Global Governance of Water: A Practitioner's Perspective (Global INSIGHTS‪)‬

The wide-ranging contents of this special issue on the global governance of water have stimulated a number of thoughts on my part as a former practitioner in this area. My views are grouped below around seven topics: the concept of global water governance itself; the levels at which governance can be handled; Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) as a leading paradigm of governance; water rights; accountability and voice; transparency and corruption; and the options of financing governance at national and international scales. I conclude by anticipating some themes from the forthcoming third edition of the World Water Development Report (WWDR-3). (1) Sound management of water is a function of a complex interaction of numerous factors, including demographics, economic development and trade, social and cultural processes, consumption patterns, technology, and climate. Moreover, many of these factors are changing rapidly, adding further complexity. This situation rules out any possibility for universal templates or one-size-fits-all solutions to water management. That said, when properly planned and implemented, governance instruments can affect water's drivers and uses to improve efficiency, equity, and sustainability. Unfortunately, however, the most important decisions impacting water today are often being made in domains outside that of water, without water being considered as a priority topic. For example, decisions about health, food, and energy on a sector basis or about poverty reduction and sustainable development in broader frameworks can have a major impact on water resources.