Promote greater buy-in through water resources management education

Posted on August 13, 2019 by Karina de Souza

Authoring Organizations:	Pacific Institute
Consulting Organizations:	Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
Universal:	No
Applicable Phases:	Assess
Last Updated	Dec 20, 2024

Overview

Many stakeholders will need education on water resources management and stewardship, especially those not exposed to such concepts before. This training and awareness-raising helps stakeholders engage with water sustainability to enact long-term, comprehensive solutions.

Benefits

An education programme can address the tendency of institutions or different partners to work in silos; education will help partners understand the role of different initiatives that combine to advance water stewardship. A multi-stakeholder educational platform helps partners and stakeholders share their challenges and develop solutions in an open and trusted forum.

Guidance

• To educate stakeholders on water resources management, consider engaging consultants or other local groups. Make sure to include such education in the project budget.     
• In the context of partnerships, education and training must take place alongside the implementation of infrastructure projects, not only at the start of a project. A technical solution may require improved management and governance as much as it requires new infrastructure.

Example

In Tanzania, the Partnership for Sustainable Water Management in the Usa River (SUWAMA) addressed confusion regarding the mandate of the Water User Association (WUA) by  providing simple training on the role of the WUA and its chairperson to the water users in the basin communities. Many local stakeholders were unsure of the governance boundary for the WUA and who to contact with issues. The training helped to remedy local water users’ false assumptions about their water rights. As a result of the training, the community became more active in demanding improved water resources management from the local government authorities.