting economic growth ought to be the basic objectives of IWRM. But as current...

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Main Authors: Merrey, Douglas J., Drechsel, Pay, Penning de Vries, Frits W.T., Sally, Hilmy
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: 2005
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/41013
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author Merrey, Douglas J.
Drechsel, Pay
Penning de Vries, Frits W.T.
Sally, Hilmy
author_browse Drechsel, Pay
Merrey, Douglas J.
Penning de Vries, Frits W.T.
Sally, Hilmy
author_facet Merrey, Douglas J.
Drechsel, Pay
Penning de Vries, Frits W.T.
Sally, Hilmy
author_sort Merrey, Douglas J.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description This paper examines the weaknesses in the current understanding of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) from the perspective of livelihoods. Empowering poor people, reducing poverty, improving livelihoods, and promoting economic growth ought to be the basic objectives of IWRM. But as currently understood and used, IWRM often tends to focus on second-generation issues such as cost recovery, reallocation of water to higher value uses, and environmental conservation. This paper argues that IWRM needs to be placed in the broader context of both modern Integrated Natural Resource Management (INRM) and the livelihoods approach, which together take a holistic and people-centered approach. The paper concludes with an alternative definition of IWRM as involving the promotion of human welfare, especially the reduction of poverty, encouragement of better livelihoods and balanced economic growth through effective democratic development and management of water and other natural resources in an integrated multilevel framework that is as equitable, sustainable, and transparent as possible, and conserves vital ecosystems. Transparent user-friendly information and models for assisting decision making are essential features of livelihood-oriented IWRM.
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spelling CGSpace410132025-02-24T06:54:18Z Integrating 'livelihoods' into integrated water resources management: taking the integration paradigm to its logical next step for developing countries Merrey, Douglas J. Drechsel, Pay Penning de Vries, Frits W.T. Sally, Hilmy water resource management developing countries poverty farmers river basins aquifers water supply This paper examines the weaknesses in the current understanding of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) from the perspective of livelihoods. Empowering poor people, reducing poverty, improving livelihoods, and promoting economic growth ought to be the basic objectives of IWRM. But as currently understood and used, IWRM often tends to focus on second-generation issues such as cost recovery, reallocation of water to higher value uses, and environmental conservation. This paper argues that IWRM needs to be placed in the broader context of both modern Integrated Natural Resource Management (INRM) and the livelihoods approach, which together take a holistic and people-centered approach. The paper concludes with an alternative definition of IWRM as involving the promotion of human welfare, especially the reduction of poverty, encouragement of better livelihoods and balanced economic growth through effective democratic development and management of water and other natural resources in an integrated multilevel framework that is as equitable, sustainable, and transparent as possible, and conserves vital ecosystems. Transparent user-friendly information and models for assisting decision making are essential features of livelihood-oriented IWRM. Paper presented at Monitoring Tailor-Made IV Conference: Information to Support Sustainable Water Management: From Local to Global Levels, St. Michielsgestel, Netherlands, 15-18 September 2003. 11p.; ill, ref. 2005 2014-06-13T14:49:02Z 2014-06-13T14:49:02Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/41013 en Limited Access Merrey, Douglas; Drechsel, Pay; Penning de Vries, Frits; Sally, Hilmy. 2005. Integrating ?livelihoods? into integrated water resources management: taking the integration paradigm to its logical next step for developing countries. Regional Environmental Change, 5:197-204.
spellingShingle water resource management
developing countries
poverty
farmers
river basins
aquifers
water supply
Merrey, Douglas J.
Drechsel, Pay
Penning de Vries, Frits W.T.
Sally, Hilmy
Integrating 'livelihoods' into integrated water resources management: taking the integration paradigm to its logical next step for developing countries
title Integrating 'livelihoods' into integrated water resources management: taking the integration paradigm to its logical next step for developing countries
title_full Integrating 'livelihoods' into integrated water resources management: taking the integration paradigm to its logical next step for developing countries
title_fullStr Integrating 'livelihoods' into integrated water resources management: taking the integration paradigm to its logical next step for developing countries
title_full_unstemmed Integrating 'livelihoods' into integrated water resources management: taking the integration paradigm to its logical next step for developing countries
title_short Integrating 'livelihoods' into integrated water resources management: taking the integration paradigm to its logical next step for developing countries
title_sort integrating livelihoods into integrated water resources management taking the integration paradigm to its logical next step for developing countries
topic water resource management
developing countries
poverty
farmers
river basins
aquifers
water supply
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/41013
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