The authors highlight the importance of community participation in water resources management not only from an ethical perspective (ensuring democracy and equity), but also for practical purposes.
As a matter of fact, they claim that development projects which lack public involvement can end up in failure and lead to conflicts between stakeholders.
A reported example of failure is the Msanzi Irrigation Project, planned and implemented by Rukwa Development Project (RUDEP), a development programme of the Norwegian government, with an estimated value of about 70 million US dollar (2009). According to the authors, the local government stopped funding the irrigation scheme, as it was designed without any consideration of the indigenous techniques used for the construction of the previous Msanzi Irrigation Scheme, which had been destroyed by a series of floods.
In a Review Mission of February 1987 (quoted in a study of the RUDEP impact), it is only mentioned that central government funds were diverted to other sectors; but causes are not specified. In the study there is also a reference to the lacking 'sense of 'ownership and responsibility for the gift [emphasis added] they [the local communities] had received', without questioning the reasons of it.
However, the authors of the study also mention a training progma to promote village level management.
A case of conflicts between stakeholders is the one in the Pangani basin, in which there have been contentions for water use in farming and irrigation, pasture, hydro-power and domestic purposes.
The Pagani Falls Development project tried to solve this conflicts by instituting the Pangani Basin Water Office, in charge of 'allocating, managing, monitoring and controlling water use in Pangani Basin' (2007), One of the reported strengths of the Office is its capability of representing and defending upstream and downstream stakeholders interests.
Therefore, it seems that public participation could be analysed as an important factor for development programs success.
Dungumaro and Madulu list as channels for community involvement: public hearings, notice and comment procedures and institution of advisory committees.
But what this channels should be used for? What should be content of public participation?
They highlight the importance of enabling communities to identify and report their specific needs, interests and water use problems. An important role is played by programs aimed at providing locals with negotiation skills, as being able to communicate opinions is crucial for communities.
In the paper there is also a great emphasis on the need to consider indigenous knowledge (ID), defined by the World Bank as the local system of 'skills, experiences and insights of people, applied to maintain or improve their livelihood'. As local communities have a deep knowledge of the specific features of their environment, it is suggested that indigenous knowledge is taken into account as a database for 'practical, relevant, achievable and acceptable solutions [emphasis added] to water related problems'.
Also the UN Agenda 21 deals with the relevance of the 'improvement of indigenous technologies 'to fully utilize limited water resources and to safeguard those resources against pollution' (1992).
Indigenous knowledge encompasses not only practical solutions, but also legal and cultural instruments for water resources protection.
By way of example, the authors refer to bye-laws aimed at limiting human activities near sources of drinking water effected in the rural areas of Mwanza Region. An interesting case is the Integrated Water Resources Management Project in the Ghanaian Volta region: the catchment inclusive of its vegetation was declared sacred to prevent cultural activities and waste accumulation in the area. This 'cultural' (rather than 'legal') prohibition proved to be effective for water quality maintenance.
Different types of training and educational programs are also considered of great importance. Besides the above mentioned projects to reinforce communicative and negotiating skills, Dungumaro and Madulu mention educational activities to enhance the understanding of correlation between human behaviour and waterborne diseases in the Tonga water resource management project (South Africa) and training programs to provide local communities with skills to properly maintain irrigation infrastructures.
All the activities aimed at increasing public participation seem to be relevant in raising the sense of responsibility and ownership of water management schemes and, thus, in guaranteeing the effectiveness of projects.
The very central idea of community involvement appears to be community empowerment: that is, not (or not only) transferring skills and technologies from experts to locals, but empowering communities with capacity to communicate their views to experts, negotiate with them and other stakeholders and implement their own solutions.
Sources:
Dungumaro, E.W. and Maduly, N.F. 2003. Public participation in integrated water resources management: the case of Tanzania. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 28, 1009-1014.
Alf Morten Jerve and E.J.K. Ntemi 2009. Rukwa Ruka. The attempt of a foreign donor to uplift a neglected region: A study of the impact of Norwegian aid to Rukwa Region, Tanzania. Bergen: Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI Report R 2009: 12) 98 p.
Kimwaga, R. J., and S. Nkandi 2007. Evaluation of the Suitability of Pangani Falls Redevelopment
(Hydro Power) Project in Pangani River Basin, Tanzania: An IWRM Approach.
United Nations (UN) 1992. Agenda 21: The United Nations Programme of Action from Rio - Chapter 18 'Protection of the Quality and Supply of Freshwater Resources'. United Nations, New York, USA.
http://www.worldbank.org/afr/ik/basic.htm
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