Resource information
In 1993 the Board of the World Bank
endorsed a Water Resources Management Policy Paper (WRMPP).
In that paper, and in this Strategy, water resources
management comprises the institutional framework (legal,
regulatory and organizational roles), management instruments
(regulatory and financial), and the development, maintenance
and operation of infrastructure (including water storage
structures and conveyance, wastewater treatment, and
watershed protection). The 1993 Policy Paper reflected the
broad global consensus that was forged during the Rio Earth
Summit of 1992. This consensus stated that modern water
resources management should be based on three fundamental
principles (known as the Dublin Principles). First is the
ecological principle which argues that independent
management of water by different water-using sectors is not
appropriate, that the river basin should be the unit of
analysis, that land and water need to be managed together
and that much greater attention needs to be paid to the
environment. Second is the institutional principle, which
argues that water resources management is best done when all
stakeholders participate, including the state, the private
sector and civil society; that women need to be included;
and that resource management should respect the principle of
subsidiarity, with actions taken at the lowest appropriate
level. Third is the instrument principle, which argues that
water is a scarce resource and that greater use needs to be
made of incentives and economic principles in improving
allocation and enhancing quality.
