UN-Water and Global Water Partnership (GWP) Roadmapping for Advancing Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Processes

The goods and services provided by water play a central role in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted at the Millennium Summit in New York in 2000. Good water governance – in an Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) framework – is a critically important contribution to the achievement of the MDGs. IWRM improves cross-sectoral efficiency and cooperation at all levels on sustainable water resources development and management, including specific sector interventions. The importance of water management has been further highlighted by the recent reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and others that have warned that climate change will have extensive impacts on water resources. This resource has been prepared to support countries in their efforts to improve water management through an IWRM approach, and to stimulate the development of a robust framework for monitoring, evaluating and reporting on the outcomes of such an approach.