Policy for Integrated Water Resources Management

The water sector is expected to fulfil social, environmental and economic needs. In a context of growing water scar city exacerbated by rapid population growth and urbanization, misallocation of resources, environmental degradation, and mismanagement of water resources, the Bank Group and its Regional Member Countries (RMCs) face new challenges which call for a new approach to water resources management. Water is a single resource with many competing uses. Experience has amply demonstrated that water management is complex and multi-level and requires a comprehensive framework. This analytical framework would facilitate the consideration of interconnections be tween the ecosystem and socio-economic activities in rive r basins. A sectoral or sub-sector al approach should therefore be replaced by an integrated approach, which takes account of social, economic, and environmental objectives, assesses water re sources within each basin, evaluates and manages water demand, and seeks stakeholders’ participation. This vision is now widely accepted.